Cutting sandpaper for sanders and sanding blocks

[John Coloccia]

Maybe this is obvious for most, but I see people struggling with bending abd ripping. I buy my sandpaper 50 sheets at a time. Then I cut a bunch up using a cheap paper cutter. I can do a few sheets at a time. It takes a few seconds to restock my stash in every size I need for a while.

[glenn bradley]

+1. HF paper cutter, $12 on sale, been used for 3 - 4 years. Still going strong.

[Tom Ewell]

Yep, paper cutter is the way to go.

Set the size and get busy cuttin', it's almost fun.

[Dave Lehnert]

I have a cutter something like this. Comes in handy.

http://www.woodworkingtips.com/etips/2008/01/10/ws/

[Gene Howe]

old hacksaw blade screwed to a piece of ply with a washer under each end of the blade. Mark sizes on the ply, push the paper under the blade to the size line and rip it off.

[Alan Bienlein]

+1 for what Gene and Dave said.

[Rich Engelhardt]

$.99 HF scissors here....

[Marty Paulus]

I only use a sheet or two at a time so a paper cuter for me is over kill but I do buy the sandpaper in the larger packs. I just fold and crease the edges. Straight edge with a utility knife to cut to size. My sander is a 1/4 sheet so it is easy ;)

[Larry Fox]

I use a pair of scissors that I bought at Red Drum Tackle shop on the OBX about 5 years ago for $.99. They sell them to cut bait and they have served me well and still going strong. I have about 5-6 pairs lying around so they are handy.

[Dave Gaul]

I use a pair of scissors that I bought at Red Drum Tackle shop on the OBX about 5 years ago for $.99. They sell them to cut bait and they have served me well and still going strong. I have about 5-6 pairs lying around so they are handy.

Hey that's in my home town! Well one of my home towns... went to high school there...

Ok back on topic... I've been using a pair of scissors I got from Lee Valley. I like the paper cutter idea and the blade & plywood idea too though!

[David Weaver]

Straight edge with a utility knife to cut to size.

Me, too. I turn the sandpaper over so i'm cutting the non-abraded side. Works well.

[Mike Harrison]

Bench has a fairly sharp edge, and a couple pencil tics for proper positioning of paper. Verify paper is more or less parallel with edge, a quick rip, and its done. No tool required, simple, fast. My problem is keeping track of the paper??

[John Coloccia]

Bench has a fairly sharp edge, and a couple pencil tics for proper positioning of paper. Verify paper is more or less parallel with edge, a quick rip, and its done. No tool required, simple, fast. My problem is keeping track of the paper??

I went to Office Depot and bought once of those mail sorters. Just a cheap one made of cardboard, like this:

http://www.officemax.com/catalog/sku.jsp?productId=ARS19402&history=cnfog9ls|prodPage~15^freeText~mail+sorter^ paramValue~true^refine~1^region~1^param~return_sku s@ggzwfwc5|prodPage~15^paramValue~true^sort~Price+ %28Low-High%29^refine~1^position~1^region~1^param~return_ skus@s8dlojt1|prodPage~15^paramValue~true^refine~1 ^position~16^region~1^param~return_skus^return_sku s~Y

Maybe I'll just take a picture when I have a chance. Anyhow, if you got that route, be sure that the compartments are 9" wide. Some are 8 1/2" wide and sandpaper won't fit.

Anyhow, I keep all my full sheets down the middle, cut sheets on the right, and "special" sandpaper on the left.

[john bateman]

I just wish the sandpaper manufacturers would put something useful on the backside...like some gridlines for the common sizes that you'd cut them down to. 1/4, 1/3, etc.

Instead it's filled with repetitious text that serves little purpose for the most part, beyond the grit size.

http://www.airfieldmodels.com/information_source/model_building_tools/images/19076.jpg

[Paul Steiner]

I use a drywall broad knife. I will take a stack of 10 to 50 sheets place them on my the corner of my bench grit down. I wil use a ruler to reference where to put the edge of the knife. Press the knife down at like 30 or 45 degrees fold over the edge then rip on the edge. This is the fastest for me.

[Kevin Groenke]

Paper cutter here too,

We've got about 30) 24" x 60yd rolls of 80G,100G,120G and 150G that I scored at an auction for ~$10/roll. We'll be cutting it up for a while.

FYI, it can also be cut with a laser... makes great shingles for scale models.

-kg

[Ole Anderson]

My wife's paper cutter, abrasive side down of course. Not sure I ever mentioned to her that I use it for that...

[Rich Engelhardt]

We've got about 30) 24" x 60yd rolls of 80G,100G,120G and 150G that I scored at an auction for ~$10/roll.

Now that's a true gloat!

Not real glamerous, but, a gloat none the less!

Sandpaper gets real expensive, real quick, in the grand scheme of things.

[Ron Citerone]

I use a drywall broad knife. I will take a stack of 10 to 50 sheets place them on my the corner of my bench grit down. I wil use a ruler to reference where to put the edge of the knife. Press the knife down at like 30 or 45 degrees fold over the edge then rip on the edge. This is the fastest for me.


What PS said, a painter showed me 35 years ago and I been doing it that way ever since!

[Joe Scarfo]

I use a paper cutter I picked up for $1 at a local cabinet shop that was selling off some tools. also got an awsome deal on retracting extension cords and air hoses too

[ian maybury]

Just a question - do those screwed down hacksaw blade cutters use the toothed side or the plain side of the blade to make the cut?

Thanks

Ian