Photo Index - Unknown Manufacturer - 15" Disc Sander

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Machine Specifications
Machine Class:	Wood Working Machinery & Metal Working Machinery
Machine Type:	Sander
Machine Size:	15" Disc Sander
Submitted By:	Andy Guss

Machine Specifications
Description/Model:	15" Disc Sander
Date of Manufacturer:	Unknown
Serial Number:	N/A
Last Updated	5/25/2013 12:58:42 PM

Comments:

I purchased this machine for $50 from an incredibly nice man. He told me that he had obtained it a few years earlier. He had no idea who had built it or when. On the day I went to see it he helped me take a few parts off, but I was not able to bring the larger pieces home because of the vehicle I was in. Specifically, I think my wife would kill me if I started bringing home large, old, dirty machines in her new car. I can just imagine what a rusty, oily looking hole in the headliner would do. In any case, Bob helped me load the large, heavy base and remaining parts into his trailer to be delivered at my convenience. When he did bring them to my house, he wouldn't even accept any money for the gas, even though it was probably a 25 mile trip.

The machine itself may be unique. If so, I dearly wish I could have met the person who made it and find out how he designed the castings, came up with his idea for the sander, and so on. Plus, I automatically admire somebody who can cast and machine their own parts and mill their own machine components.

The disc is aluminum, 15" diameter and about 1/2" thick. It is mounted to a generic motor with a simple hub and setscrew, just like a pulley. The table is 22" wide and 9 3/4" deep. The miter slot is 1" wide and 3/16" deep. The main column which runs from the base to the motor is 3" diameter 1/2" thick. It has been thinned to provide collars for the base and motor plate to mount on. The column for the arm that supports the table is 2" diameter and solid.

I will clean the machine and repaint it. I don't know how well I would be able to resolve any runout issues, if there are any, but I hope that it might be useful even if the runout ends up being larger than what I would like for precise work.

If anyone has any information or comments about this disc sander, I have started a thread about it on the OWWM forum- http://www.owwm.org/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=133025

Thanks.

Photo 1:

Comments: Front view with a bit of Bob in the background. Notice the odd handle hanging from the left side of the motor plate.
Source: My droid smartphone camera

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Photo 2:

Comments: Side view- the wheels on the left side of the base are micarta.
Source: My droid smartphone camera

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Photo 3:

Comments: At some point, someone may have become disillusioned with the tilting table concept and they drilled a hole through the trunnion and inserted a small pin, part of which is visible near the top of the column.
Source: My droid smartphone camera

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Photo 4:

Comments: The other side of the pin is visible here. The numbers for the tilt scale are hand stamped in to this plate.
Source: My droid smartphone camera

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Photo 5:

Comments: Detail of the table casting. The central rib is thick on the left and thins as it gets farther from the trunnion. Likewise the trunnion casting is close to 3" wide where it mounts to the table and gets narrower along the curve as it arcs from the table.
Source: My droid smartphone camera

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Photo 6:

Comments: Another detail shot to show the complex milling involved in mating the trunnion casting to the table and the channel for the locking bolt.
Source: My droid smartphone camera

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