Shopsmith Forums

I haven't used my sanding disks for anything other than hand sanding small parts, and only then for parts that are too small to sand on a belt or strip sander without chewing off my fingertips. Thinking about this, I realized that I haven't mounted a disk on my Shopsmith since the late 1980s when I got my first belt sander. I pulled my Power Tool Woodworking For Everyone book down and looked up the chapter on sanding disks, thinking maybe I missed something. Nope, I didn't miss a thing. All of the techniques in the book are easier or better done with my other sanders, or I never do that kind of work. So, here is my question:

Do you do anything with your sanding disk that is not in the book mentioned above?

Thiw is a trick to make me reaf the book.

dusty wrote: Tue Jun 02, 2026 12:04 pm This is a trick to make me read the book.

That was not the intent.

Robert,

I agree. I haven't found much use for my flat sanding disc in over 40 years of woodworking. I do use the conical sanding disc to sharpen planer knives but that is about it. I prefer the 6" belt sander or portable sanding tools for most everything else that I do. I know a few on this forum commented in the past about this so hopefully others will chime in here. I believe they commented that they used the flat and the conical sanding discs for various applications on their Shopsmith equipment and enjoyed using them.

It is great for sanding out the irregularities on turned straight or tapered spindles less than 12 inches long...simply hold the disk against the turning cylinder. Also can be used as a reference plate for table alignment. And of course it is needed if you want to use the Shopsmith sharpening jig.

IdahoEd wrote: Wed Jun 03, 2026 1:15 am It is great for sanding out the irregularities on turned straight or tapered spindles less than 12 inches long...simply hold the disk against the turning cylinder. Also can be used as a reference plate for table alignment. And of course it is needed if you want to use the Shopsmith sharpening jig.

Good idea. I had not thought of using the sanding disk on the lathe. Probably because my lathe projects are too small for this.

Robert,

I found this older post from Alan. Has he been back on the forum since the forum came back with the new owner? Anyway, Alan talks about using the flat disc sander for sanding multiple pieces to the same length. See below.

viewtopic.php?p=279725#p279725

algale wrote: Sat Jan 30, 2021 8:06 am Both are excellent and I'd hate to have to choose only one.

I use the disc sander with the quill feed stop and a backing fence (or fence stop on miter gauge extension) to sand things to identical lengths, which is a great feature when making frames. The disc clogs relatively quickly, however.

The belt sander is excellent at shaping and hogging off a lot material.

You can't have too many sanding tools in my opinion. In fact, it often seems like woodworking is 80% sanding.

Robert,

I don't recall using my 12" Flat Sanding Discs for any other operations not listed in the book Power Tool Woodworking for Everyone or the Owner's Manual. I do use it as a preferred method of sanding when doing larger pieces that are not as well supported on the 6" Belt Sander or the Strip Sander. My last sanding job was done with the 12" Sanding Disc on a large piece of stock. It was the best choice for the job. I do agree that the Belt and Strip Sanders are faster.

Disc Sanding was a messy job prior to the introduction of the Mark V 510 and the ability of the Lower Saw Guard able to handle the 12" Sanding Disc for dust collection. A stripped-down version of that lower guard is available for use on the Mark 5/V 500.

Just to be inclusive I have tried the Conical Sanding Disc for edging which work very well. I haven't tried the edging operation with the Flat Sanding Disc using the out of line Fence adjustment. I do have the Jointer/Planer Knife Sharpening Jig which for me is a must have. I have sharpened my Planer Knives and many Jointer Knives during restorations to the point I believe it has paid for itself.

chapmanruss wrote: Wed Jun 03, 2026 1:43 pm
Disk Sanding was a messy job prior to the introduction of the Mark V 510 and the ability of the Lower Saw Guard able to handle the 12" Sanding Disk for dust collection. A stripped-down version of that lower guard is available for use on the Mark 5/V 500.

Just to be inclusive I have tried the Conical Sanding Disk for edging which work very well. I haven't tried the edging operation with the Flat Sanding Disk using the out of line Fence adjustment.

I have upgraded to a 520, and that got me thinking about this. Wondering if it is worth upgrading to disks with the longer hub. The largest things that I have made in years are rocking horses and doll cradles. I did not use the sanding disk for either one.

I have used the flat sanding disk for jointing edges. It works, but I went through a lot of sandpaper. This convinced me to get a jointer. I did all this in the days before carbide blades were available. Modern carbide blades cut so smoothly that I haven’t used a jointer in many years. My carbide blades cut so smoothly that I don’t need a jointer.

One significant difference between the flat/conical disk for edging is the sanding direction.

flat = circular across the grain
conical = with the grain

Assuming grain direction = direction of workpiece feed.