Homade Benchtop Sander - Your Designs/Ideas?

[Always_Thinkin]

I went to Sears yesterday and looked at their benchtop sanders. I was surprised by their prices. I like to make tools and thought I would start here to develope the deign of a benchtop sander. I think it would be easy to make my own for cheaper and have an enjoyable project. What experience does everyone have? Ideas, photos etc. I did a quick search online and found a simple design, see the link. Thanks for your input guys.

http://www.metalwebnews.com/howto/sander1/sander.html

 

[dladcock]

Lot's of things to look at on Youtube. That's a good project to tackle, good luck. Keep us posted.

dla

 

[PA-Buckeye]

Here's a little 6 inch disc sander I made from mostly 3/8" acrylic back when I started working as an architectural model maker back in '91. Motor, speed control and switch from Grainger, plastic from the scraps bin and a couple of el cheapo C-Thru protractors. I think I pulled the electric cord off of an old fan or something. At that time, it was cheaper for me to make it "from scratch" as opposed to buying one sight unseen and paying for shipping. Sometimes you gotta MacGyver it!

 

[bullnerd]

I have two Delta 6x48 belt sanders.
One for wood,one for metal.
Wood has old cast iron base,very solid/stable.
Metal has newer sheetmetal base,works fine,but definately vibrates around more than the heavier one.
If I was building one,I would go HEAVY!

 

[EW57]

This should "spark" some ideas:
http://www.cnccookbook.com/CCKnifeMakingGrinders.htm