Random Orbital sander stupidity, but I'll pass it along anyway

[Cooler]

For years I've spent frustrating moments trying to align my sanding discs to the vacuum holes on my random orbital sander.  

The other day I was joining some plywood panes with 3/8" dowels and I had an "ah-ha" moment.  I stuck two of the dowels in the sanding pad holes and then slipped the sandpaper disc over the dowels.  Voile! Perfect (and instant) alignment.  

Why had I not thought of this before?  It was so obvious.  

Of course after installing the sandpaper I had to remember to remove the dowels. 
  I managed that.

Just in case anyone else has not figured this out I am posting here.

[Large Wooden Badger]

I've seen where someone drills holes in a piece of wood in the same arrangement as a sanding disk.  Puts dowels in the holes about a half in high or so, then put a sandpaper disk over the dowels then set the sander down over the disk, and its all lined up.

[jteneyck]

I've seen where someone drills holes in a piece of wood in the same arrangement as a sanding disk.  Puts dowels in the holes about a half in high or so, then put a sandpaper disk over the dowels then set the sander down over the disk, and its all lined up.

I think that idea was shown in a recent issue of WoodSmith.  


John

[Cooler]

I've seen where someone drills holes in a piece of wood in the same arrangement as a sanding disk.  Puts dowels in the holes about a half in high or so, then put a sandpaper disk over the dowels then set the sander down over the disk, and its all lined up.

OK.  I could see  how that would work.  But more effort than the two dowels.  So I don't think it is worth it as the two dowels worked perfectly.

[R Clark]

Back when I had a five-hole Porter-Cable sander, I took an idea off the Woodsmith shop hints page and made an MDF holder for five different grits of paper.  Each grit had two dowels spaced into the MDF so that I could hold 10 discs of each grit.  When I wanted a new disc, I just slipped the sander over the dowels, pressed down, and, voila, the new disc was affixed to the velcro sanding pad on the sander.

[Huxleywood]

Really slow people like myself just use Abranet, problem avoided.

[Cecil]

The Bosch ROS has said apparatus built into the case lid, but plastic and not wood.

[CARYinWA]

I just flex the disc into a U(Velcro to the outside) with 2 holes at the bottom of the U.  Line up the 2 holes with the 2 corresponding holes on the pad and  stick it down.

[MarkSingleton]

I just flex the disc into a U(Velcro to the outside) with 2 holes at the bottom of the U.  Line up the 2 holes with the 2 corresponding holes on the pad and  stick it down.

[Handplanesandmore]

Mesh discs don't worry about the hole alignment and seem to hold longer.

Simon