12" Disc Sander reccomendations

Rpm is usually not something you have much choice of, determined by safety considerations. Dust collection is nice. Being all around heavy, etc is nice too.

I am going to pick up a 14" one next week, along with a dust collector, if you are in Chicagoland, and are interested, let me know.

On Sun, 28 Oct 2007 12:10:13 -0700, with neither quill nor qualm, RichD quickly quoth:

Centered?

Electric brake?

A high-end veneering shop I toured half a dozen years ago had a 20" disc sander and I drooled for weeks afterward.

-- We have to fight them daily, like fleas, those many small worries about the morrow, for they sap our energies. -- Etty Hillesum

I have a cheap one from Harbor Freight and have been plenty happy with it. Keep in mind that if you get a 12" the real working area is less than 6". If you're doing wood work, get the biggest disc you can find. There are times when I wish I had a 20" but most of the time 12" is OK

That looks pretty solid.

If you are doing wood, 3500 rpm is too fast, and will burn everything. Better to use 1750 rpm.

RPM is controlled by available motor speeds, not safety per se.

Joe Gwinn

I do not know if I could lift one into my truck. Maybe I will have to take it apart.

Good point. I will see if it is 1 or 3 phase.

My 9" disk is mounted to a 1725 RPM face mount oil burner (1/4 HP) motor, tilt table above centre, adjustable guide fence, with the lower half of the disk enclosed and vented to the dust collector. Gerry :-)} London, Canada

Thanks guys. I've seen a few old iron US made machines now and the table was well below center and the ends wrap around. One more thing occured to me. Reversible motor. No reason I can think of not to have this. It's a great feature on my 5" diamond engraver flat wheel. When you have to use the right side of the disc and it's coming *up* it can get real interesting real quick! RichD, in DRY Atlanta

If he's not I am.

Variable speed makes any sander/grinder much more versatile. Slow speeds allow sanding heat sensitive materials and provide better control of stock removal. High speeds work well for hard/fast stock removal and good surface finish. VFD's are cheap and easy to hookup, plus a 3-phase motor runs much smoother. I would go for 2 hp. if possible. I have a 1 hp motor on my 8" disk/belt grinder and there are times when I would like a little more power.

Randal