Questions on disk sanders

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Chris Knight

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I have run into a situation where it would be very handy to have a disk sander. For my present job it does not need to be very large but it does need to be solid, run true and have a mitre table that can be adjusted absolutely square to the disk.

There is a pretty bewildering variety of powered sanders around and not having used them in the past (apart from my trusty hand-held belt sander), I am unsure what to look for. Is it better to have self adhesive or velcro disks, is there merit in having a smallish one combined with a belt sander which costs about the same as the 12 inch disk sanders?

I should be grateful to hear from anyone who has one of these things.
 
I've go the el cheapo Clarke combined disk and belt sander - it works but the fence is about as much use as a chocolate fireguard....on my list of projects to rig something better one day.

i think disks for spinning sanders tend to be self adhesive - mine are - and the velcro are for random orbital sanders

m
 
Chris,

I have no direct experience of disc sanders but I have seen Hegner's. It looks quality, but at a price. As you require accuracy you might find it there.

Have a look on:

http://www.hegner.co.uk

(I have the Hegner lathe and cannot fault its quality, and I understand that their fretsaws are regarded as tops, too).

Trev.
 
Thanks for the input guys. I like the look of the Hegner but as you say Trev, the price seems very high I'm off to have a look at the Axminster offerings today which are still expensive but hopefully still OK qualitywise.

MP, I think I will give Clarke a miss, I may be doing them an injustice but on the whole their stuff never seems to cut it.
 
I was looking at the Axminster catalogue - and some of their range looks pretty good - solid, with plenty of adjusment.

How about Jet - <quick search about on Rutlands>, lots of stuff - identical machines as the Axminster in most cases, but you may have a closer local distributor. (Although the Axminster store in Faversham, Kent might well be within easy travel-able distance?

Adam
 
Chris,

I've got the Record 10" disk sander and although I haven't used it extensively, for what I have done, I can't fault it. It has an induction motor which runs very quietly once up to speed and it's a big heavy casting that isn't going to move around without excess force being applied.

The disks are adhesive, which for my money I'd swap for velcro, as there's no way you can switch grits without scrapping the disk that's already on. There are conversion kits, apparently, available from CSM Just Abrasives, if I recall correctly. I've not got around to doing this though, as I find the finish I'm getting from the "medium" grit disk is terrific anyway - stock removal is fast too.

I've not tried to hook up any dust extraction, and I don't have the mitre fence with it, so can't comment on these elements. I've just been out to check, and the table is at a perfect 90 degrees to the disk.

Hope this helps,

AG
 
Chris

I originally used a Clarke combination 6" disk and 4" belt. It's OK but not for fine work and to be honest I would not recomend it to anyone as the fences are poor and mitre slot useless.

I then bought the Charnwood 12" disk sander for about £110. WOW. Cast iron table and accurately machined mitre slot + a decent mitre guage. The table can easily be adjusted dead square to the disk and is locked off at both ends. Dust extraction port works excedingly well too. One of my better purchases 8)

Only thing I have done to it is to turn the hollow plastic mitre guage upside down and filled it with fibre-glass resin to create a solid block. Much more robust and accurate now :wink:

Cheers

Tony
 
Tony":132sknjy said:
Only thing I have done to it is to turn the hollow plastic mitre guage upside down and filled it with fibre-glass resin to create a solid block. Much more robust and accurate now :wink:
Good tip; must be more than a few mitre gauges that'd benefit from that.

Cheers, Alf
 
Well, I saw the Axminster range and being in a hurry bought one of their white jobs with a velcro attachment - indeed much easier to change I am sure than adhesive as you say AG. I should have waited a bit longer to see the Charnwood Tony, before I jumped in (the one I bought cost double!), but "impatient" has always been my middle name.

My new purchase is, I am glad to say, rock solid and does the job very well notwithstanding the fact that the instruction book makes it plain that this is a chinese import.
 
Hi Chris

waterhead37":213fhknn said:
........notwithstanding the fact that the instruction book makes it plain that this is a chinese import.

As Axminster import these products, along with lots of other companies, you'd think they would differentiate themselves in the market place by producing a decent manual. Even if it was one that you could download on their web site it would make a tremendous difference.

At the other end of the scale, anyone who has the Leigh dovetail jig will know the standard that can be attained with manuals.

Cheers
Neil
 
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