sanding speed

[Russell Eaton]

I have been wondering how slow on your evs do you sand? I have been sanding in reverse, and really like how much less time it takes. Thanks for your help. Russell

[steven carter]

Russell,

It depends on what I am sanding and what size. For most bowls I sand at 400-500 rpms. Spindles/finials much faster, just depends on size.

Steve

[Al Wasser]

Remember that speed often means heat which can cause cracking. About 350 on bowls works for me - both directions.

[Steve Schlumpf]

I usually have my lathe turned down as slow as it will go - around 127 rpms. I use a drill to power sand and do not want to generate any heat if possible.

[Reed Gray]

My bowls are all warped, and I had the phase converter on my Robust set so minimum speed is about 10 to 15 rpm. You can't keep your hand or sander on warped pieces at speeds higher than about 30. My angle drill has a piece of cork under the trigger to keep disc speed down as well, probably in the 600 rpm range. I have tried higher speeds, but the slower speeds seem more efficient.

robo hippy

[Russell Eaton]

I think on high speed the slowest it will go is 152. On low it will go down to 53 rpm's. Thanks for the help. Russell

[Harvey Ghesser]

I slow the lathe down to 50 rpm and my drill down to about half (probably around 400-500rpm)

[Reed Gray]

Any of the phase converters can be programmed for different speeds. The PM 3520 A model originally went down to almost 0 before it would shut off. It was changed so that it now turns off at 50 rpm. Their reasoning (I was told this by a factory tech) was that the motor would burn out at those slow speeds. I sanded out thousands of bowls at those speeds, and the motor ran cooler than it did when I was turning. Maybe they think people want to turn at that speed. If the motor has no load on it, there is little or no heat build up while running at those speeds, and the fan isn't necessary. They can program your motors to run at those speeds, but will void your warranty. I have found this slow speed to be helpful in sanding bowls, and not just the warped ones.

robo hippy

[Jim Silva]

As others have posted, I typically sand at under 500rpm for most things excluding finials. Any higher speeds and I find that I'm just skipping across the high points. Larger bowls (>10") I'm typically at around 250rpm or less when using my right angle drill with sanding pads.

Reverse sanding is fantastic for those stubborn grains.

For my warped pieces I've been putting the sanding pads (sometimes with shaft extension) in my drill press and moving the bowl around the revolving pad. Works great that you still get the benefit of power sanding but with the bonus of being able to work with a warped bowl. Great for NE pieces that tend to crawl about after drying.

[David Woodruff]

Hello Russell, Remember that RPM's are not equal, in that diameter is the difference. A small diameter piece will produce low surface feet per minute vs. a large diameter piece at the same RPM. This is due to Euclid or some dude discovering this thing called pi. So pi x D x rpm = SFPM if all measurements are equal. Anyway remember lower RPM's for large diameter pieces, higher RPM's for small diameter stuff . A little experience and you learn the difference between sanding and burnishing. Good Luck

[Bernie Weishapl]

I generally sand from 100 to 450 rpm. Sanding fast causes heat which can cause warping and cracking. That goes from pens to big bowls.