Hand sanding; what do you do?

[Michael Drew]

I have been surfing old threads, looking for a silver bullet. Didn't find one, hence this post/question.

I like to feel whatever it is I'm fixing to finish. I always grab a sheet of 8x11 paper (or whatever they are), usually 220 grit, rip it into three strips of equal width, then I take one and fold it twice over itself to give it some strength. I then go over whatever it is I am making with this piece of paper between a couple fingers or finger and thumb, and I can feel imperfections verse see them. I usually have a few of these folded up and torn pieces of paper on my bench, so I can grab one and use it without much thought. This past weekend I was thinking there has to be some newfangled device I could use, other than the sanding sponges I have (and do not like all that much). I've tried the blocks that have those spring loaded keeper things, but the paper never gets tight enough and I just end up ripping paper.

I can't be the only one here that likes to hand sand, so I figured I'd ask the dumb question.... What do you do? What do you use? And if you have to plug it in, or hook a hose up to it, that's cheating and not allowed.....

[Dennis Jarchow]

I use folded paper for some things but for flat hand sanding I use the Preppin Weapon (https://www.amazon.com/Sanding-Autobody-Preppin-Weapon-Sandpaper/dp/B007R4Y8BO/ref=sr_1_7?keywords=preppin+weapon&qid=1643924078&sprefix=preppin+w%2Caps%2C85&sr=8-7). It holds the paper well, is comfortable on my hand, and also works great for wet sanding.

[Robert Engel]

I like the foam back papers called Rhynogrip.

[Jim Becker]

Well, I'm certainly not going to say that I "enjoy" hand sanding (or even powered sanding) but it's a necessary thing. Hand sanding for me is pretty limited to "tidying up", such as breaking edges and getting into places that just can't be done any other way. It's usually finer abrasive, too, such as that last 180 or 220 (or sometimes higher) operation. Sometimes it's just with the paper and sometimes a block is involved. Whatever's correct for the need of the moment.

For the guitar bodies I've made, "hand sanding" also means the leveling and working up though the steps with MicroMesh, as high as 120000 before polishing with compounds.

[Zachary Hoyt]

I use 220 grit Indasa paper and cut each sheet into 12 roughly equal pieces with a pair of large old scissors that I keep in the shop for that kind of job. I use 400 grit in the finishing process, cut the same way. I'm making stringed instruments so I'm working on small pieces of wood, often with a curve in one or more directions.

[Kyle Iwamoto]

I second Preppin Weapon and Indasa paper. I think the preppin pad is near perfectly flat.

If you choose to actually hand sand, if you "flat" sand in the direction that your fingers line up, you can actually sand 3 grooves in your work if you sand too much. I found that by sanding through the veneer on some cheap "cabinet grade ply" from the local box store. I think I was trying to sand out an imperfection by hand and really screwed things up buy making that set of 3 lines.......

[Greg Quenneville]

I have a velcro sanding block that a 6” disc wraps around perfectly. I tend to use half worn discs from the sander for those little clean-up and spot finishing chores. Got in on Amazon

[Maurice Mcmurry]

Being a person of modest means. I fold old paper from the 1/4 sheet orbital in half, smear one side with Titebond, press together until dry, and sand away with the ends that were under the clamp of the orbital.

I do the same with the paper from my various hand sanders. Here are a few, the faces of all of them have been lapped.

473068
I use these 1/4 rounds with Velcro and Abranet for rub-out.
473069

[Stan Calow]

A felt sanding block

[Paul F Franklin]

I have a bunch of preppin weapons, with different grits in each. I use them when their size is suitable. Then I have a bunch of MDF blocks with rubberized cork glued to them. I use self adhesive paper on those; the blocks are sized to the width of the roll of sandpaper, so it is quick and easy to change paper when needed. The rubberized cork has just the right amount of give (IMO) and is very durable; you can change paper dozens of times with no damage to the cork. And although the cork has a little give, if you use a light hand, the block will give very flat results due to the flatness of the MDF. They are fast to make; I take a piece of MDF about a foot square, glue on the cork, and when dry, cut them to size and apply the sandpaper. I keep a bunch of them with different grits so it's not necessary to change paper to progress through sanding stages. The blocks let you sand right into corners; neither the edge of the cork or the MDF block will mar the side that is not being sanded.

