Hey, I am looking for a new 5hp table saw that I can bypass the 90 degree stop and tilt towards the fence. I like my current left tilt saw but am looking at a sanding disc attachment that requires at least a 2 degree tilt towards the fence. I know of some older saws that have a right tilt blade but if possible am interested in a new saw.
Discussion Forum
Get It All!
UNLIMITED Membership is like taking a master class in woodworking for less than $10 a month.
Start Your Free TrialCategories
Discussion Forum
Digital Plans Library
Member exclusive! – Plans for everyone – from beginners to experts – right at your fingertips.
Highlights
-
Shape Your Skills
when you sign up for our emails
This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. -
Shop Talk Live Podcast -
Our favorite articles and videos -
E-Learning Courses from Fine Woodworking
-
-
Replies
Hammer K3 variants are right tilt. 4HP though this is a genuine continuous available 4HP as opposed to a peak. Can also take 12" blades.
It is also possible to put the fence on the other side of the saw blade in most cases - I did this for many years using a small job site saw as it worked equally badly whether placed one side or the other.
I too am in the market for a disc sander, and can see the advantages of using the table saw that way, but despite having a lathe and also being able to use that, I've decided to wait until I find the right machine - I don't want to have to be changing things out all the time.
Right now my 'disc sander' is a belt sander with a fence - I stuff it in the vice when needed. It sucks in lots of ways, but it is cheap (free as I seldom belt sand anything with the machine used as intended) and packs away. I'd love a decent belt or disk machine but am paralysed by indecision.
I too would love a 12-inch disk sander that fits on a table top. One with a real, solid table and miter slot--and a good miter gauge. You can do a lot with a sander like that, but I haven't seen one for sale.
Just get a nice disc sander. Rikon makes a very nice 12 inch cast iron disc sander. I have a Jet 12 inch disc/6x48 belt sander that's industrial quality.
Old Rockwell/Delta Unisaws would be the answer. They are some of the most common saws available and came in a 5hp version both single and 3-phase.
Just noticed the line about a new saw. If that is truly the case I think Grizzly and Jet are still making Unisaws clones after all that is how they got started by stealing Delta and Powematic designs and slapping them together in China for pennies.
one of my principles is to try to keep abrasive particles away from places they don't belong/can do damage. I consider the inner workings of my tablesaw to be such a place. Even tho they sell sanding disks for tablesaws, I think it is a terrible idea unless it is a cheap, throw-away model.
If you have an old motor, you might be able to find a disk that fits it and make your own table. People used to do that all the time.
That is something I never thought off. I will only be taking very light passes so maybe that will help.
I have a 12 inches disk that mounts on the outboard faceplate of my lathe, the table replaces the tool rest . But I will rarely use it anymore since I found the ultimate sanding machine for that type of work.
I want advance notice on Gulfstar's estate sale. No rush of course!
He's not looking to replace a disc sander, he's got a tapered edge sanding disc specifically made for table saws.
Back the 90° set screw on the arbor to minus 2°.
A question about this--isn't like 3500 rpm kind of fast for sanding? Can you regulate feed rate and pressure delicately enough to get good results?
Since he seems to intend to dedicate this machine to just sanding he can easily change pulley sizes to achieve whatever speeds he wants.
I'm not sure why he wants such a tool, but it must be nice to have both the capital and shop real-estate to dedicate to a very specialized tool.
Shop real-estate would be awesome! I am a small cabinet shop and mainly will use this as an edge sander utilizing the fence to remove saw marks and fuzzy mdf edges for painting. If I use 80 or 120 grit paper it will actually give a very smooth surface due to the speed.
It will also produce a lot of dust, especially with mdf, on a machine not especially good at controlling dust. I imagine that you will be pushing stock between the fence and the spinning disk taking the smallest amounts of stock possible but even with precautions, this is not a common thing to do for for many reasons, including frequent paper changes due to the small area of the disk and the different sanding speeds, from maximum at the outer edge to zero speed at the center.
I would highly recommend rigging up some type of overhead dust collection hood. If there is one thing I don't want to be breathing in it is MDF dust.
I would answer "yes" and "yes" to both questions. I prefer slower sanding speeds since they are easier to control. Machines I have that are a higher speed can become familiar and allow good control.
Most table saws have adjustments for setting the zero and 45 deg stops. 2 deg is not much. You might try adjusting the zero stop to 2 deg beyond zero and see if that gets you there.
That is something I tried on my current laguna f3 but not enough. Was never really interested in one but Sawstop can't accept this double taper sanding disc either. Nor can the Harvey. Waiting on a response from delta, jet and grizzly. I am not against the idea of buying and reselling as my laguna is the 3rd tablesaw I have owned in the last 3 years. I have seen this disc in action on a friends old powermatic 66. Speed helps when operating with 80 or 120 grit sandpaper.
Get an old tilting top table saw. I had an old Delta 10 inch one once,it actually was a pretty good saw. I see them on Craigslist fairly often. Nobody wants them so they're pretty cheap. They stop at 45 but maybe a file can get you your 2 degrees.
You can get discs that are flat rather than with the 2 deg taper. However, as RobSS said, just put the fence on the other side of the blade/disc. So easy. Why even consider a different saw?
Also, I don't think it is a good idea to be trapping a work piece between the spinning disc and the fence anyway. Severe kick-back is possible.
I see the logic in having a tapered spinning disk, and that’s what makes this set-up better than a flat disk. As the stock is pushed through the spinning disk, a flat disk would have the outer grits on the rim only doing all the work and getting worn out prematurely, a cone shaped sanding surface would get the entire surface to get some sanding as the edge would enter a 2 degrees wedge and progressively get sanded to size. With a 10 inches disk protruding 2 inches from the top, the taper from the front edge of the disk to the center is about 1/16’’ so the sanding surface is all put to use. Still, this is a job for an edge sander.
So many issues. Trapping a workpiece between a spinning sanding disc and a fence is really dangerous. And the dust! I no longer work with mdf at all. But edge sanding on a tablesaw is just nuts. I wouldn't even think about doing that.
Without being able to control the speed you will get slammed from time to time. For the dust I'd suggest investing in a good Burka or maybe you can find a used KKK costume. Don't cheap out, get something with a good thread count!
I made a thing for cleaning up saw marks. I made a jig for my router table that's like a little jointer. The feed side of the fence is just a tiny bit backset, like maybe a 64Th. It cleans up saw chatter pretty good. I use a straight bit in the router. Set it ( move the jig) until the cutter is aligned with the outfeed side. Mine is pretty small, I use it to clean up lumber but there would be no limit to the length of the fence or the size of the base if your doing sheet stock.
If it the Mike Farrington sanding disk your looking at he was instruction on he's web page as well as a video on youtube.
You can use a Radial Arm Saw. You can use it in a whole lot of different positions, front ways, sideways, at angles, between the fence,from over top . Sounds kind of handy.. I have a RAS and I have a disc for it. In 40 + years I've never used it! About every other year or so I stumbled on the disc and I have to think about what it's for. Then I decide to keep it 'cause you never know!
I have used the sanding disk on a RAS for other purposes than cabinetmaking. Tapering the fins on a High power rocket for example.
There ya go...if it's good enough for NASA-AMES.....
This forum post is now archived. Commenting has been disabled