PC Pad Sizes ?

[Rob_K]

Hi Everyone,



I was wondering about the PC pad sizes and the backing plate.

I noticed that the 6" and 6.5" pads fit the 5" backing plate with some overhang. I was wondering about the 6" backing plate and 6" pads. Do they fit exactly?



The reason I`m asking is I`m getting a 6" backing plate but was going to order pads from Top of the Line. I took a close look at their pads and they seem to taper for 1/2" which means there would only be 5.5" of surface area for the 6" backing plate.



I could also order 6" pads from rightlook.com but they say to use a 5" backing plate. Does this mean there is only 5" of velcro on the back of the pad? Is it OK to use a 6" plate on these pads?

Would the fit??



I live in Canada so it is difficult to find supplies and CMA does not ship here. Coastal Tool, rightlook.com and TOL do.



Thanks,



Rob

[BradE]

Rob,



The surface area of the pad is the part of the pad that comes into contact with the surface, or the "useable" area. So, while the surface area maybe 5.5`` the actual pad size is 6``. TOL uses the same supplier as CMA for their orbital pads, Lake Country Manf. The pads from TOL will work fine with the 6`` backing plate.



For a rule of thumb I like to never to above 1.5`` for backing plate to pad size. For example, if you have a 6`` backing plate, then you can use up to 7.5`` pads. You don`t want to go much over that because it can be difficult to get proper pad balance and you could cause the machine to vibrate. Remember always center the pad properly on the backing plate. :up

[Rob_K]

Thanks, the TOL pad I was talking about actually has the taper going from botton to top. The surface area that touches the car looks like 6" but the plate side looks like 5". That`s why I was wondering if a 6" plate would fit.

http://store5.yimg.com/I/tolae_1678_957737 (`http://store5.yimg.com/I/tolae_1678_957737`)

Here are the pads from rightlook. They recommend a 5" inch plate and was wondering if it would fit a 6"

http://www.rightlook.com/cgi-bin/checkitout/checkitout.cgi?rightlooSTORE:CKIE:prodDP1580+ (`http://www.rightlook.com/cgi-bin/checkitout/checkitout.cgi?rightlooSTORE:CKIE:prodDP1580+`)

Thanks

[BTW574]

I have a question on this to. Last year I bought the CMA kit for my Porter Cable. I was going to order some new pads for this year. I checked my backing plate and it is a 5" and the pads they sent were 6". So do I order 5" or 6" pads. The only thing that makes me wonder about using a 5" pad on a 5" plate is that the plate might hit something and ding something as you are using the PC. With the pad being bigger than the plate You get alittle cushion if you might hit a molding or something.