Sandpaper organizer

Martin Roper

Martin
Senior User
I have an upper cabinet that contained all my boxes of sandpaper. Whenever I needed a disc, I'd pull a bunch down, sort through them, then leave the boxes all over the counter where they just got in the way. I finally decided I needed something that fit in a toolbox drawer and I could just open it and select the range of grits I needed. I couldn't find anything useable on Amazon or eBay, so I figured I'd make my own.

I've got one 6" sander and two 5" sanders with different hole patterns so I designed three trays. I bought two sheets of 24" x 48" x 1/4" MDF and began sawing. Two drawers are 55mm deep and the other is 70mm.
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When I measured my drawer and then added up the width of 4 discs and five 1/4" thicknesses of MDF, I was about a half inch short. I came up with the idea of eliminating the two side walls to get my half inch back. The drawer sides would serve as walls. Amazingly, I didn't screw up and everything lined up.
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I had plenty of room for three 6" discs. Here's the dry fit.
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Because of the thin stock I used gentle pressure on the clamps. Finger tight, just enough to close the gaps.
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Bottoms attached.
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After everything was glued up, I realized I had forgotten I wanted to eliminate the three dividers in the back cubby area of the 70mm tray. Oops. Japanese pull saw and a chisel took care of it with minimal damage. Pain in the buttocks though.
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A coat of primer/sealer and a coat of paint. It ain't pretty, but at least it's covered.
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Voila.
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I need some more 5" Festool-pattern discs. I also have some Diablo and Xtract mesh discs that work. The trays are great for inventorying your discs at a glance. No more looking through stacks of boxes.
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6" drawer.
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I freed up this much cupboard space.
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I'm going to glue a little block to the corner of each cubicle to label the grits and I'll call this one done.
 
Last edited:

Graywolf

Board of Directors, President
Richard
Staff member
Corporate Member
Great use of space, and I’m happy your getting organized. There is nothing worse than wasted motion while you are trying to work.
 

Berta

Berta
Corporate Member
Very nice. I use an old floppy disk organizer I got at a thrift store for 50 cents. I will take a picture when I get back home Monday
 

flycubs

New User
Tim
This is a really great idea- I can't stand the chaos a sanding disc makes to the drawer! I have a nearly identical set up with drawers under my rigid sander.
 

Berta

Berta
Corporate Member
Sanding disks. Organized by grit.
Sanding sheets. Still flat, organized by grit. With a sheet cutter.
 

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