How to use a disc sander - Design at Loughborough University

Before using a disc sander ensure that you're wearing all the necessary PPE.

This will be safety glasses, safety shoes and a buttoned-up protective smock or overalls.

Long hair should be tied up, festival bands and dangling jewellery removed

and all clothing tassels or long hair etc. tucked safely away.

You can sand plastics, rigid foam, wood, composites and prolab on the disc sanders in the multi-materials workshop.

The controls on a disc sander are relatively straightforward. There's a green start button and a red stop button.

Once the stop button has been pushed in, it needs to be twisted to enable its release.

The machine won't start unless the button has been released.

Only use the exposed portion of the sander and never remove the yellow guard to expose more of the sanding face.

You must ensure that the workpiece is sitting on the bed of the machine, it's dangerous to hold the piece in mid-air.

Start the machine by pressing in the green button and wait for the sander to come up to maximum speed.

Once it's up to speed you may firmly but gently advance the workpiece onto the rotating disc.

With your workpiece flat on the bed you can rotate it to produce a variety of different profiles to the sanded edge.

Be careful not to apply too much pressure, let the machine do the work.

Too much pressure can easily damage your work and also make the machine a safety hazard.

Once you've achieved the required profile or level of sanding, stop the machine by pushing the red button.

Be aware that the disc takes a few seconds to stop spinning.

Any workpiece that brings your fingers within 25 millimetres of the moving disc

is too small for the disc sander and must be sanded by hand instead.

And remember, always hold your workpiece on the machine bed and not in the air.