$1 Inflatable Sander Replacement DIY

Inflatable sanders are problematic, leakage being a problem with anything full of air. I decided to make a replacement from a piece of dowel, some velcro, and a bolt. The cost is less than $1. I really like the resulting round sander, and I hope you find it useful too.

I cut the piece of dowel to ~2", diameter is ~1.5" this is a good starting size for my application. I then drilled a hole into the approximate center dowel, don't worry if you are slightly off, we fix that in post. Next I epoxy a 1/4" bolt into the hole; once the epoxy is set I cut off the bolt head.

Deburr the bolt if necessary. Next we have to center the dowel. This can be done by chucking the dowel into a lathe. Or chucking the dowel into a drill and spun against a sander. Both can be used to center the dowel, it is critical if the sander is to be operated at high speed that is be centered.

The velcro has an adhesive backing. Cut velcro into a hour glass shape, you may have to try several times to get the right shape, stick it on to the dowel. Next cut a small circle with a wedge cut out.

Trace the template for ~1.5" or ~1" diameter dowel to a piece of velcro backed sand paper, then cut it out. Rescale the template may be needed if the dowel deviates greatly from 1 or 1.5".

At low speed (hand drill) the sander is ready to go when you stick the sand paper on. At high speed such as a die grinder, you'll need to use a rubber band to hold down the flips so that it does fall apart from use. Enjoy