Long ago, I bought an oscillating spindle sander. It has been quite useful in my various projects, and to increase its convenience, I created a stand for it. The stand includes several simple drawers to hold sanding-related supplies, and at the base it has swivel casters to allow me to move it around my tiny shop.
However, during a recent project to make a small table for a friend, I was sanding a table leg when disaster struck. As you can see in the pictures above, the support block for the two front casters has encountered some RUD. Today’s project was to repair and reinforce the stand, and that started by removing all of the drawers. Then I proceeded in removing the bolts that secure the sander to the stand. These bolts kept the sander from falling onto me when the caster support broke.
Removing these required a wrench and socket, one for each side. The back bolts were a pain to get to, but luckily my arms have 3 elbows each so I was able to reach around in there to get things lined up. With the sander removed, I could tip the stand on its side and realign the support, and reattach it to the cabinet frame using two dozen 4″ drywall screws.
With that, the casters are back in place, and I can set the cabinet right. It pirouettes just as beautifully now as it did the day I built it.
Since I had everything apart, I figured I’d show a bit of how I constructed this. In the sides of the cabinet, I cut some dados to fit 1/2″ plywood dust frames that both support the drawer above and keep the drawer below from tipping out. The drawers just ride on these supports. A little furniture wax can help that slide happen more easily, but isn’t required. It’s just simple shop furniture, so I didn’t feel the need for fancy full-extension soft close drawer slides.
With the sander remounted and the drawers reinstalled, I’m ready for my next sanding project! With these reinforcements I hope it will last another 7 years or more.
