Lazy Susan Round Disk Sanding Jig

I jumped headfirst into making a few cutting boards and landing on my face. I didn’t think through the project project before I started, so I created my own problems. I glued up some sassafras and purple heart panels, then rough cut the disk on the band saw. My nest step was to true up the periphery of the disk. I was thinking I could use a beam jig with my router. While I was successful with this jig on the larger, top disk, it was a real pain because I had already cut the disk with the band saw and had nothing to hold the panel with outside the cutting path. In a first attempt with another jig, I created an unsafe disk spinning rig, using the router as a motor. Glad I was wearing my PPE when the disk flew apart. I needed a solution.

What I came up with is what is in the photos. Using my 5” disk sander, I created a pivot for the disk. I place a 3/8” diameter blind hole in the hidden side of the disk. For the pivot, I used one of the lazy susan bearings, mounting a support plate with a 3/8” diameter dowel, centered in the disk, protruding 3/8”. This allows the disk to be sanded to be rotated while contacting the sanding disk. The pivot is mounted on a 3/4” mdf plate. The plate includes a 2×4 with a hole in which the quick clamp is used with a beam and another lazy susan bearing to hold the disk being sanding down on the pivot.

The sander is clamped to the work bench. The pivot plate is moved until the disk contacts the sanding disk. I manually rotated the work piece. After one rotation, I find the low spot on the board and move the rotating disk to the sander again. I am able to ‘turn’ the disk into a perfect circle in about 10 minutes, with a very smooth finish.

-- Kevin May "Making wood useful and fun!" www.kevinmaywoodworks.com