The Best Sandpaper Yet

[Tom Wesenberg]

Last week I gave a tip about adding two layers of duct tape 90* to each other to the back of thin sandpaper to at least triple the life of the sandpaper. That worked well, but today I think I discovered something even better.

I was at the store to buy some 1" x 30" sanding belts for my belt sander. I noticed the 4" x 36" sanding belts and how heavy duty they are, so I bought a 5 pack for $6.74 with my 25% coupon. My palm sander takes 4 1/2" x 5 1/2" sheets, but 5 1/2" is actually about 3/8" too long to fit comfortably under the clamps. I made the first cut in the belt right across the splice, so the splice doesn't wind up in the middle of the sander, then continued to cut the belt into 5 1/8" long pieces. Each belt will make exactly 7 sheets, so this very heavy duty sandpaper only costs me 20 cents a sheet and should really hold up until the grit is dull. The 1/4" I'm short on each edge won't hurt much.

[HDowse]

Tom:
If you haven't seen their catalog or website, check out Klingspor's Woodworking Shop
(woodworkingshop.com). They have a wide range of good sandpapers, some in bulk at good prices, as well as nice tools to dream about owning. I've used their sanding discs for years with good results.

[youngster]

Great tip Tom. I cut my old belts to use on my palm sander.

Here's my sanding tip;

Imade this fixture for my bandsaw to cut the used 7' disc's I get for free from my old work place.









It's simply a piece of 7/8" DOM bolted 2 1/2" from the blade. I keep on of my old blades for this. I found if you cut the disc from the back side, the blade lasts a long time. In an hour I can cut what would have cost me $100 in disc's.

Ron

[Terry, NJ]

I have one of thos little oscilating sanders with the triangular stick on pads. I got a large disc with a similiar backing that I cut the pads out of. The disc was about $3 and I've gotten several pads out of it and there are many left in there. Just a thought!
Terry

[Terry, NJ]

Another "Used to be cheap" source of sanding supplies is Roycesales.com. from Canada. I needed 4" x 21 3/4 (What a size!) belts and they had them at about $1.20@. This was before the Canadian dollar overtook the American so I don't know what they are today. Chack it out!
Terry

[broommaker]

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You fellows are OK with your priceless idea's on the sandpaper trick..

Thanks for sharing....
Jim

[itslow]

Originally Posted by youngster

Great tip Tom. I cut my old belts to use on my palm sander.

Here's my sanding tip;

I made this fixture for my bandsaw to cut the used 7' disc's I get for free from my old work place....

...It's simply a piece of 7/8" DOM bolted 2 1/2" from the blade. I keep on of my old blades for this. I found if you cut the disc from the back side, the blade lasts a long time. In an hour I can cut what would have cost me $100 in disc's.

Use a cheap or old pair of tin snips to keep cutting off the worn edges of the disc after they're used. Increases the lifespan of the disc by a bunch.

[Dave in Boise]

My trick is to use the open weave sanding pads that are used by drywall guys and cut them in 1/2 which also fit nicely on my little oscillating sander and the open (windowscreen) mesh really helps my sander pick up the dust. The paper will not clog up with filler or sawdust..

[Kevin in NJ]

In the past I monitored some forums where autobody guys were.

They all tried the low cost sandpapers and all returned to the name brand 3M and Norton products because they outlasted the cheap stuff so much they were cheaper. It was also interesting that each one found certain products from 3M or Norton worked better. Like they all used the 80 grit Norton for stripping paint, but the 3M for finish stuff or so I think I remember.

I have some cheap paper and found it cuts ok at first and quickly slows down. The name brand stuff seems to keep cutting for a long time. Huge price difference, but there is also a quality difference.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Here's an update on this sanding belt that I cut into pieces for my finishing sander. Today I sanded several boards to make a couple more outboard motor stands, and the same sheet of sandpaper still looks and works like new. Also yesterday I was at the tool store and bought a giant 220 grit sanding belt 36" x 75" for only $13. This should give me a lifetime supply of 220 sandpaper, and it works out to just over a dime a sheet.

[Cool Hand Lurker]

Tom, not sure if you are aware of this place but they have lots of used tools. It is a hole-in-the-wall and tough to find but just look for a 3'x3' yellow sign.

Tried and True Tools
250 Osborne Rd Ne
Minneapolis, MN 55432
(763) 574-0407

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by Cool Hand Lurker

Tom, not sure if you are aware of this place but they have lots of used tools. It is a hole-in-the-wall and tough to find but just look for a 3'x3' yellow sign.

Tried and True Tools
250 Osborne Rd Ne
Minneapolis, MN 55432
(763) 574-0407

Yes, that's the tool store where I bought the giant sanding belt. They are just across the river from me. I'm surprised that anyone not from this area even knew about that store.

[Dave72dt]

Originally Posted by Kevin in NJ

In the past I monitored some forums where autobody guys were.

They all tried the low cost sandpapers and all returned to the name brand 3M and Norton products because they outlasted the cheap stuff so much they were cheaper. It was also interesting that each one found certain products from 3M or Norton worked better. Like they all used the 80 grit Norton for stripping paint, but the 3M for finish stuff or so I think I remember.

I have some cheap paper and found it cuts ok at first and quickly slows down. The name brand stuff seems to keep cutting for a long time. Huge price difference, but there is also a quality difference.

Absolutely correct. I had picked up a bunch of sandpaper at an auction, type that Tom showed and tried it and gave it all to a woodworker. I couldn't get 5 minutes of decent sanding out of it. Worked fine on the wood.

[Tom Wesenberg]

Originally Posted by Dave72dt

Absolutely correct. I had picked up a bunch of sandpaper at an auction, type that Tom showed and tried it and gave it all to a woodworker. I couldn't get 5 minutes of decent sanding out of it. Worked fine on the wood.

Yes, that's all I'm using it for, as I'm building 5 wood stands for outboard motors. I sandblast a lot of metal parts, but seldom sand on steel.