What am I doing??

[Jeff Horton]

Here is a good photo of the problem that is plaguing me. These.... 'spots' don't show most times till the finish goes on and there is some gloss to the bowl. You don't feel much of anything when you rub your hand across it. I can sand and sand but I can't seem to get rid of them. I am wondering if I am doing something wrong and burnishing the wood? Maybe they are sanding marks. I am just not sure!


39373


I roughed and finished withe bowl gouge. I took a scraper and used that for the final cleanup of the bowl trying to eliminate the marks left in the bowl and clean up the lines in the bowl. It looks good till I put the oil too it. This one could be related to the gouge bouncing because of the interrupted cut but I get these ever without it.

Suggestions? Ideas? W.A.G.'s??

[Jim Becker]

Jeff...always wipe your work down with mineral spirits before even thinking about applying a finish. You will immediately see sanding "errors" and scratches that you miss without the "wet" of the MS. And wiping with MS between grits is a good idea, too, to insure you don't have any broken off grit from the previous abrasive scratching your surfaces.

The type of scratching you show in your picture is also "normal" for sanding when the sandpaper isn't spinning as it would by power sanding. (lathe turning slowly and abrasive on a disk in a drill, for example) To remove these marks, you'll need to do a bit of hand-sanding across the "grain" of the scratches and/or spot power sanding.

[Jeff Horton]

The type of scratching you show in your picture is also "normal" for sanding when the sandpaper isn't spinning as it would by power sanding.

M.S. added to the list to buy.

I have been leaning toward power sanding for a while now as the solution to this. I was going to order the tools this week and had a list made out of the odds and ends I needed and just going to do it all at once. Then I remember I got mad and cancelled my Credit Card last week. You just can't buy anything online without a Card. Plus I use this in my business so I have to go the bank this morning and apply for a new one.

[Rich Stewart]

I have gotten plenty mad before but it never, NEVER, made me want to cancel my credit card. Haha. I've wanted to cancel my wife, kids, house, job, but without a credit card, how would I buy stuff for my lathe?

[Mark Pruitt]

The type of scratching you show in your picture is also "normal" for sanding when the sandpaper isn't spinning as it would by power sanding. (lathe turning slowly and abrasive on a disk in a drill, for example) To remove these marks, you'll need to do a bit of hand-sanding across the "grain" of the scratches and/or spot power sanding.
So, this would basically be the equivalent of random orbit sanding? Makes perfect sense....Wow, something else to BUY!:eek: :D

[Jeff Horton]

....but without a credit card, how would I buy stuff for my lathe?

:D You can't! Online at least.

I will just swap companies, if they would have waived that 'stupid charge' I would have stayed. But I am not a good client. I pay my my bill off 10-11 months out of the year. I rarely carry a balance so they wouldn't remove the 'stupid charge' to keep my business. So fine, I go somewhere else. :rolleyes: But I just about have to have a card for my business.

[Jim Ketron]

looks like a combination of tooling marks and sanding scratches. I think if you will spend a little more time sanding with the lower grits and keep it moving if you are hand sanding and it will help a lot.
Here is some tips I posted a while back I will just add them in this thread

Sanding is an art in itself!
There are many methods of achieving the same result, some turnings take a long time some don't. Some woods sands easily and some take forever to get right. Also a lot depends on what type of finish you are wanting to achieve, and how much time you want to spend on a particular piece. Gallery type of finish or utility type finish? It took me a while to learn how to sand properly and to get a good finish on my work! I was not satisfied with my finishes for a while and got plenty of help from friends and forums but reading and doing are two different things, it takes time to develop your techniques just like turning does.

I'm a Sanding nut I have been known to spend hours sanding on one piece!
I try my best to have no sanding scratches in my work, The way I see it why spend time to cut the wood, cut it into turning blanks, seal it with Anchorseal, rough turn it, let it dry, finish turn it, and then not take the time to give it a proper finish to show off your hard work?

I use the Souix angle drill for power sanding, the 2" and 3" pro Velcro disk holders from Packard Woodworks. I use Rhynogrip hook and loop sandpaper I cut to size, I have these grits 80,120,240,320,400,600, I start on the highest grit that the finished turned piece will allow. I run my lathe around 300 rpm and the drill medium speed to fast and use light pressure with the sanding pad. Remember heat is your enemy while sanding light pressure is best and it will cut faster and wont burnish your tuning from the heat which is not good because it makes the wood hard and will take you longer on the next grit. Everyone has their own ideas about speed and technique but this is how I sand mine. when you pick the starting grit and if it's not cutting fast enough, drop down one grit and start over. I try my best to get all the tool marks and tearout with my first grit. IMO this is where a lot of people make mistakes buy moving up to the next grit before getting them all out this was my main problem while I was developing my sanding technique! If you have tool marks and tearout after the first grit you will either spend lots of time trying to fix them a few grits down, or when you get to your last grit and get it off the lathe and think you are finished and admiring your work and it sticks out like a sore thumb! but some times you will miss one and you can get it with the next grit, but its best to give it a good look over before switching to the next grit. Be sure to wipe the previous sanding dust and grit off good before going to the next grit it leaves the residue from the previous grit and if you don't get it out it will leave sanding scratches.
Have fun sanding
Jim Ketron<O:p</O:p

[Jim Bell]

It may also be your tools are dull or improperly ground for your style of turning. I used to have the same problem. Those marks are often times a combination of things to make a new turners life miserable.
Jim:)