Sandpaper

Can't beat them for price or quality, IMHO... As I learned from George, the "turners bargain box" is exactly that....

20 pounds of assorted roll ends for $30.... I just ordered another box because we're moving out of the country, but I'm still using the almost 2 year old rolls and I use a LOT of sand paper.. Mac

Well, no. Burnishing comes from heat, which is a friction byproduct. Since friction is a product of the coefficient of friction - independant of speed - and the pressure applied, the best way to think of the sanding problem is one of minimum pressure. Paper might not bite as deeply if you don't press, but that helps you two ways, it doesn't cut deep scratches with those few maximum sieve size pieces of grit, nor does it bring the backing into full contact, which will heat, harden and burnish the surface, leaving those scratches standing out against a shiny surface.

In sanding, if you're making shiny, stop, set up the fiber with water to break the case hardening and sand fresh. It's dust you should see, not shine.

I'm a devotee of the Power-Loc system, personally. There's no velcro to be concerned with, the resin on resin full coat gives you a lot of use, and if you sand with lathe on and the sander supported, you can sand with virtually no pressure. Too aggressive to use with the lathe off.

For Velcro-backed, it's tough to beat the green stuff, whose name escapes me at the moment, but is available at Packard Woodworks in USA. The back is thick enough to insulate your plastic hooks, and the loops stay firm to the paper. Best to switch mandrels with it, as it can be a chore removing it from the Velcro.

Hi John

I get my sandpaper from stockroom supply, they sell klingspor hook and loop in rolls for the drumsanders, it comes in 2" 3" 4" and more widths and 5 yards long or 50 meters etc, I just cut them to size, that way cost is in the 6 to 10 cent a piece mark. they also have foam pads etc, have a look, I find them good to deal with.

I wonder what sandpaper other turners are finding "best". (Keeping in

JD, I've tried a lot of different sandpaper and have come to the conclusion that the Norton 3X is by far the best for non-powered sanding. The stuff cuts faster, clogs less and lasts longer than any other paper out there. I have

Tony,

I've had good results with the rolls from Klingspore with the backing for hook and loop mounting. I buy the 3" rolls and simply cut it in 3" squares. I use it on either a 2" or a 3" disk without rounding the corners and find it works very well, no need to cut it out round. I can't seem to lay my hands on the Klingspore catalog at the moment, but the paper I'm talking about is different that their old stuff. I find it works very well. We bought a box of roll ends having several different grits and found it works very well. I use it both as a hand held paper and on sanding mandrels in the drill chuck.

Fred Holder

Ken Moon Webberville, TX

On the other end of the spectrum, I can recommend what NOT to get, under any circumstances. DON'T buy dollar-store sandpaper. I thought that I found a cheap solution, but boy, was I wrong. That stuff wore out quickly (which I was expecting). The really irratating part was it left sanding streaks all over the piece that I couldn't get out. I threw away about 100 sheets of that worthless crap. I learned the hard way that 'you get what you pay for'. I had to spend a few days away from the lathe because of my head hurting from pounding it against the wall.

A Wally goodie? At least thats where I got it. A definate waste of money.

First thousand and four

Mind the wrap.

Also look at the flex edge setup for sanding where the curvature is fast. It's still ahead of the Velcro in service life, but gets inside boxes and such. I love it for the bowls of the spoons I carve. You can use it lathe off, with caution, and it's _extremely_ fast.

Ideal situation is to use the flexible shaft, I have discovered. Allows you to set the handpiece on the toolrest, and use the whole setup like a 2" rotating scraper. Low pressure preserves the shape of your piece while clearing dust better than pressing and resanding, both desirable outcomes. Prolong the life of even these disks by sanding in the center inch or so on convex surfaces. Can't escape sanding on the rim on concave.

This is good, but the gray-handled one at LV was a three-year user for me too. MUST have bearings, not bushings like those that you find at Menards. Old washing machine motor works for power, makes almost no noise, so you can keep your muffs off, and stays clean away from the business end.

Thanks Fred & Ken

No, I don't even go to that evil place anymore. This was at an actual dollar store, GreenBacks I believe.

I'm using a shop built flex coupler that pretty much sucks right now...

Mac