Tip of the Week

Sanding Disc Alignment Tool

My oscillating disc sander has built-in dust collection and it works great — but only when the holes of the sanding discs are aligned with the vacuum holes in the sander’s pad. This simple requirement isn't always as easy as it sounds. Rather than rely on a good aim when installing the discs, I put together a simple tool that makes hitting the mark a sure thing.

As you can see in Figure 1, the tool is nothing more than two dowels glued into a small block of wood. The diameter of the dowels and their spacing in the block matches that of the holes in the discs and sanding pad.

To use the tool, you simply place a disc over the dowels and then insert them into the holes in the pad (Figure 2). Slip the disc off of the dowels and onto the pad and you're ready to go.