Sanding small pieces...

[Tamara Brown]

Hi guys...I hope you can help me. I am making some small jewelry pieces out of some of the scraps my husband has left over, but I need help in the sanding department. What would you sand both shape and finish sand the surface with...so that you don't sand your fingernails or fingers? Maybe it's a girl thing, but I don't want to end up with missing nails and scars!

[Rick Lizek]

The technique to use is tumbling. You take scraps of sandpaper and put them in a closed container with your wood and rotate the container.
Here is an example of a rotary tumbler. You could use a simple large coffee can and find some way to spin it for a few hours. You can do this on the cheap. Low rpm is all you need. Perhaps an old gear motor of a treadmill. Maybe fasten it to your kids bicycle. An old rotisserie motor?
http://www.therockshed.com/tumbler4.html

[Joe Scharle]

Never tried a tumbler, but do use a Jorgenson hand clamp to hold small pieces for sanding and routing.

[Mitchell Andrus]

Double faced tape on the end of a dowel.
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[Tom Esh]

For small pieces I use double-stick tape to temporarily attach a piece of scrap to serve as a stabilizer or handle. Note many of those tapes are really sticky and get stickier the longer they set, so a little goes a long way and for sure don't leave them attached overnight. Any tape residue can be cleaned up with mineral spirits.

[glenn bradley]

You've gotten some good answers here. I use spray adhesive to attach sandpaper to various shaped pieces of scrap for detail sanding. Pop-sicle and coffee stirring sticks come in handy too with a little 400 or 600 grit paper stuck to them. For initial shaping an inexpensive set of fine-tooth rifflers can be handy.

http://www.leevalley.com/US/wood/page.aspx?p=20139&cat=1,42524

http://www.grizzly.com/products/8-pc-Riffler-Rasp-Set-Fine-7-1-2-Overall-Length/H2567

Harbor Freight has them too.

[Gene Howe]

I don't know what it's called but, jewelry makers use a substance that adheres to stone and a dowel. Used to grind and polish the stone. It looks like clay but, it hardens.

Double stick tape is a good idea, too. I use lacquer thinner to remove it and it's residue. Far more fast acting than mineral spirits. For small pieces, just drop them in a small glass jar or similar and splash the thinner over them and let them soak a few minutes.
The thinner does not affect the wood at all and dries in minutes.

[David Winer]

Hi guys...I hope you can help me. I am making some small jewelry pieces out of some of the scraps my husband has left over, but I need help in the sanding department. What would you sand both shape and finish sand the surface with...so that you don't sand your fingernails or fingers? Maybe it's a girl thing, but I don't want to end up with missing nails and scars!
I'm not sure what "small jewelry pieces" might entail, but it should be helpful, once you have worked out a way to hold the pieces, to use a Dremel tool to cut, abrade, and polish the pieces. The available bits include a large variety of shapes and materials, including buffing disks.

[Dave Lehnert]

IMAO. Most woodworking belt sanders runs way too fast for the task. I purchased the Shopsmith Belt sander and I am able to turn the belt speed WAY DOWN. I can hold small parts by hand without any problem. Also great for shaping boxes and such.
Best woodworking sander on the market today. Proven design made since the 1950's. In the USA.:)

http://www.shopsmith.com/ownersite/catalog/images/01_BeltSander.jpg

[Tamara Brown]

Wow, thanks gentlemen...I love the ideas that you are giving me. Guess now I have to go "shopping" for myself instead of always buying the LOML tools. :)