14" Cloth PSA Sanding Discs, 10 PACK

Once a disc sander moves off the bench and onto the floor, the disc has to survive a heavier motor, a bigger table and operators who lean on it. These 14" cloth PSA sanding discs are built for that machine: resin-bonded aluminum oxide on X-weight poly-cotton cloth, a backing that holds together at the rim under the heat and pressure a floor-standing disc sander generates, where paper discs fray, lift and slap within a shift.

They go on 14" floor and pedestal disc sanders in furniture and millwork shops, pattern shops, boat yards and trade schools, for squaring wide end grain, fitting large mitres, shaping curved parts and dressing aluminum and mild-steel edges. Each pack holds 10 discs of one grit, from 24 through 600, so you buy the coarse disc and the finishing disc separately and in the quantity a single machine actually consumes.

• X-weight poly-cotton cloth backing resists rim tearing under floor-machine load
• Resin-bonded aluminum oxide: fast, forgiving cut on hardwood, plywood, aluminum and mild steel
• 13 grits from 24 to 600 in one listing; shaping through fine finishing
• PSA (sticky-back) mounting on a clean 14" steel or cast platen, no arbor hole
• 10 discs per pack; stock two or three grits without a large outlay
• Converted in Anaheim, California; free shipping on orders over $200

Which grit belongs on a 14" floor disc sander?

The grain is aluminum oxide across the whole range. A floor disc sander delivers more power than a bench machine, but the work is still hand-fed, so pressure stays in the range where aluminum oxide is the most productive grain: it cuts fast, tolerates light pressure on small parts, and wears down evenly rather than glazing. Choose the grit by what the machine spends its day doing.

• 24 and 36 grit: the pattern shop and boat yard grits. Hogging end grain on thick laminated blanks, shaping bandsawn curves in 8/4 and 12/4 stock, truing glued-up segments, roughing wood patterns to the layout line.
• 40 and 60 grit: heavy squaring. Cleaning up crosscut ends on wide boards, shaping large radii, dressing cast aluminum and rough-sawn plywood edges.
• 80 and 100 grit: the everyday disc on a furniture-shop machine. Squaring ends, fitting mitres on wide stock, truing template edges. 80 removes the 40 scratch and still keeps up with production.
• 120 and 150 grit: refining end grain and mitres that will be seen, easing edges, final shaping of pattern surfaces before filler and finish.
• 180 and 220 grit: end grain sanded to finish on the machine, small hardwood components, and the last pass on wood patterns.
• 320, 400 and 600 grit: deburring and polishing aluminum and brass edges, flattening plates, fixtures and small castings, and fine finishing on dense hardwoods.

For a single floor machine, a 36, an 80 and a 150 grit pack cover almost every job that comes to it.

Grit guide for a 14" disc sander

What machines take a 14" PSA disc?

• 14" floor-standing and pedestal disc sanders with a cast-iron or steel platen and a large tilting table. This is the disc's natural home.
• Heavy-duty belt/disc combination sanders whose disc side measures 14" across the platen.
• Pattern makers' disc sanders and platen disc sanders in foundry pattern shops and trade schools built around a 14" adhesive disc.
• The old page also listed portable disc sanders and random orbital sanders. A 14" disc is not a hand-held size; for those tools use 5" or 6" discs on a back-up pad.

These are PSA discs with no arbor hole. They need a bare, clean metal platen; a hook-and-loop face must be removed or covered with a PSA conversion pad. Match the disc to the platen diameter: a 14" disc on a larger platen leaves a bare metal ring that can mark the work, and a disc larger than the platen has an unsupported rim that tears. On a 14" disc the rim travels much faster than the centre, so plan your cutting on the outer band and use the inner third only for light work.

How to get the most out of a 14" PSA disc

1. Clean the platen every change. Peel the spent disc warm, then wipe the platen with mineral spirits or denatured alcohol until no adhesive remains. On a 14" platen, a ridge of old adhesive becomes a high spot that burns one ring of every workpiece.
2. Apply from the centre out. With the machine unplugged, peel back a few inches of liner, locate the disc centre on the platen centre, then press outward in a spiral with your palm or a roller. Air trapped toward the rim is what lets the edge lift at speed.
3. Let the bond build. Give a freshly applied disc a minute or two before you lean into it with 24 grit shaping work.
4. Feed on the down-running side. Use only the half of the disc that is travelling down toward the table so the disc holds the work down. On the up-running side a wide board is lifted and thrown.
5. Move the work across the face. Sweep along the outer band rather than parking in one spot. Dwell burns wood, loads a ring of grain and heats the adhesive.
6. Moderate pressure. Aluminum oxide does not need heavy load to cut; pushing harder only generates heat and shortens disc life.
7. Step grits one or two grades at a time. 36 → 60 → 100 → 150 → 220 is a sensible shop progression.
8. Clean with a crepe eraser. Resinous softwoods, glue lines and paint load the grain; a belt eraser held to the running disc restores the cut.
9. Run the dust collector. A 14" disc moves a lot of dust; extraction keeps the disc from loading and keeps fine dust out of the shop air.
10. Store spare discs flat in the pack, liners on, out of heat and sunlight so the cloth stays flat and the adhesive stays live.

Use it for / don't use it for

Use it for

• Squaring and truing end grain on wide boards and glued-up panels
• Fitting large mitres and compound angles on the tilting table
• Shaping bandsawn curves, wood patterns, templates and boat parts to a line
• Plywood, MDF and laminated edges
• Dressing and deburring aluminum castings, brass and mild steel plate edges
• Flattening small plates, fixtures and jigs at 320–600 grit

Don't use it for

• Hook-and-loop platens without a PSA conversion pad
• Hand-held sanders; use 5" or 6" discs there
• Heavy grinding on stainless or hardened tool steel, which belongs on zirconia or ceramic belts
• Wet or coolant-fed sanding; these are dry-use discs
• Platens larger or smaller than 14"
• Re-sticking a disc that has already been peeled off

Specifications

Frequently asked questions

Related products and guides

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