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Thread: Very rough sand paper for a palm sander

  1. #21
    Senior Member Camp10's Avatar
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    Your dealing with end grain... M
    uch tougher to get the scratches
    out. I think you may need to use finer paper to get the results you are after. End grain is rough by nature, it is also prone to checking and splitting. Sand them as smooth as you can, be sure they are dry and that their moisture content is close to the environment they will be used in (keep them in the house for a while) then seal them with tung oil and sand lightly with 400-600 grit paper between coats.
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  2. #22
    Senior Member Camp10's Avatar
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    Ok, after looking at the pics better, I'd say try hand sanding opposite the scratches with 60 grit before switching to finer paper.
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  3. #23

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    Quote Originally Posted by Camp10 View Post
    Ok, after looking at the pics better, I'd say try hand sanding opposite the scratches with 60 grit before switching to finer paper.
    I did that for a while with a palm sander and P60 grit sand paper, with painfully slow progress .

  4. #24

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    If you know of a millwright near you, it would cost little to have him run the disks through a bench planer. That would set them up for fine sanding.
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  5. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by pete lynch View Post
    If you know of a millwright near you, it would cost little to have him run the disks through a bench planer. That would set them up for fine sanding.
    I'll keep that in mind. At the moment I bought P40 sand paper, I figured it would be worth it for $5.33 to just try .

    A belt-sander would be best, but given my lack of an employment situation, I'll have to put that on my list of stuff to buy .

  6. #26
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    Is it possible that you are adding scratch's by using rough sandpaper?
    Sanding is a long process, made worst by doing an end grain section.

    Patience is a virtue, just think of how much easier sandpaper is than say a flat rock.
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  7. #27

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    Quote Originally Posted by hunter63 View Post
    Is it possible that you are adding scratch's by using rough sandpaper?
    Sanding is a long process, made worst by doing an end grain section.

    Patience is a virtue, just think of how much easier sandpaper is than say a flat rock.
    I've considered that, but this is a palm sander that rotates on the spot, it shouldn't make long diagonal scratches. If there are very small scratches from the sand paper, I can't see them and I'm ok with that.

  8. #28
    Senior Member randyt's Avatar
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    If you have any broken window pane, use a chunk of that for a scraper. Secure the disc somehow and scrape it smooth with the glass. It will go quick.

  9. #29

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    Quote Originally Posted by randyt View Post
    If you have any broken window pane, use a chunk of that for a scraper. Secure the disc somehow and scrape it smooth with the glass. It will go quick.
    It occurred to me a little earlier, with the help of someone I met online, that I can rent a belt sander from Home Depot and the whole process would go infinitely faster than if I was using a palm sander.

    Next week I'll give that a try rather than slave away with my palm sander (which works great for finishing, but not so much if I want a millimeter of wood removed).

    [edit]

    I know someone suggested this earlier, but given the time that this will take, I'll take my little setup to them and see if it can do the job at all, just as a trial. If not, I'll just stick to my palm sander... even if it takes so long to do the job.

  10. #30
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    Woodworking, like creating something from other mediums, is an abject lesson in patience. And very often you will find that the item you are working on is destined to become something other than what you had envisioned. Be very careful when belt sanding the end grain because the side the belt is running toward will often split out from the pressure the belt is applying. Especially using a rough grit sandpaper.
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  11. #31
    Senior Member randyt's Avatar
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    that is so right Rick, I started cutting firewood one october and ended up with a log cabin rather than firewood.
    so the definition of a criminal is someone who breaks the law and you want me to believe that somehow more laws make less criminals?

  12. #32

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    A piece of sheared steel works a little better than glass. Less likely to break in you hand too. Not sure I'd use one for end grain.
    An orbital sander will take a lot of time. And you'll get a lot of loading in the sandpaper. You can brush it out with a sturdy nylon brush as long as the wood isn't pine of some sort (anything with pitch in it is going to lacquer up your sandpaper.)

    A belt sander would need to be used carefully, probably with a finer grit than you'd expect.
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  13. #33
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    Belt sanders will sand your hand real fast as well......

