We all have them. Old used tools, end mills in this case, past sharpening or ones which just never worked that well. I had several old pen mill cutters either past their prime or they never cut that well. If you take a pen mill cutter and flip it around backwards on the shaft you end up with a perfect sanding setup. Stick in your chuck of choice.
You do need to watch the cutting end of the shaft when you are using it or if you have old cutter shaft just shorten them to remove the cutting end. I have made several custom sanding shafts on my metal lathe but now find this system faster and easier as I am just recycling unused tools just sitting in a drawer.
If you do not want to try punching many different size holes in your sand paper you can standardize on one size. I cut squares that are one inch square and use a hole punch to put a hole each on the center. Put your sand paper back towards the smooth face of the cutting end before you put it on the shaft. A standard hole punch make a perfect size hole for this purpose. The shaft will hold the sandpaper in place as it is caught between the mill cutter smooth face and the larger step-up shoulder of the shaft.
You do need to watch the cutting end of the shaft when you are using it or if you have old cutter shaft just shorten them to remove the cutting end. I have made several custom sanding shafts on my metal lathe but now find this system faster and easier as I am just recycling unused tools just sitting in a drawer.
If you do not want to try punching many different size holes in your sand paper you can standardize on one size. I cut squares that are one inch square and use a hole punch to put a hole each on the center. Put your sand paper back towards the smooth face of the cutting end before you put it on the shaft. A standard hole punch make a perfect size hole for this purpose. The shaft will hold the sandpaper in place as it is caught between the mill cutter smooth face and the larger step-up shoulder of the shaft.
