Sanding pad reconstruction

[Clay Schaeffer]

You have to love urethane foams - the kind that self destruct over time. I've had that happen on a Makita planer I own and the sanding pads for my PC sanders. I ordered some new pads for my sanders, but decided to see if I could "rebuild" the old ones. I didn't want to do the "six million dollar man" thing to them, but if I could put something together relatively easily and cheaply it might be worth the effort.
The first thing I did was remove the old foam and glue residue from the fiberglas backer. Then I cut some foam discs out of the floor mats we know and love. I used a large HF hole saw, and a smaller Vermont American hole saw to create the pad. It's not quite 5 inches - but close enough. I cut out the recess in the pad with a pocket knife to allow the reinforcement plate and rivets to recess into the pad. I glued the pad onto the backing with weldwood contact cement. I left one pad as a PSA type, on another one I glued an old mylar micron hookit disc to the face. Hookit is the opposite of hook and loop, so it effectively makes a hook and loop pad. I will glue a hook and loop disc to the last one to make a Hookit pad.
3 out of the 4 rebuilt pads worked O.K., but one made the sander run rough and noisy - maybe a balance thing. I'm happy enough with the results.

[Bob Francis]

75% success is as good as chip manufacturers hope for.
Clever!