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Sanding techniques

2K views 5 replies 6 participants last post by  Gary0855 
#1 ·
I'm learning alot from you guys....thank you, thank you, thank you.

Could you educate me on sanding techniques? I see many turners just use sandpaper with their hands. I see others use a cordless or electric drill (what kind of attachments do I need to purchase for sanding with a drill)? I also see some turners use palm sanders....what are good palm sanders to use?

"Any" other tips or sanding tricks that I might use?

Thanks again,
Dick
 
#2 ·
I use them all. One thing is to turn your lathe down as slow as you can. I also want to get a sander that that turns as the lathe turns just need to make one I guess.

I have yet to find a way that works in every situation so I do what works at the time.

I use a Makita palm sander. I even go to a beauty supply store and buy professional grade fingernail polishing boards up to 12,000 grit.
 
#3 ·
As ghost5 mentioned, many different methods, and no single method works in all cases.

Hand sanding will generate small scratches around the piece. Ideally each finer grit will make smaller scratches - if the piece is true.

Any unevenness in the surface and the sandpaper may bounce and not remove all the scratches.

Power sanding is with a disc in e.g., a cordless drill. This is one example. Search this site and they also have 3in dia. Small works for some projects, larger works for others. The rotation of the disc sometimes with the lathe on slow, sometimes with the piece being rotated by hand, can remove the circular scratches from sanding with just the lathe.

http://www.woodworkingshop.com/product/kd50054/

After sanding I then buff the piece with Tripoli compound. I highly recommend the Beall buffing system.

http://www.packardwoodworks.com/Mer...de=packard&Product_Code=123901&Category_Code=

This will show me any tool marks or sanding scratches remaining BEFORE I try any finish. The Tripoli compound will not cause problems with any finish. If I find tool marks or scratches, then I need to remove and again buff, so that I can tell when I am ready to apply the finish.
 
#4 ·
Sand with the piece spinning slowly. When hand sanding or power sanding the sandpaper bounces over some grain areas and they just won't sand. What I often do in these cases is turn the lathe off and either hand sand or use the drill to sand just that area. Of course if you do this aggresively with course grits you get a dip in the wood that must be blended into the rest of the bowl. Once this is sanded correctly then you can sand with the bowl spinning at slow speed.
At first when your cutting technique isn't up to par and you get more tearout, hand sanding will be a pain. Sanding with a drill and sanding mandrels will be much faster. I buy my mandrels from http://vinceswoodnwonders.com/
My skills are good enough now that I sand spindles and my mirrors by hand. Some bowls I still find it faster to use the drill. When sanding either with the drill or by hand if your heating up the sandpaper it's not cutting effectively. Slow down the wood or slow down the drill so the paper stays reasonably cool and you'll save the life of the paper and get better sanding.
Any questions on sanding, Ask Vince when you call to place an order. He's a really good sander and knows how to make his tools work.
 
#5 ·
I use sanding disc or sand by hand on the lathe. I have never tried a palm sander with the lathe.
For disc I also use Vinces blue flex disc. He has starter kits and are very good uninformity, quality, and price. He has a lot of tips on the site.
Like most I use the 2” but other sizes are available. I use a hand drill and sometimes add a 90* adapter if needed on the inside of a bowl.
Use a light touch and sharp sandpaper; with the high amount of wood coming past you can melt the velcro on the disc if you get it too hot. After the first couple of grits (80, 100, or 120) it only takes a few seconds with each finer grit. Some folks alternate sanding forward and reverse but I have found no benefit if the paper is sharp.
For small items I hand sand on the lathe; it is easy to remove crisp details with a power sander.
 
#6 ·
I have found that at some point, in the sanding process, I stop the lathe and sand by hand, with the grain. It gets rid of the circles, and cross grain sanding marks.
Light and slow. Resist the urge to lean into it, first of all it burns your fingers, second, it wears out your paper very fast, and third, the best way to get rid of those 80 grit sanding marks is to not put them in there in the first place. I have improved my turning techniques after reading David Elsworth's book and trying some bowl gouge finishing cuts. It really reduces the amount of sanding required.
 
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