[Kevin Jenness]

I mostly use sheet paper for gluing to mdf for "hard block" sanding (levelling), for breaking edges and occasionally in a 1/4 sheet orbital sander. For hand finish sanding I generally use 5" velcro backed discs on a hook/loop backed cork block or (softer) a h&l rubber disc. Paul's system is a good one as well.

[Maurice Mcmurry]

We used 4 inch floor sanding rolls at the factory. It's fantastic. glueing sections of hardware store 9x11's back to back is very helpful for me.

[glenn bradley]

Most used is the Preppin' Weapon, next is foam and cork blocks. In addition I have a mutlitudeof "sanding blocks" to draw from for different detail things.

[Thomas McCurnin]

3M makes a rubber sanding block which holds a quarter sheet and is one third of the price of the Preppin Weapon, its like $5 at your local hardware store.

[glenn bradley]

The 3M blocks are good but small. I have a few setup with stepped grits and they get plenty of use. For larger surfaces I prefer the larger registration surface of the longer block. William Ng also has a wood block method (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KDFwr371o5I)he uses made from scrap. Essentially free except for the cork :D, my favorite price.

[Scott Winners]

A bit in left field here I recognize, and we aren't in the Neanderthal area, but in difficult grain I often stop with a cabinet scraper and from there go straight to oil/wax/paint.

While the metal rectangles are cheap, I do recognize the various honing blocks and a carbide burnisher are money. Ongoing sandpaper consumption is also money.

For a show surface off the electronic planer (Dewalt 734 here), I can go over it with a #3 or #4 Bailey honed on the same stones the cabinet scrapers use, then use the cabinet scraper, wipe down once with isopropyl alcohol to lift the dust out of the open pores, and then move the piece into the finishing room I don't have yet.

There is a significant learning curve on this path, and no pressure from me to choose it. I have money tied up in my stones and my Bailey smoothers, the cabinet scrapers are cheap, the learning curve is behind me, my ongoing cost is a new rectangle of sheet metal every once in a long while.

When I am in especially difficult grain I don't mind spending the money on sand paper and the time on dust removal after sanding, though isopropyl availability has been spotty the last couple years. As a hobbyist my par level on isopropyl is two quarts, when I have one open quart bottle and one sealed quart bottle I go looking for another quart. 70% isopropyl is fine. 90% isopropyl will absorb water as atmospheric humidity down to 70% in a matter of a few minutes after the seal is broken. If you ned to cool something off fast, buy the 90%. If you are pulling dust out of sanded wood pores, save your money and buy 70%.

[Ole Anderson]

Look at your local automotive paint store, they have some great tools. Start with a roll of psa 240 and a roll of 400. Combined with various automotive foam sanding blocks (I like Durablock), you have a good start. I keep one block with well used 400 on it to give a final light sanding after 4 or 5 coats of wipe-on varnish to remove the dust nibs and give it a silky smooth finish. I received as a gift a Gator Finishing Zip sander in XL size with 120 grit non-clog hook and loop that works well on larger projects prior to finishing. Also worked well on a recent wall painting project needed a lot of mud repairs. http://gatorfinishing.com/products/hand-sanding/zip--sanders/zipxl--refills

If you want flat, you don't want to use your fingers as backing for sandpaper. While it feels good, there are better ways. Edges and curves are another animal however.

[Derek Cohen]

The dust from hand sanding is as dangerous as that from a power sander.

These are the ultimate hand sanders, from Mirka ...

https://i.postimg.cc/ryJ7rfwv/Finishing-The-Drawers-html-4a652cf5.jpg

Using Abranet mesh, and set for dust collection ...


https://i.postimg.cc/1XJT13d9/Finishing-The-Drawers-html-c3d974f.jpg

https://i.postimg.cc/NfjS7RyL/Finishing-The-Drawers-html-6237eaad.jpg

The value of an attached vacuum cleaner is that the sanding is more efficient and the surface cleaner without sanding over sawdust.

The Festool hose above has since been replaced with a Mirka 22mm, which is light and flexible.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Carl Beckett]

Thank you for this thread!

I use foam automotive blocks already mentioned (I even have some profiles but more often I use fingers for difficult shapes/corners). Am going to try some of the other recommendations here.

