All Replies on Want a big disc sander....

I took an old Craftsman lathe, made a table, made a stand, and my own disk (from phenolic coated 3/4 ply). Works well for me and have about $90 bucks in the entire thing. The phenolic ply is great for adhesive backed sanding discs.

Have the 12” disk sander from HF. It’s not bad at all for less than $100 on sale.
Don’t get the 10” though. I read terrible reviews on it all the time.

If money was no object I would rather have a 24” or a 30”, but those machines cost big bucks.
I figured I’d rather have a disk and an Oscillating drum than a bigger disk.

Rikon makes a nice 12” that I like better than mine and It’s on sale ocassionally at Woodcraft.
The Rikon has a cast iron disk for smooth operation and a brake to stop it.

The nice thing about a disk is its accuracy. Much better than a belt sander for instance.
I use the disk for tweeking miters and also for sharpening tools.
I do wish they had hook and loop disks but I haven’t seen one.

-- Michael :-{| Diapers and politicians both need to be changed often; and for the same reason.

I’ve been very happy with my 12” Delta…

Years ago, I paid ~ $189 for it, I think they’re in the $250 range now.

I normally use it for tuning molding fits. The tool is located in my assembly / handwork area. I normally use an 80 grit disk on it, as the actual surface ends up hidden in the miter.

-- It's all good, if it's wood...

I thought a 16” would be better than the 12” I previously had – BIG mistake, the surface speed on the egde was enough to burn wood everytime not to mention the way increase cost of replacement discs. I was lucky to get my money back reselling on CL now I have an eight inch and am very happy.

-- Love thy neighbour as thyself

I have a 12 inch JET – have had nothing but positive experience with this piece of equipment – The Jet tools I have been all good

I too have the Jet 12” disk and 6” belt sander, what a great tool it is, just be sure to have good DC though, it creates plenty of dust

-- No one plans to fail, they just, just fail to plan

Had a Craftsman 9” Disk 6” x 48” Belt sander for years and although I loved what it was theoretically capable of doing, the tract adjustment was extremely frustrating and unsatisfactory. Gave it to a friend sans motor and switch several years ago, and treated myself to a PM which has been an absolute delight in every respect. So my best advice is to look for a good used one in the price range you want. Who knows, maybe you’ll get lucky and find one comparable to that great DeWalt radial arm saw you have! Best wishes.

P.S. Since Jet bought PM, I’ve seen very little if any difference between the two brands. In fact Bluekingfisher recently bought a Jet drill press that is not available here in the US, but is identical to a PM model sold in US.

-- John C. -- "Firearms are second only to the Constitution in importance; they are the peoples' liberty's teeth." George Washington

crank249, I was eyeballing the HF sander last night. Is there anything you dont like about it? How is the dust collection on it?

ds2: check out my review and comments from others @ http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/1614

-- Larry "Work like a Captain but Play like a Pirate!"

Here’s the disk sander I have. It works really well and a good deal for the price. http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/3130

-- If I can do it.....so can you! -AJswoodshop

http://woodgears.ca/sander/disk_sander.html

Maybe build one to suite your needs?

My Jet works great a good solid sander.

-- W James Brokenbourgh Custom furniture maker http://artisticwoodstudio.com/

I built one similar to the one Waho6o9 referenced. Not as fancy, though. Used a 12 disk from Shopsmith (great disks, BTW) and a 1 hp motor from a salvage yard. IIRC, cost was much less than $100.

-- Gene 'The true soldier fights not because he hates what is in front of him, but because he loves what is behind him.' G. K. Chesterton

I have a Delta, but I have friends with the Grizzly and the Jet, no one has any complaints. You will be surprised at how useful they are….
Mike

I seem to be th only person on here with a Grizzly 12” disc sander. I got it on sale about 10 years ago for about $125 to $140 I think. It has served me well. The main complaint I have with it is the miter groove. It is smaller than standard and the miter gauge that came with it is pretty ….cheesy. Other than that I have been pleased and it has word well. Runs smooth and all those things mentioned above. If I didn’t do that I might look for a cheap table saw and buy a disc for it. i think those are still available.

Toolz, thanks for the link. I think I’ll pick one up next time I have a 20% off coupon.

I had a DeWalt ?X48’’. I used it for about a year and it took up room for 15 years and I gave it away have have never missed it.

-- Jerry

I bought the 10 inch sanding disk from Woodcraft to use on a TS. You have to change the blade but it works for me as I don’t use a sander that much.

-- Regret- the feeling you get just after you do something really stupid.