VincesWoodNWonders.com
Email: WoodNWonders@Excite.com PHONE 812-284-4661
or 1-877-284-8969(VWNW)
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VincesWoodNWonders.com
Email: WoodNWonders@Excite.com PHONE 812-284-4661 or 1-877-284-8969(VWNW) |
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Toll Free Number 1-877-284-8969 1-877-284-VWNW
Visa and MasterCard Accepted!
3 Ways to Order Products 1. Simply email Vince listing your order. 2. Call 812-284-4661 or 1-877-284-8969 and place your order. 3. Download the Woodturner form.xls and attach form to an email.
Brochures and Order Forms Vince's Wood Turner Catalog Winter 2007 PDF Vince's Wood Turner order form Winter 2007.xls Vince's Wood Working Shop catalog.pdf
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Over a period of time I have spoken to many turners concerning sanding and finishing. Some professional turners as well as knowledgeable enthusiasts. This page is offered as a guide that may help you develop a sanding process that works best for you. When it comes to sanding there are two variables that I end up measuring. The first being success and the second is frustration! If I am sanding correctly and everything is flowing and working well my success level is high and my frustration level is low. The outcome obviously is that my project is completed successfully. Adversely, when things are not going well it is usually when I have finished sanding and believe that I have done a good job sanding only to find scratch marks or worse yet tool marks that I need to go back and sand out. Much less now then in years past but still that is very frustrating! As stated before I have reached out to other turners to find out what works best for them and why. Please look over this page and try these some or all of these suggestions. Also feel free to contact me with your results. Vince
I believe a good place to start is defining sanding abrasives as a cutting tool. After all that is what abrasives do is cut, right? However I would encourage you to think of your abrasives as a finishing tool not a turning tool! I do not believe they are made to shape your project. Your abrasives should bring your project to an acceptable tactile or sense of touch. So how do we get there? First, in many instances we need to slow the lathe down when power sanding! Many people prefer to power sand their projects. Power sanding is using a drill usually a 3/8 angle drill and sanding the project while it is on the lathe. Placing a mandrel/shank in the drill provides backing for for the disc. Using an innerface pads can be a nice investment. Innerface pads usually come in firm and soft backing and go between the shank and the disc. Generally they are less expensive then shanks and easy to replace. I recommend having a couple of each on hand. Remember, abrasives are finishing tools not turning tools so we do not a lot of speed. Generally 500-700 RPM is plenty. Again remember abrasives are a cutting tool and we have to provide the abrasive the opportunity to do it job that is cut! When one cranks up the lathe to high speeds generally the disc depending on the grit will begin to skid over the wood. Yes there will be cutting/sanding taking place at high speeds but the ratio of cutting/sanding vs. the abrasive skidding across the wood is decreasing as the speed of the lathe is increasing. It is simple to remember. Efficiency is Decreasing when Speed is Increasing! An additional benefit from slowing the lathe speed down is that you also increase the life of your abrasives! Thus, you may save money by slowing lathe speed down. Your discs will also last longer especially your high grit discs. What causes shanks and pads to fail is heat. Heat that is caused by speed, friction and excessive pressure. Slower speeds and less pressure will help resolve this issue. Both shanks and innerface pads generally use Velcro to hold the pad and disc. Generally Velcro that we are use to seeing in these applications use a J-hook. The shanks and pads I provide have a low profile Micro Hook material that provides stronger long lasting holding power then J-hook Velcro. I often ask people to place 1/4 of a disc on 1/4 of a micro hook shank and play tug of war with someone at a their local woodturning meeting. The two will not separate. You can rip the disc off the pads but it will not pull or slide off the shank. This means the days when you are sanding and off flies your disc onto the floor are a thing of the past. There are different types of abrasives on the market for different applications and the type of abrasives used most common in woodturning is Aluminum Oxide. Aluminum Oxide is used because of it hardness. Microscopically what happens is when the abrasive disc is being used and the sharp edges start to become worn they fracture and fragments from that worn surface eventually breaking off the disc creating new sharp edges that provide you