New Life for Worn Hook-and-Loop Discs

It's late at night. All the stores are closed. You've got a project that needs sanding and you just wore out your last random-orbit sandpaper disc. You've got plenty of regular sandpaper, but your favorite sander only accepts hook-and-loop-backed abrasives. What to do?

Keep sanding! From a sheet of regular sandpaper, cut out a disc the same size as the original. Then, find a bolt the same diameter as the dust-collection holes in your disc. Grind the end of the bolt concave so it works as a punch. Put the new disc on a piece of scrap softwood, place the old disc on top of it, and punch out dust-collection holes using the old disc as a template. Glue the back of the new disc to the face of the old one with spray adhesive, stick it on the sander, and you're right back in business.
—Marilyn Bachelder, Berwick, Maine