Reversing Lathe Rotation

How does that differ from reversing the sander and the lathe? Or is that a double negative? :-) Seriously, I also hand sand between changes of direction.

Juergen

Joe Moran wrote:

Joe Moran wrote: If he was talking about power sanding, as most people do on lathes now, doesn't it make sense to "reverse the sandpaper", in other words turn your power sanding device in reverse rather than the lathe. (clip) ^^^^^^^^^^^^ Joe, it seems like that would work. But, what he was talking about was hand sanding. He felt that reversing the lathe would have an effect no different than holding the sandpaper against the wood with the opposite edge forward.

Hate to leave this thread hanging with this obvious tweak of Tony, who's given me a ration on several occasions, so let me give him (and other doubters) a real example.

Imagine this ( as the edge of your sanding disk. Note, that regardless of the direction of rotation, there is only one point on the arc at which the paper makes radial cuts - 9:00 o'clock. Above and below, it makes cuts either in or out. So, since there is _always_ reverse sanding either side of 9:00, reversing the lathe is _not_ required to sand against previous direction of sanding.

I believe the original post was about handsanding and reversing the lathe for hand sanding has been standard practice for many decades.

And, everyone knows that an orbital sander produces a better finish than the same paper on a rotary sander. Perhaps because of the varying direction of abrasive cutting?

Well, George I was trying to ignore your attempt at annoying me but you seem to want to push the issue. I'm not exactly sure what you are saying about just being off 9:00 and getting reverse sanding. At 10:00 there is barely any difference in angle from 9:00 so the fibers are still predominantly being pushed in the same direction. I generally try to sand at 12:00 so that the direction of the marks from the grit is at a 45 degree angle.

I've never found the time of day matters much at all when sanding.

John Jordan

LOL - that's theory or science, John?

What you want to achieve by sanding is subjective. The fact that all angles of attack are available on a circular disk is just science, which has never been a substitute for a state of mind.

In my experience, if you don't heat and harden (burnish), it matters not a bit which direction you go as you approach pore size.

George & Tony, it's a scientific fact that daylight saving time messes up power sanding at any time of day. Try springing the sandpaper forward or falling it back.

Keep those fibers standing proud; upright and unburnished.

HTH, Arch

Fortiter,

I have found that my box elder objects "fuzz up" after I sand them. They are smooth but some fibers are apparently laying down and raise up after finishing. The ability to reverse lathe spindle direction would address this problem.

If you were sanding shag carpet, I bet you would get through it quicker if you reversed the direction of the lathe to flop the shap the opposite direction on changing grits. One could argue that this should be done with the coarsest grade before grit changing.

Derek

Not the only confusing thing, as we old folks can attest.

Remember pulling up behind a (KC135) tanker over the Pacific and giving him the "5 o'clock, three miles" call, only to have the pilot come back with: "Where that? I've got a digital watch."

About 20 years ago I had to go out and buy an analog clock for the house when my #1 daughter (@10 or 11 at the time) asked, "Daddy, which way is clockwise?"

ARM

Hi Leo. You mentioned in another reply that you sometimes cut in reverse where access is easier... Have you ever tried finish scraping cuts in reverse just prior to starting the sanding sequence?

Seems to me that'd be the optimal approach to laid down fibers. A scraper would be more apt to sever the fibers rather than abrade them away.

_____ American Association of Woodturners Cascade Woodturners Assoc., Portland, Oregon Northwest Woodturners, Tigard, Oregon _____

Greetings,

I paint (acrylic) my spindle turnings while they're spinning (slowly). I'm somewhat familiar with turning techniques, but know next to nothing about painting. Is there anyone out there doing similar work who can suggest what type/brand brushes I might look into ?

If possible, please reply off-group, to:

Thankyou in advance,

Frank Cordes Lakes, AZ

In the past I have painted turned work with aerosol spray car paint. On an open grained wood like ash you can still get total colouring and still see the grain beneath it. Also there are all sorts of colours and effects such as metallic etc.

The other method I have used is to use silk paints which are more like a dye than a paint but they can be mixed or watered down as necessary. As they are water based, wet sanding the wood prior to painting is essential to flatten the grain.

I use ordinary artists brushes for this but I've seen others use sponge 'brushes' for similar paints/dyes. Either way would work and unless the paint or dye is the final finish, the quality of the brush is probably not too critical as a layer of polish will go over the top of the paint anyway.

I hope this is of some use but as always with woodturning, use whatever works for you !

Cheers

Paul

Owen Lowe wrote: (clip) Seems to me that'd be the optimal approach to laid down fibers. A scraper would be more apt to sever the fibers rather than abrade them away. ^^^^^^^^^^^^ Hi, Owen, No, I admit I never made that connection, and it certainly seems like an idea worth trying. However, I suspect that the depth of a typical scraping cut would go into the solid part of the wood, rather than just skimming the "fuzz," so it might not make a difference. Think of lawn mowing vs. turf harvesting.

Still, a test beats a lot of guesswork, so let's try it.

I'm afraid I'll have to pass the aktual testing back to you, Leo. My little midi don't reverse and my Stubby isn't expected to arrive until

Seriously, I'd be interested in hearing if "reverse scraping" works.

_____ American Association of Woodturners Cascade Woodturners Assoc., Portland, Oregon Northwest Woodturners, Tigard, Oregon _____

Hi Owen, All lathes reverse. Depends upon where you stand on the subject. ;) Arch

Fortiter,