Old Sander Wearing Out
I use a hand belt sander that I’ve mounted to used it as a fixed sander. This sander has been working for many years, but the last time I used it, it was making some alarming sounds. Not sure what is wrong, but I’m guessing that a bearing or gear has worn out.
The sander has a flat “Top” so it has been easy to lash it down to a board and use it as a fixed sander. A couple of cable ties and it’s lashed down securely.
The New Sander is Not as Easily Mounted
I got a new sander and while it looks very similar, it is not as easily mounted.
I started by making a cardboard mount that will hold the sander. As you can see it’s a lot more complicated. And there’s a hole to allow the Shop Vac hose to be plugged into the port. While the cardboard mount barely stands up under the weight of the sander, it provides a model that I can make from wood.
Making the Sander Mount
I tend to make most things from Plywood scraps, OSB or even in this case Siding scraps. Basically plywood with one side that’s very rough.
The siding parts were glued and screwed to a 3/8″ plywood base using my standard assembly fastener – Tork Head deck screws. I buy these by the jar full in several sizes and build everything with them.
The old sander is still working well enough to sand these pieces, but I’m sure something bad is wrong so the replacement will be needed soon.
As it turns out, the cardboard mockup was not quite right, but it was easy to fix and layout the wood version and it’s quite sturdy. Again, cable ties lash the sander down so it doesn’t move.
The old sander uses 3″x21″ belts, and the new one uses 3″x18″, but it turns out that belts are really cheap – 10 for about $4. Since I’m not making fine furniture, but just slap-dash things, I only use 80 grit belts. I do fine finishing sanding, if I need to, with a small orbital sander rather than this belt sander.
It’s 35 F in my shop today, so after gluing the mount up yesterday, I went out to check it and take pictures, but I’ll wait for warmer weather to test it.
Another Project – Computer Assembly Cart
About two years ago I made a cart to hold a computer or other device to work on it. The cart is about table height and has casters. I recently made a second cart. As it turned out, I was over zealous in purchasing the shelf brackets and angle brackets to build the first cart, and so I had plenty of brackets left for a second cart. Of course the old bench sander was used to dress up all the wood for this new cart, and that’s when the nasty noise started. But I was able to complete the second cart.
The new cart is on the right, and the older one is on the left.
Cheers,
:ww
Windy Weather 