Bench top belt sander conversion.

[Dan Tandberg]

Most of us have an old hand-held belt sander in our shop.  I find that mine is rarely used, since there is almost always a better tool for the job.  I decided to make a conversion to a convenient bench top version.  I plan on mostly using this for quick rough shaping rather than finish smoothing, but a fine grit belt could easily be used for finishing as well.   I designed the jig so it would be easily convertible back to hand-held if desired, and of course I had do do it using only free dusty scraps and parts already laying around my shop.  I sized it carefully so I could quickly clamp it to my work bench using the vise as shown.  It came out really nice, so I thought I would show off some pictures.

Most hand-held belt sanders have a flat side, so I put this down.  If there are cooling intake holes, make sure these are not blocked.  My tool is held in position with two wooden cleats screwed to the scrap plywood base. On the left side rear, a 3/8" lag screw covered with high-start rubber goes through an existing hole in the handle.  A hardwood post with a piece of scrap wood uses a shop-made hand screw to snug everything down. Finally, a small table in front was made from a slippery scrap of Melamine.

Different brands of belt sanders will take slightly different layouts. If you don't have an old one, working garage sale sanders go for $4-6.  This jig literally takes me 30 seconds to set up and seemed like a good idea to share.

[Gregg Goris]

Dan,

Nice use of "what you have"!   The ease of removability is certainly a nice touch.

Tool design seems a neat intersection of practicality, economy of effort and cost.  (and a little dab of fun)

Don't forget the 90 degree guide fence.

Gregg

BTW, I made a new batch of sanding blocks.   Some extras for the other builders.

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[Dan Tandberg]

 90 degree guide fence:  I just use a pencil line on the table.  Good enough for modeling.