with a new cutting surface. Grit range is dictated by the size of the grit particles placed on the disc. Some manufactures allow for more tolerances in their grit application. Because of this, for example, a 220 grit many vary between manufactures. My Blue Flex Micro Film has addresses these issues by electro statically charging the film backing of my product before placing the abrasive on the film. When the abrasive is placed on the film because the film has been charge the heavy portion of the abrasive clings to the film first. This allows for a more uniform grit pattern and provides you a more consistent abrasive. The difference is immediately noticeable. Look on my feedback page for comments from fellow turners. Because we now better understand how abrasives break down and wear we can better understand why it is so important to use fresh, clean abrasives. Once a 180 grit disc has been worn do not try to use it as a 220 or higher disc. You will find that your product finish will be much better by using the correct disc grit and keeping discs clean from build up. One of the biggest helpful hints I can offer someone regarding sanding is to create a sanding process and stick to it. Jimmy Tolly from Austin Texas states very simply, "I always start at 80 grit and work through ALL of my grits never skipping a grit." I remember him sharing this with me years ago and it still holds true today. There seems to be a need or want to be able to start sanding your project at a high grit. Today if I believe that I could start sanding my project with a 150 or 180 grit I will always start sanding with 80-120 grit. The reason is what will take me only a matter of a minute or two at 120 grit could drag out for many minutes 5-10 with a 180 grit starting point. I am not in competition with anyone and sanding is not a race. In speaking to Andrew Brown, a professional turner from Louisville Kentucky Andrew makes some very good points. In a recent conversation he told me, "I tell my students to take their time. If you have taken the time to turn your project take your time and finish your project. Use the correct abrasive (Aluminum Oxide) for wood products as well as a quality abrasive. Finishing is not a competition!" People often ask which grits do I need. I currently offer the following grits: 80,120,150,180,220,280,320,400,600,800,1200,2000 in my Blue Flex Micro Film and up to 4000 grit in Silicon Carbide Waterproof Finishing Discs. The smaller steps you take in your sanding process the less time you should be spending with each grit. The larger jumps between grits will require more time spent with each grit. One thing for certain be sure to either wipe off and blow off your project between grits removing any dust from the previous grit. This helps allow the disc being used next to work at is best. Once having begun the sanding process and you have removed the tools marks with your first sanding grit then you are simply removing the previous scratch patterns from the grit before. 180 Grit removes 150 grit marks, 220 grit removes 180 grit marks etc. Sanding should be a process not a struggle. Donna Mansfield suggests "slow speed and wet sand up to the second to the last grit of her sanding process with the exception of thin projects". My Blue Flex Micro Film allows for wet sanding without the disc falling apart or breaking down like with many paper backed discs. There are many different sanding suggestions one can try. If you have a lathe that allows you to reverse direction one can changed direction as they change disc grits. Wet Sand as previously mentioned. In talking with Nick Cook from Marietta, Georgia Nick offered some great advice. He stated " be sure that you are standing in the correct position while power sanding and using the correct side of the discs. There is a mechanical advantage in having the disc spinning in the opposite direction the lathe is spinning. This will maximize your sanding efforts." What this means is if your project is spinning towards you downward insure the disc rotation is spinning upward. Using a Random Orbital Sander (ROS) provides a very nice finished surface. ROS is best used at higher grits. That is 280-320 and higher. The best word that I can used to describe the sanding action is a finesse type of sanding action rather then a spinning action we get from our drill. There is a noticeable difference in being able to use a ROS but it also has some requirements. I suggest using at least a 60 Gallon tank compressor and his type of unit will require a 220 volt outlet. Recommended PSI is 90 on these units. Yes you can use a 25-30 gallon tank but you will be decreasing the life of your compressor unit motor running the unit for more than 10-15 minutes per hour says compressor manufacturer Campbell Hausfeld.
More will be added to this page as time allows. Please check back for updates!
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