Begin With the End in Mind

And ... so starts the actual construction of the disc sander.  As I start, I am reminded of something I learned clear back in the days when I did “Face to Face” training for Payless Cashways.  One of the earliest things my boss taught was to “Begin with the end in mind.”  This has always served me well in the business world and, as I think about it now, my most successful shop projects typically hold to this maxim as well.  To this, I re-read the plans just before starting the project so I could visualize the assembly as well as exactly how things would work when I put the sander to use.  And with that, I dove in.

The base of the project is just a tall narrow box with several interior blocks adding stability for the moving parts once the project is complete.  This is attached to a very heavy base which adds more strength and stability.  I did make one change to this part of the plan.  The plan called for rubber feet to keep the unit from moving around, but I have had more than one shop where the floors were uneven, so I added leveling feet (the kind you find on a washing machine) in threaded inserts so they are fully adjustable.   A wobbly piece of equipment is worse than a table at the restaurant which keeps moving around on you.

Construction technique is relatively straight forward.  The interior blocks are attached in dados on all sides of the box to give strength. Two of the sides have rabbets along their length for the adjoining sides to sit in, again for strength and support.  Many times the sign of a good project that lasts the test of time is that a majority of parts are installed in so they can’t move.

There are a couple of tricky parts to this section and I just want to talk for a minute about them.  The first is the use of brass threaded inserts.  These amazing pieces of hardware actually thread into wood and then provide threads to receive other threaded items.  They come with a slot in them, which implies you could drive them in with a screwdriver, but don’t get sucked in by that.  I've read many discussions about these going in crooked and ruining the insert as well as the wood.  To avert any problems, insert a bolt in the threaded insert first, and then drive with a socket or a wrench.  You will be much happier with the installation.  Plus, at $2.20 per piece, these things are a little pricey, and I didn't want to screw any of those up.

The other challenge in this part of the construction is the pivot blocks which require a 4-1/2” hole in all of them and a curved ½” slot in a couple.  The instructions did a great job of showing how to cut the slot using a router and auxiliary base with a straightforward setup.  The biggest thing to remember is to cut the slot first since the needed center point will be removed when drilling the large hole.  As for the hole, there are probably other ways to do it, but I cut them with a large hole cutter on the drill press.  From a safety standpoint, you need to remember that this is a LOT of spinning steel and a lot of force, so take time and figure out how to clamp the thing down.  I created a jig to hold the pieces one at a time in perfect alignment to allow drilling the hole.

If you are building this project while reading my thoughts, the base column is finished and you’re ready to build the head of the unit.  This is where all of the action really takes place, and it is time to ensure all of the hardware is purchased.  And don’t forget, when you have the end in mind, know your instructions and can see each of the pieces and how they work together, you will be able to make better decisions about the items you purchase.  I found really good alternatives for the aluminum knobs at Menards for less than half the price of those suggested in the article.

As this article finishes, I have some final assembly to do on the base.  The joy however continues.  This project is going together very well.  Will I save a lot of money by building rather than buying this piece? No, I won’t.  But, how cool to have a piece of stationary power equipment in my shop that I built myself!

Maybe that was the “end” I had in mind when I began.