Steel wool instead of sandpaper?

[Wade Lippman]

The last bowl I did, I sanded up to 400. It came out very shiny, but with fine lines. I had to sand them off afterwords. I know that typically results from going up through the grades too quickly, but I didn't do that. I blamed HF sandpaper.

I did another bowl today and used steel wool instead of sandpaper after 150. It worked great, especially on the inside where the paper is hard to hold. (very small bowl, with the top curving in...)
Snags were a minor problem, but much easier overall.

I have never heard of anyone using steel wool for this. Any major pro or cons I am overlooking?

[Brian Brown]

I occasionally use steel wool also, but get small wool strands caught in the wood on open grained wood. Never use it on a natural edge piece, or you'll be picking steel wool fibers for days DAMHIK. Most turners say not to use steel wool because of the catching, and over time it can cause some discoloration. To keep from getting the fine scratch marks from your sandpaper, turn at a low speed, don't press to hard (let the paper do the work), and keep the paper moving rapidly over the surface of your turning, so if there is one renegade piece of sand, it can't cause a deep cut getting deeper each time the piece goes around.

[Don Robert]

What Brian said, plus you particularly don't want to use steel wool if you plan to use a water-based (WB) finish - unless you want a rust-discolored final piece.

[robert hainstock]

is all true. an alternetive is those green scrrubby pads , (pot cleaning) I believe. 3m sold them in various abrasiveness several years ago. Just another idea. :)
Bob

[David Walser]

Wade,

I almost always use 0000 steel wool as the last "abrasive" in finishing. The advantage is it does not leave the directional scratches you sometimes see with sand paper. As others have mentioned, steel wool can leave behind small strands that will rust. That's particularly a problem with light colored woods. However, since I seldom use water-based finishes, rust has never been a problem for me. (Rusty technique is a problem, but that's another story.)

Allow me to add: I didn't come up with this method on my own. The technique was taught by Dale Nish in the course I took from him at CSUSA. So, I don't think I'm the only one using steel wool in this manner.

[Roger Wilson]

On the safety note: Since steel wool is just a tangle of long strands it is very possible for one of them to catch and amputate or badly cut your finger. I know someone who had to have stitches as a result of a bone deep cut from trying to pull a pad apart.

[Hilel Salomon]

I have also seen turners use woodshavings as a final step. Some day, I'll actually be able to use the Beale system correctly.
Regards, Hilel

[David Newson]

Wade - I don't know if this is available to you , but I use Webrax ultra fine with wax or without works really good, If you google webrax you should come up with all their product range I think its made by Hermes.

[Reed Gray]

I use the grey synthetic pads that I got at Woodcraft. They are comparable to the 000 steel wool pads. No left over strands of steel on anything, and they don't wear out. I apply the oil and wax (Mahoney's) with them. I also sand to 400 grit with a power sander. This doesn't leave the in line type of scrath patterns that you find with hand sanding. If you want the best abrasives, check out VincesWoodNWonders.com. His abrasives are like the Thompson gouges, keep their cutting edge a lot longer than anything else out there.
robo hippy