Easy Method to Remove Sanding Disc: I have a Powermatic disc/belt sander in my shop. This is a great little machine that gets a lot of use. Consequently, the sanding belts and discs wear out regularly. Changing the sanding belt is pretty simple but replacing the sanding disc is a different story. The trick is to remove the disc right after a heavy sanding operation while the disc and backing plate are still warm. The problem however is that most people usually walk away from the machine when they use up the disc. When cold, these discs are usually stuck so hard to the backing plate that they come off in pieces (very stubborn). I have found that if I heat up the face of the disc with a propane torch, fairly warm to the touch, the disc will peel right off leaving the backing plate spotless. This is similar to putting a tub of rock hard ice cream in the microwave for 10-15 seconds, which works pretty good also.

More Part Marking: If you need to accurately lay out a part that has a beautiful finish on it and you don’t want to scratch the lovely surface that you have just created, try this little trick. First, degrease the surface to be laid out with acetone, then apply a thin coat of regular layout ink such as Dykem and let it dry naturally (no compressed air). Once dry, apply another thin coat with a quick stroke. Repeat this procedure 3-4 times letting the ink thoroughly dry between applications. If this is done correctly, you will have a couple “thou” build up of ink on the surface of your part. Now you are ready to lay out the part. Using a straight edge that is free of nicks and burrs and an ultra sharp scriber (sewing needle), gently draw the tool across the ink next to the straight edge just enough to reveal the surface of the part.

Setting Counterbore Depth on a Manual Mill: This is one of those little time consuming chores that can be easily simplified. Let’s say you have a feature in your part that calls for a counterbore of xxxdia. by .500” deep. With the tool held in the spindle of the machine, bring the cutting edge of the tool to the surface of the part and lock down the quill. Now place a .500” thick piece of material under the quill fly stop and spin the threaded quill stop up to the bottom of the material. Release the quill lock and remove the .500” material. You are now ready to counterbore. This should be good for + - .005”. For closer tolerance work, drop the knee of the mill .010”, counterbore the part, depth mic, and make adjustments. This little trick may not seem like much but if you’ve got a good selection of pre-marked blocks in your toolbox (some guys use gage blocks), you will fly thru this operation.

Click back arrow on your tool bar to return to Helpful Hints page.