Palm sanders are the work-horses of our garage! We have several, including three orbital sanders. We love having multiples because we can load each with a different grit sandpaper and switch between rough sanding and finish sanding without replacing the sandpaper discs.
What we don’t like is we have two that use the self-adhesive discs and one that uses Velcro discs. The Makita that uses the Velcro disc has been causing trouble in the work shop–there’s always one in the crowd! The Velcro pad has worn down and discs no longer adhere properly. It’s quite common to be sanding and have the disc suddenly take flight.
Mike–with his vast garage work area–brought the sander into the kitchen to take off the sanding pad/Velcro attachment area, so I thought I’d give you a quick tutorial on taking off the sanding pad and replacing it. However, things took a little turn so, instead, we’ll talk about taking it off then converting it for stick-on discs.
Start by flipping the sander on its back, then remove the three screws holding the sanding pad in place.
Once you lift the pad off the base, you’ll notice a center hub/spacer. If it comes off, just make note of how it goes back on–or if you’re like me and afraid you won’t remember how it goes back together, take pictures of each step for reference as you reassemble.
Now, we truly intended to go purchase a new $25 sanding pad–which is ridiculous when a new sander can be had for between $60-75–so if you’re changing the pad take the steps outlined. However, if you decide to convert it to a stick-pad, I don’t think you really need to take off the sanding pad…but, that’s just a guess!
Once it was apart, Mike got to thinking: it would be so much easier to purchase and use only one type of sanding discs (stick on) and since the pad is already worn, why not try to smooth it down even more?
So, we headed to the garage and he pulled out the tabletop vertical sander and sanded the sanding pad! I should have taken video because the friction of sand paper to Velcro sanding pad caused the pad to go flying several times! Once Mike wrangled it he was able to smooth the surface enough to use it for the self-adhesive discs.
If you’re going to convert your Velcro pad to a stick-on type, and you have an additional orbital sander, maybe you can put the Velcro type one (without disc on it) against another sander with a disc and sand down the Velcro pad that way…just a thought and I’m not responsible for any damage to you, your property or sanders if it all goes south!
Anyway, once the pad was smoothed out, he reversed the process, reassembled the sander, stuck on a new disc and it works like a charm. $25 saved and a nagging inconvenience put to rest!
Nsteadonline 