10" Cloth PSA Sanding Discs, 20 PACK

A 10" disc sander lives or dies by how well the disc stays flat and stuck to the platen, and that is where paper discs give up first: the rim frays, the adhesive lets go at the edge, and the disc starts slapping. These 10" pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) discs put resin-bonded aluminum oxide on an X-weight poly-cotton cloth that shrugs off the heat and pressure a stationary disc sander puts into it, so the disc keeps cutting until the grain is spent rather than until the backing tears.

They are the working disc for the 10" platen on bench disc sanders and belt/disc combination machines in small woodshops, turning shops, model shops and school shops. Sold as a pack of 20 in a single grit from 24 through 600, so you can stock a coarse shaping disc and a fine finishing disc without buying more of either than you will use.

• Aluminum oxide grain resin-bonded to X-weight cloth; resists heat, pressure and rim tearing
• Full range on one listing: 24, 36, 40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 150, 180, 220, 320, 400 and 600 grit
• PSA backing sticks flat to a clean steel or aluminum 10" platen with no clips or hooks
• Cloth backing stays flat after peeling and re-sticking a fresh disc; no edge curl
• Pack of 20 keeps a bench disc sander stocked through a full project cycle
• Converted in Anaheim, California; free shipping on orders over $200

Which grit should you buy for a 10" bench disc sander?

Every disc in this listing is aluminum oxide, the right grain for a bench disc sander. It is tough enough for hardwood end grain and mild steel, forgiving at the light pressure a hand-fed workpiece puts on the disc, and it keeps cutting (just more slowly) as the edges round over instead of glazing the way harder grains do without heavy load. Pick the grit by the job, not the number that came on the machine.

• 24–40 grit: fast shaping. Truing bandsawn curves to a line, hogging end grain on thick stock, knocking corners off blanks before the lathe, dressing a rough-cast aluminum edge.
• 60–80 grit: the disc most shops leave on the machine. Squaring end grain, fitting mitres, sanding to a scribed line, cleaning up plywood edges. 80 grit removes the 40 grit scratch and still cuts quickly.
• 100–150 grit: refining end grain and mitres before hand sanding, easing small parts, shaping pen blanks and model parts where a 60 grit disc takes too much per pass.
• 180–220 grit: end grain that will be finished straight off the disc, small hardwood parts, chamfers and edge profiles that go under oil or lacquer.
• 320–600 grit: fine finishing on small parts, deburring and polishing brass, aluminum and mild steel edges, flattening the back of a small tool or plane iron on the platen.

If you only buy two packs, buy 60 or 80 for daily work and 150 or 220 for finish passes. Add a 36 grit pack if you shape a lot of curved or thick stock.

Grit guide for end grain, mitres and shaping on a disc sander

What machines take a 10" PSA disc?

• 10" bench disc sanders with a steel or cast-aluminum platen and a tilting table. Check the platen diameter, not the nameplate; a 10" disc on a 10" platen should sit flush to the rim with no overhang.
• Belt/disc combination sanders whose disc side is 10". The disc side is where mitres and end grain get squared; the belt handles long edges and faces.
• Platen and stationary disc sanders in school, model and turning shops that were built around a 10" adhesive disc.
• Portable disc sanders and random orbital sanders were named on the old page for this product; in practice a 10" disc belongs on a stationary platen, and we would steer hand-held users to a 5" or 6" disc.

These are PSA (sticky-back) discs. They will not attach to a hook-and-loop platen without a PSA conversion pad. There is no arbor hole; the disc covers the whole platen face. On a 10" machine the rim runs considerably faster than the centre, so do your cutting on the outer two-thirds of the disc and use the inner third only for very light work on small parts.

How to get the most out of a 10" PSA disc

1. Prepare the platen. Peel the old disc, then wipe the platen with a solvent such as mineral spirits or denatured alcohol until it is clean and dry. Old adhesive under a new disc is why discs bubble and go out of flat.
2. Apply from the centre out. Peel the liner back a few inches, register the disc centre on the platen centre, then work outward pressing the disc flat with the palm of your hand or a roller. Trapped air near the rim is what lets the edge lift.
3. Sand on the down-running side only. On the side of the disc travelling down toward the table, the disc presses the work onto the table. On the up-running side it throws the work at you and lifts it off the table. Mark the down side on the machine if you share the shop.
4. Keep the work moving. Parking a piece in one spot on the disc burns the wood and loads that ring of grain. Sweep across the disc face and let the grain cut with moderate pressure.
5. Step grits in order. 36 → 60 → 80 → 120 → 150 → 220. Skipping more than one grade leaves scratches you will find under the finish.
6. Clean the disc. Hold a crepe-rubber belt eraser against the running disc when it loads with resin or pitch; a cleaned aluminum oxide disc has a lot of life left in it.
7. Remove it warm. Run the machine for a minute before peeling a spent disc. Warm adhesive comes away with the cloth instead of staying on the platen.
8. Store discs flat in the pack, liner on, away from heat and sun. Cloth discs stored on edge or in a hot truck develop a set and stick unevenly.

Use it for / don't use it for

Use it for

• Squaring and truing end grain on hardwood and softwood
• Fitting mitres, chamfers and compound angles against the tilting table
• Shaping bandsawn curves, turning blanks, pen blanks and model parts to a line
• Plywood, MDF and particleboard edges
• Deburring and blending mild steel, aluminum and brass edges
• Flattening small tool backs and plates on the platen at 320–600 grit

Don't use it for

• Hook-and-loop platens without a PSA conversion pad
• Hand-held random orbital or angle sanders; use a 5" or 6" disc there
• Heavy grinding on stainless or hardened steel; that is a zirconia or ceramic job on a belt
• Wet sanding; these are dry-use discs
• Re-sticking a disc that has already been peeled off the platen

Specifications

Frequently asked questions

Related products and guides

• All cloth-backed PSA sanding discs, 5" to 30"
• 12" Cloth PSA Sanding Discs, 10 pack
• 8" Cloth PSA Sanding Discs, 20 pack
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