Sanding disks

[John K Jordan]

Vince, with due respect, I had a little trouble following your post. I am certain there is more wisdom in there than I (humbly) distilled, but can you help me summarize your points - in case others had trouble reading this: ...

The text on that message was run together and so hard to read I just gave up. Too bad, looked like some interesting stuff hidden there.

I do very little power sanding, sand mostly by hand, and before moving to a finer grit I ALWAYS sand across the scratches I just made with the paper I just used, preferably with the grain. My theory is if the sandpaper in my hand won't get rid of the scratches I see, those scratches are probably deeper scratches left over from an earlier coarser grit - moving to a finer grit will never remove them. If there is a problem, fix it now before wasting time and a bunch of finer sandpaper.

When I do power sand, I use a 2" random orbital sander and a slow and gentle speed, mostly with the lathe turned off. It is sad to see otherwise beautiful work with circular sanding scratches. I haven't used a rotary power sander for years. After hand scraping with small steel card scrapers I rarely use anything coarser than 320. I have no problem with those who power sand with 60 and 80 grit but the card scraper method eliminates clouds of dust, saves me a lot of time, and preserves detail.

Just yesterday I got a 3" random orbital sander from Ken Rizza (Woodturners Wonders) that I'll try out and review when I get or make some 3" sanding disks.

JKJ

[Dan Jechura]

I also use Vince "s products but I am still trying to decide if I like the blue or green or gold backed disk"s better. I do like woodcraft's 3 inch wave edge sand paper.

Dan jechura

[Vince Welch]

I really should not try to write post at 2 a.m. sorry about that poorly written post. Here is a shorter version of what I was trying to say for those who did not understand.
1. The sanding progression most folks are aware of is not skipping more than50% of the grit you are using. Ex 80,120,180,240,320 etc. If you are having success using this progression… fantastic! However, if you are not happy with your results then perhaps option 2 is a better choice.
2. Option 2. Take smaller steps through your sanding progression! Ex 80, 100, 120, 150, 180, 240, 320. The advantage is if your 120 grit is worn but you have not tossed it and as a result the 120 grit disc does not perform as well as it should then using option 2 (taking smaller steps) may be the better option for you. The reason is because while the 120 grit did not perform as you expected you sanded the piece with 100 and 150 grits before and after the 120 so chances are you will still have a high sanding success rate even using the worn 120 grit by mistake. The cost requires you adding 100 and 150 grits to your abrasive arsenal. However, my experience shows me taking smaller steps through the grits allows me to spend less time using each discs. I am able to use the discs on more projects as a result. More importantly, I have higher a success rate using option 2.
In regardsto using any brand… what I tell folks if to try to stay with one brand that you like because all brands are not all the same! A 320 grit from company may very different from another! Just becausethey are all rated under the FEPA or P system does NOT mean they are the same. This is a common misconception. Often folks will have abrasives from different manufactures they have bought over time. For example, I have a 240 grit disc from a popular manufacture and a 240 grit disc from another popular manufacture and they are not the same even though they are both rated under the FEPA or P system! Again go with one brand that works best for you! Hopefully this is more clear and easier to understand. Thanks, Vince

[Vince Welch]

Vince, with due respect, I had a little trouble following your post. I am certain there is more wisdom in there than I (humbly) distilled, but can you help me summarize your points - in case others had trouble reading this:

1) Don't overuse grits. If you don't know if your paper is too worn, use a fresh piece and compare with your fingers.
2) Don't be embarrassed to start at lower grits.
3) Using grits in close succession is insurance about using slightly overworn paper at a particular stage.

Last, can you share your thoughts on powersanding speed? I believe you recommend slowing down at higher grits because the paper can load?

My thought concerning power sanding speed... Most folks use a drill to power sand and that works well. A drill provides torque that helps dig out deep scratches and tools marks especially with the lower grits. I use firm pressure NOT HARD pressure allowing the sanding discs to do the work! For a 12-13 inch bowl lathes speed starts at 600ish RPM and my drill speed is half throttle. My drill never gets hot! It might get a bit warm but generally that is all. What I do is feel the resistance of the abrasive discs against the wood piece. Just like when we use our turning tools we feel for the cut. Well we can also feel for the resistance of the abrasive against the wood. Because when we are sanding we are cutting/abrading the wood or skating/skidding across the wood. We want to maximize our cutting and minimize our skidding across the wood. Controlling your sanding speed is one way one way to make that happen. Finally, because 320 grit is not as aggressive as 80 grit as I progress through the grits I lower my lathe speed each grit. So while I may start at 600ish per 12-13 bowl when I am sanding with 320 grit my lathe is probably only spinning 100 rpm. I hope this helps, Vince

[Aaron Craven]

...when I am sanding with 320 grit my lathe is probably only spinning 100 rpm...

WARNING: Whining to follow...

The fun of my lathe is that 550rpm is the slowest possible speed... *sigh*

[Prashun Patel]

Thanks for both of your follow ups, Vince. I personally got a good deal out of both of them...