I did purchase a 1/16" round over bit for the cordless palm router for when I want edges knocked off more than hand sanding. And also use a scraper at times. But there is always some amount of hand sanding.

[Michael Drew]

I have a bunch of preppin weapons, with different grits in each. I use them when their size is suitable. Then I have a bunch of MDF blocks with rubberized cork glued to them. I use self adhesive paper on those; the blocks are sized to the width of the roll of sandpaper, so it is quick and easy to change paper when needed. The rubberized cork has just the right amount of give (IMO) and is very durable; you can change paper dozens of times with no damage to the cork. And although the cork has a little give, if you use a light hand, the block will give very flat results due to the flatness of the MDF. They are fast to make; I take a piece of MDF about a foot square, glue on the cork, and when dry, cut them to size and apply the sandpaper. I keep a bunch of them with different grits so it's not necessary to change paper to progress through sanding stages. The blocks let you sand right into corners; neither the edge of the cork or the MDF block will mar the side that is not being sanded.

Do you have any pictures of these MDF/Cork blocks you make? The idea sounds quite ingenious.

How large are these "preppin weapons"? I see some on Amazon, in several colors. Do the colors have any signifigance? Or just so the user might have different grit paper on each??


The dust from hand sanding is as dangerous as that from a power sander.

These are the ultimate hand sanders, from Mirka ...






https://i.postimg.cc/NfjS7RyL/Finishing-The-Drawers-html-6237eaad.jpg

The value of an attached vacuum cleaner is that the sanding is more efficient and the surface cleaner without sanding over sawdust.

The Festool hose above has since been replaced with a Mirka 22mm, which is light and flexible.

Regards from Perth

Derek

Cheater....... LOL

I get the concept of safety and dust control, but frankly - I'd never use it the way I use folded paper, because it's not convenient. I might as well just grab an electric sander.

I am enjoying seeing some of the creative ideas shared. I will steal a few. I'm also relieved to learn I'm not the only one who just folds up paper.

Anyone have experience using these foam paper things that the manufacter claims can be washed with soap/water?? https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07P2DTMYM/?coliid=IUPFTYFNO1JHF&colid=3R2MV4DPOS5L7&psc=1&ref_=lv_ov_lig_dp_it_im

[Jim Becker]

Michael, what Derek shows is particularly useful for that "final, non-random, with the grain" sanding of a flat surface with fine abrasives, It's hard to do that evenly with just the paper in-hand. For detail stuff...yea...you gotta have the paper in-hand so you can bend it to your will. :)

[John K Jordan]

I hand sand a lot for woodturning (which is most of my wood working) and I enjoy it. I almost always sand after using hand scrapers: usually cabinet scrapers ground into curves for various shaped work. After scraping, very little sanding is needed.

I do like to use some kind of backing on the sand paper because I can grip it easier. I just wrap the sandpaper around and hold it, no fancy sanding tool. For relatively small areas I use my "soft sanding block", a "Magic Rub" eraser:

473160

For sanding at the lathe I like to use 1" and 2" rolls of Klingspor Gold, 400grit and coarser as needed, mounted on the wall behind the lathe.

473161

For something larger and flat like cutting boards I have used a sanding block made from a piece of 2x3 or cedar with the paper wrapped around the same way.

JKJ



I have been surfing old threads, looking for a silver bullet. Didn't find one, hence this post/question.

I like to feel whatever it is I'm fixing to finish. I always grab a sheet of 8x11 paper (or whatever they are), usually 220 grit, rip it into three strips of equal width, then I take one and fold it twice over itself to give it some strength. I then go over whatever it is I am making with this piece of paper between a couple fingers or finger and thumb, and I can feel imperfections verse see them. I usually have a few of these folded up and torn pieces of paper on my bench, so I can grab one and use it without much thought. This past weekend I was thinking there has to be some newfangled device I could use, other than the sanding sponges I have (and do not like all that much). I've tried the blocks that have those spring loaded keeper things, but the paper never gets tight enough and I just end up ripping paper.

I can't be the only one here that likes to hand sand, so I figured I'd ask the dumb question.... What do you do? What do you use? And if you have to plug it in, or hook a hose up to it, that's cheating and not allowed.....