12" Delta disc sander problems.....

[gad5264]

A two part question:

I bought a second hand Delta 12" disc sander a while back and have yet to put it into use. Last night I put it up on the work bench and was messing around with it. Just for kicks I put my magnetic base and dial indicator on the table and spun the disc. I was shocked to see that the disc has a variance of about .030 from high to low.

Question #1
Is this variance too much for daily use or should I try to fix it?

Question #2
I did not get a manual when I bought this and wondered if there is any way to adjust the disc on the arbor of the motor?

Thanks and I look forward to reading your ideas and suggestions.

 

[PTownSubbie]

Grant,

If you got to the Delta Woodworking site, you can download the manual with little trouble. Delta is great for finding manuals online.......

Good luck

 

[JimMc7]

<snip>
Question #1
Is this variance too much for daily use or should I try to fix it?

<snip>

Mine varies 0.020" and no problems I've noticed. I wouldn't worry about the variance because in my experience the variance in how well the PSA abrasive sticks to the disc makes our disc plate variance trivial anyway.

For penmaking, I just use the disc sander to knock off corners and trim the blanks to "close" and for those tasks it's a very useful tool. Depending on the blank, I use either a drill press pen mill or lathe sanding jig for final trimming to needed tube length -- not the disc sander.