    I have in the past, put my belt sander in the vice, up-side down, giving me a flat surface then just held the piece in my hand, motor locked on........and yeah it worked for a couple of pieces...the grabbed and threw the piece, catching my palm and thumb.......when you said in the OP ..."Palm sander" this was my vision.

    Road rash for sure...good thing it happen fast, would have hurt a lot more....slow.
    Last edited by hunter63; 07-21-2013 at 12:13 PM. Reason: splin'
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  14. #34
    Administrator Rick's Avatar
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    You...uh....you seem to be far too well acquainted with your first responders. Perhaps Mrs. Hunter should be doing the maintenance. Just for your safety. You could always supervise of course.
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  15. #35

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    Quote Originally Posted by hunter63 View Post
    Belt sanders will sand your hand real fast as well......

    I have in the past, put my belt sander in the vice, up-side down, giving me a flat surface then just held the piece in my hand, motor locked on........and yeah it worked for a couple of pieces...the grabbed and threw the piece, catching my palm and thumb.......when you said in the OP ..."Palm sander" this was my vision.

    Road rash for sure...good thing it happen fast, would have hurt a lot more....slow.
    I've considered and vetoed that idea. What I'd like to do is to put the coaster in my little setup and then press down lightly with a belt sander for a second or two and see how it goes. Truthfully, I don't know what will happen. The edges on my little holder are glued well with carpenter glue, so I'm not concerned with them breaking free.

  16. #36

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    Quote Originally Posted by LowKey View Post
    A piece of sheared steel works a little better than glass. Less likely to break in you hand too. Not sure I'd use one for end grain.
    An orbital sander will take a lot of time. And you'll get a lot of loading in the sandpaper. You can brush it out with a sturdy nylon brush as long as the wood isn't pine of some sort (anything with pitch in it is going to lacquer up your sandpaper.)

    A belt sander would need to be used carefully, probably with a finer grit than you'd expect.
    I would be surprised if I didn't ruin one or two of the coasters by mistake, but I'll take that option.

  17. #37
    Senior Member hunter63's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Rick View Post
    You...uh....you seem to be far too well acquainted with your first responders. Perhaps Mrs. Hunter should be doing the maintenance. Just for your safety. You could always supervise of course.
    Well, when I give advice many times it's........"Well THAT did NOT work out too well.....so don't do it that way".......
    Show me some one that doesn't make mistakes, I'll show you some one that hasn't done much.....LOL

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  18. #38
    Senior Member randyt's Avatar
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    I've fastened a sheet of course sandpaper to a work bench and rubbed the chunk of wood needing smoothing across it. I've never been real fond of palm sanders.
    so the definition of a criminal is someone who breaks the law and you want me to believe that somehow more laws make less criminals?

  19. #39
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    The first thing I would say is that the problem is you are working green wood, which will not take sanding like dryer wood.

    Second, based on your description you should NOT be using such a low grit sand paper. It takes some time, but you can smooth end grain. I personally would start with no lower than 100g sand paper and I would hand sand it, not use a power tool. Sand small circular motions working the entire surface. Sanding, by its nature, is a very slow process if you want a quality finish. Take out any larger ridges with the 100g sand paper. You should be able to run a coin or other smooth object across the surface without it catching on an edge. After that, go to 150, then 200 working the sandpaper in the same fashion, small circles.

  20. #40
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    That should get you to a prefinish state. Now you have to decide what your sealer is going to be, oil or water based clear, etc. If it isn't as smooth as you want, you can repeat the above steps with a 220 or 250 sand paper. With wood, prefinished state, you really don't need to sand any higher than that. When you are finishing it, thats when you go to the 600g or steel wool.

    Part of the secret of finishing end grain is that the wood itself may not be perfect, but the use of the finishing agent will smooth and hide those defects on end grains.

    I just finished a wood project hand sanding the entire thing and it was more suitable to handle power sanding than what you are trying to do, but I know how easy it is to cause unwanted marks with power tools.
    Last edited by JPGreco; 07-21-2013 at 06:39 PM.

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