Shopsmith Forums

You got the reason. Got two disc, one for sharpening (non-velcro) and the other for sanding. Put the velcro on the new one, simply to sand. The old one had marks on it from scraping.

beeg wrote:Why wood it make a difference of which disk ya use for the Velcro disk? You do know that ya shouldn't use the Velcro backed disks for sharpening?

LenInSebastopol wrote:You got the reason. Got two disc, one for sharpening (non-velcro) and the other for sanding. Put the velcro on the new one, simply to sand. The old one had marks on it from scraping.

I would be inclined to reverse that. Use the 'unscored' one for sharpening. The velcro will more than cover up the scraping damage.


Personally I would not use velcro on either(I remain unconvinced of its advantages), but then I be blessed with too many disks.

JPG40504 wrote:I would be inclined to reverse that. Use the 'unscored' one for sharpening. The velcro will more than cover up the scraping damage.


Personally I would not use velcro on either(I remain unconvinced of its advantages), but then I be blessed with too many disks.

OKAY, we know that you do not prefer velcro backed sanding disks. Would you care to explain why?

I use them all the time and am wondering just what I am doing that is to be avoided.

I checked out the Rockler advertisement. They say the PSA (pressure sensitive adhesive) makes for "easy grit changes."

I am a biginner woodworker and I am very hesitant to change grit on my sanding disc because I assume that once I remove a sanding disc, then it will never adhere again, and end up in the trash. So, this has pretty much forced me to stick to one grade of sand paper per disc. Rockler makes me think I might be wrong.

I like the ceramic paper's performance....but again, will it stick if once I take it off? Then SS has the Velcro Product that addresses and validates my possibly false assumption.

How do you guys work your sanding disc? Do you have a way to preserve the PSA from a removed disc? (Wax Paper maybe?) Or do you have a disc for each type of sand paper? I suppose someone has four different flat discs, and four conical discs. Do I hear a KA-CHING in Dayton? No, that can't be...

dusty wrote:OKAY, we know that you do not prefer velcro backed sanding disks. Would you care to explain why?

I use them all the time and am wondering just what I am doing that is to be avoided.

When using the disc sander I am usually also sanding to dimension. The velcro introduces a spongy surface which will vary depending upon amount of pressure.

If just prettying up the edge(or whatever) the velcro is ok. The velcro does provide a more reliable way to swap grits. I am fortunate to have 'too many' discs so grit swapping is done by changing discs.

No problem Len. They let me participate, too.

Snipped [B wrote:This is still a great forum even because it let's bozos like me on to ask ALL kinds of questions![/B]

Your best bet on PSA paper is to use the disk until it's worn out and then replace it with a new disk. If you expect to re-attach a disk after removing it as in changing grits, you likely will have problems especially with the paper-backed disks because they are easily torn when removing them. The easiest solution is to get a spare (or two) steel disks.

I think what Rockler is suggesting is that the disks can be removed easier than the old-style sanding disks that required disk adhesive to bond them to the steel disk.

So, How many sanding discs do most of you guys own? I have one flat, and one conical.

I have course grit on my flat disc, fine grit (that I bought used and had sat on the shelf for many many years) on my conical. The course grit is holding up GREAT. The fine grit on the conical I am not as pleased with so far. Could be age related I suppose.

I have just the one. I use regular sandpaper and spray adhesive. It doesn't cover as much area on the disc and you work on the inside of the disc, but until I can scare up enough to purchase multiple discs, and papers for each, this is what works for me. I also have a separate bench mounted 1" strip/5" disc sander that is also well used.

I'm working on reducing my sanding as much as possible because I'm cheap and I hate spending money on consumables. I' also lazy and hate sanding. Scraping, and making better cuts with sharper, higher quality tools makes a big difference.

dusty wrote:... velcro backed sanding disks. ...

I use them all the time and am wondering just what I am doing that is to be avoided.

I think the only "problem" with what you're doing is that you are doing it right. I suspect you're using the Velcro for what it is best at, and likewise the PSA.
Their "best" functionality doesn't necessarily overlap.

Here's a real PROBLEM, tho, with the Velcro: (actually not with the Velcro but with the idiot that was using it) I was using the V papers to "sand-to-width" a few things, and going at it precisely the same way I had previously done it with PSAs, with only one difference. When I changed from PSA to V I didn't think about what I was doon.
Well, putting that much concentrated pressure on the V system base edge promptly burned and shriveled the base part of the hook and loop system, so I had an inch or so of V paper flapping in the breeze after that. Had to get another Velcro Base Disc.