How to make a disc sander for the lathe

I did not have a disc sander, and I decided to make one. After watching a few other people (on you tube)  that had already converted their lathe into a disc sander, I decided to make one too.

You can watch other people’s builds here:
Dema's WoodShop
George Fotinakes
Patrick's Work Shop

I made this build with whatever scraps I had in my shop.

I begun by salvaging a few boards from a pallet, using my circular saw.

I squared the ends of the boards on my table saw, using a cross cut sled.

To create some thicker stock, I glued and clamped two boards together.

After the glue dried, I flattened the piece with my hand plane.

I cut it to size with a saw and a miter box and reduced it’s thickness, using my hand plane again. I did that in order for that piece to fit snuggly in the lathe’s runners.

I then used my angle grinder, to cut a metal piece on which I drilled a hole in the middle, using my drill press.

I then used my band saw, and cut two pieces in a way they fit together with a half lap joint. I glued those pieces together and drilled a hole on them to receive an M6 screw.

I then cut out a screw’s head with a hacksaw.

I connected the wooden block, the metal piece and the screw with butterfly nuts and washers. This is actually the base of the sander and it’s mounting mechanism.

I cut a circle on the band saw from 10mm plywood. I mounted on my face plate  and used a scrapper to turn it even all around. I then glued on a piece of sandpaper using spray adhesive. I trimmed the sand paper flush with an exact knife.

I then cut and drilled the rest of the pieces on my bandsaw and drill press.

I predrilled, counter sinked and screwed the pieces together. For the moving parts I also used M6 screws, washers and butterfly nuts.

To make the sanding platform, I cut a piece of melamine to size, using my circular saw and a guide rail. Because the cut was across the grain , I used masking tape to reduce tear-out.

I then used a 90 degree straight edge to mount the platform at 90 degrees. I screwed it in place.

My sander is ready, it works nicely with around 100 grit sand paper.

I hope you like it,it is a really useful tool to have in the shop!