Velcro vs Stick on

[WriteON]

Just got an 8" disc/belt sander. New to me...here comes the rookie questions. The belt will be set up for squaring. No idea what the disc will be used for. However when checking it out today I feel the Velcro sanding disc is spongy as opposed to a stick on that remains fairly flat. Before I pull everything thing apart is there any reason why I can't remove the velcro set and up and use a stick on sanding disc? From those using the velcro discs are you squaring with it? Unit is the Bucktool 8-4/36 professional.

 

[flairwoodworks]

I don't see any reason you can't remove the Velcro facing, but be aware that if the platen isn't flat, you will notice when using an unforgiving PSA disc.

 

[jttheclockman]

To me Frank that is a 2 part question. On my disc I use velcro but I do not square my blanks on the disc sander. For that I use a flat plate on the lathe with stick on sandpaper. I have mentioned this numerous times here before that is is not a good idea to use velcro because it is too spongy and will round over the edges of the blank before sanding the middle. Now if you are roughing the blank and truing things up on the lathe as I mentioned then leave the velcro. Again it comes down to your use.

 

[WriteON]

To me Frank that is a 2 part question. On my disc I use velcro but I do not square my blanks on the disc sander. For that I use a flat plate on the lathe with stick on sandpaper. I have mentioned this numerous times here before that is is not a good idea to use velcro because it is too spongy and will round over the edges of the blank before sanding the middle. Now if you are roughing the blank and truing things up on the lathe as I mentioned then leave the velcro. Again it comes down to your use.

Got it. I'm setting the belt up with a Rick Herrel jig. My original intentions were to use the disc for squaring but that changed quickly.

 

[Charlie_W]

No Velcro disc in my shop….PSA discs only.

 

[Tim R]

I use PSA and square my blanks using the disc sander. I've been happy with the results.

 

[egnald]

I only use hook and loop on my random orbit and manual hand sanders. I use PSA on my disc sander. I buy the sanding discs from eBay in 100 piece rolls for around $35 to $40 per roll depending on the grit -- a far cry from the premium Norton 2-packs for $10 bucks at my local woodcraft. At only 40 cents they even beat out the $3 Performax 3-pack from our local Menards for $3 bucks. Sometimes if the sticky doesn't seem sticky enough I give it a light spritz of 3M Super 77 spray adhesive before installing them.

Dave