Table saw sanding discs - any good?

booz11

New User
Jon
I haven’t used them personally, but it should work pretty well. However, why limit yourself to just sanding on the table saw when you can cut and sand at the same time :p

 

drw

Donn
Corporate Member
Honestly, I have never heard of this; that said it does look interesting. It may be especially useful on wood such as cherry or maple, which has a tendency to burn when being ripped. While I am not sure I'll embrace this in my shop, it is an interesting idea.
 

wbarnes

Will
Corporate Member
Don't you mean "cut and sand and cut your finger off all at the same time" ;-) No way I'm trying that.
How would it be any different than regular ripping on the table saw? As the blade is ripping the wood it MAY also provide some sanding qualities, although I doubt it would be significant given that it looks like the sandpaper would still be more narrow than the blade kerf.

I am not saying that I support the idea or that I intend to try it, I just don’t understand how it would be more dangerous than normal.
 

blackhawk

Brad
Corporate Member
I only want to sand with the disk that I linked at Klingspor. I do not want to sand and cut at the same time. The thread is getting a little off track.
 

creasman

Jim
Staff member
Corporate Member
I just don’t understand how it would be more dangerous than normal.
I took this to be you could rip and (separately) use the blade as a sanding disc. This would mean putting your fingers very close to a sanding disc with teeth while in use. If my fingers touch my disc sander I may loose a bit of hide, but this configuration has the potential to do much worse.

FWIW, I don't see any value in having the sand paper sand the ripped edges while you're ripping. There are many blades which give you a finished surface that is equal to, or better than, a disc sander.
 

AllanD

Allan
Corporate Member
Back in the mid 70s, when I was even poorer than now, I only had a Craftsman contractor saw and hand tools. I used the sander disc and it works just like any stationary disc sander just maybe faster than some. As with any of them, use only light pressure and keep the wood moving since they are bad to burn the wood.
 

zapdafish

New User
Steve
I got the one from Klingspor. Havent used it much but I like having the larger table to bring my work up to be sanded.
 

ssmith

New User
Scott
I picked one up from our local WoodCraft store - it's their catalog number 129272W. They work pretty well for freehand sanding. In addition to being cautious as Allan noted, I'd suggest stepping up to a finer grit than you'd normally use because the RPM is quite high and it's easy to take more stock off than you intended.
 

Willemjm

Willem
Corporate Member
Can't deny the fact that it worked for him.

The thing is however, a good rip blade on a properly set up table saw leaves no blade marks. So it is a choice between using a bandaid on a sub standard setup, or doing it right the first time.
 

Bernhard

Bernhard
User
The sanding disks probably work for very fine sanding. However, table saw arbors and bearings are designe for axial loads. A sanding disk will impart a lateral load...and depending on the type of sanding, that load can be significant (wear and tear on arbor and bearings >> increased run out). I don't use sanding disk on my table saws.
Same concept as using sanding blocks on a drill press: Another bad idea.
 

cyclopentadiene

Update your profile with your name
User
If you are concerned with ripping, a good blade like a Forest blade provides a glue ready cut. Jessm hold downs supposedly help with keeping the cut straight (but I have not tried them).
If you want sanding, buy a sander. I have a jet 12” disk sander which is excellent but I need the patented Charlie dust collection setup as it is messy.
Sawstop has some of the best dust collection available but the small particles do end up on the table top as the overarm dust collection is not effective. I suspect the sanding blades would be extremely messy. Another reason for a dedicated sander.
 

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