I'd like to make a disc sander

[dennis thompson]

I'd like to make a disc sander, obviously I need a motor. There is a very old Craftsman radial arm saw on craigslist which I can buy for $30.
Do you think this would work for me? The seller doesn't know how old it is but it was his grandfathers so I'm guessing 30 years old at least.
Thanks

[Cary Falk]

My first thought was it might be underpowered and hard to mount. How big of a disc are you looking to build?

[John TenEyck]

I would look for a common 1 HP or similar sized motor that is more easily bolted to a base. Plenty of them on E-Bay for less than $100.

John

[Ray Selinger]

I bought an 8" disc that fit on the end of a shaft and put it on 1/4hp. Worked. Later for $100 I found a used BusyBee (Grizzly) 6x48/9". Worked much better. I use the belt sander part all the time.

[Bruce Page]

I agree that the RAS motor would be difficult to mount,
Here's a nice shop built sander: Built myself a 12" disc sander from a furnace motor and shop scraps. (video)