Make Your Lathe a Low-Cost Disc Sander

If you need a sanding disc and table, but your budget or available workshop space won't allow another stationary-machine purchase, build one like this for your lathe. To make the disc, cut a 10"-diameter circle from a flat piece of ³⁄₄ " hardwood plywood and mount it to the faceplate of your lathe. Cut a 10"-diameter piece of sandpaper and adhere it to the disc.

Now, build a 14x14" table, as shown above, also from ³⁄₄ " hardwood plywood. Rout a ³⁄₈ "-deep, ³⁄₄ "-wide miter-gauge slot down the middle. Then, mount the table to the lathe using a pipe nipple and pipe flange. Choose a pipe nipple size that will fit snugly into your tool-rest clamp.
—V.L. Burgess, Titusville, Fla.