An eight inch sander will work just fine. The added bonus of being able to use an 8 1/2 x 11" sheet of wet or dry sandpaper for various metal finishing needs.

A disc sander works OK for recoil pads, but once you try a Wilton Belt sander for pads you'll never go back........DJ

I'm with dj, belt sander is the way to go. I may hit a pad on a disc sander to speed things up, but once it get serious a belt sander is the way to go, I have a 2", it works fine.

How big a wheel do you need to do a credible job on recoil pads?

Seems like I always have one to install, and end up driving waaayyyy down the road to use a friend's 10". So I'm wondering if an 8" benchtop unit would be sufficient.

My experince is a bit different, not necessarily any better though. I have two belt sanders and two discs. The belts will take a lot of material off but I get a better finish with a 12" disc.

I always had trouble getting the rubber to come to the same contour of the hard plate at the bottom. I noticed once that Gary Goudy's were flush with each other and asked him how he did it and he said a disc sander and the bigger the better. His, I believe, is a 16". My 12" does a good job. I may remove the majority with a belt but the final gets done on a disc.

If I had to choose one or the other it would be a disc for this purpose.

Chic,

What grit# do you use? I bought this disc sander just for recoil pads, but I haven't mastered it yet. Maybe mine's too coarse.

I have a 6x48 belt AND 12" disk combo sander.... $229 from harbour freight, free delivery....

ya, sure, it'll get a 220v motor sooner or later, BUT it rocks for pad works... I got the el nasty cheapo "installation" kit from brownells... and it makes a really damn good toe on the pad....

a "silvers" PINK pad drives me insane... orange dust everwhere....looks like the cheetos cheetah went through a snow blower

belt for hoggin, disk for finish

jeffe

mine is a 2x42, I would like to get a variable control on it, mine is a little fast. Belt is the the only way to go.

I traded my band saw off, wish I had it back, I can't cut a stock off straight to save my life now. I'm just a hobbiest so its not that big a deal.

In 28 years of Gunsmithing I have used a Baldor 2X48 belt sander and would not use anything else. Much more control than a disc sander. Have used several disc sanders of different sizes and will always stick to my belt sander. Have mounted hundreds of pads and love my belt sander. Also for cutting a stock to length a good band saw is the best.
With a good blade there is never any chipping even on Browning high gloss stocks.

I have to agree with DJ and Gringo. I have ground more than a few pads. A belt sander is easier and more forgiving than a disc.