Low speed drill for power sanding, sanding problems

[Reed Gray]

I prefer the angle drills which are different from the right angle drills in that they fit into the insides of bowls a lot easier. All of my bowls are warped (sanded out a monster madrone bowl today, 25 inches by 18 1/2 inch wide and 8 tall, 22 inches round when it came off the lathe). Just can't have high speeds on the lathe or drill with warpage. I did try high speed sanding a few times, and went back to slow speed sanding. High speed would work better on more open forms, rather than deeper ones with a sharper transition area. I have mine at crawling speeds in those areas otherwise it bounces. If you are sanding at higher speeds, with a bit of pressure, and the abrasive is a bit worn, you will actually burnish the wood. This makes it more difficult to sand out. The slower speeds will not do this. If you sand at high speed, the key is VERY LIGHT pressure. Even the weight of the drill will generate heat.

robo hippy

[Jeff Nicol]

Streaks are there before you start sanding and show up when the areas around them are sanded down and the "Streakes" are not. They are mostly tool marks or end grain or figured areas that were not cut cleanly and the fibers are smashed or torn not cut. Maple is one of the worst for this to show up on as it is hard and can have lots of figure and and swirling grain. If you start out with say 80 grit, blow the dust off and go up to 120 grit you will see the streaks and then you can go back and concentrate on those areas to remove them with the larger grit papers. If you are not sure if they are gone put a little laquer thinner or naptha or DNA on the areas and they will show up and then you can keep working them out before you go through all the grits and they are still there. If the streaks are deeper, heavier or what ever than the largest grit you start with and you don't remove them the proceeding smaller grits will not take the streaks away as each successive smaller grit will remove the sanding marks of the grit before it, but not the ones that are left from other heavier grits. This is why it is important to make sure that all the sanding dust and any loose grit is removed with air before the next grit is started. You all know what happens when a stray course grit gets on the final sanding and you see all these little white swirls that really tick you off!

So cleaner cuts and proper tool control or extra sanding with the coarse grit papers, it is all a process that will never be perfect every time with each piece of wood you turn.

Hope I did not bore you to tears with my long winded reply!

Merry Christmas,

Jeff

[Justin Stephen]

Thanks much, all. Some really great advice here.

[Neil Strong]

I maybe unique, but I sand very often at high speeds. Full throttle on the right angle drill/sanding pad set up and usually at the same turning speed.

..........Ditto

[Bill Bulloch]

I use that Harbor Freight angle drill that you don't like. It works fine for me, except it seems to wabble a lot when I use it with an extension rod.

I only use the power sander up to 220 grit, then I hand sand, on the lathe, using a sanding lubricant for the higher grits. I use a mixture of Bee's wax and Menrial Oil for the lubricant. After I power sand with the 220 grit paper, I will then hand sanding with the lubricant, again, with the 220 grit paper and work up from there.

[Tom Hamilton]

Justin, here's a link to another thread on this subject: http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...-power-sanding. The executive summary to use a flexible drive shaft powered by a motor, drill press, or hand held drill. I opted for a drill press because I had one available. It's on a mobile base and I wheel it up to the lathe for sanding. With this method I can adjust the drill press speed and the lathe speed. I opt for 2200 rpm on the drill press because that's the speed of the HF and Amazon right angle drill presses I formerly used. Ususally the lathe runs at 600 or so for sanding.

The advantage to me is much quieter, lighter in the hand, and easier to control the process.

Cheers, Tom

[robert baccus]

i agree with the high rpm guys. wood turning fast one way and the S.P. turning fast the other way with light pressure will be as cool as.... i prefere course grits when starting on a bowl. at high speed and low pressure it is hard to scratch wood. i might add this is for hard woods--not soft wood. just my H.O.----------------ol forester

[Don Alexander]

i have yet to use any sandpaper more coarse than 150 grit and have yet to use a power sander , while i am a fairly new turner (about 9 months)
i have made a conscious choice to get as good as possible with the turning tools and make sanding less of a job so far i am pretty happy with that approach , though it may not be the right choice for others

[Brad Adams]

Who is this "Vince" whose stuff I here about people using.

[Alan Trout]

Brad,

Vince sells high quality abrasives to turners. He is best know for his Mylar backed abrasives which last a very long time. Here is his site. http://www.vinceswoodnwonders.com/

Alan

[David Woodruff]

I have been sanding so long, not bragging, that speed adjustment of VS drill and lathe are instinctive. But two things I do which at least for me is important; 1) I frequently reverse the lathe and VS drill. 2) I always counter rotate the sanding disc to lathe direction. That said I use a Milwaukee VS 0-1350 reversible angle drill, can not imagine a need for the 2500 rpm version. I buy a new one every two years or so when it becomes noisy and problematic. The time saved is worth the cost, not to mention greatly improved results. I also use a hook & loop pad with 3" disc, 5" for very large pieces. I also use the 3" pad for inside sanding. If you are burnishing the wood, slow the speed, counter rotation also helps to prevent burnishing, if you get a burnt streak on the disc, trash it. I use cloth backed disc and use the large eraser for cleaning, reverse drill when cleaning, cloth discs will last many XX longer. Cloth disc are more expensive but do not tear like paper and clean up well with the gum eraser, the eraser cost $10.00 I think but the ROI is awesome. Use the other good ideas presented here, try them all and keep what works for you..Good Luck

[Jim Burr]

I've struggled with sanding for years Justin and having a Mentor has helped dramaticly. Slow speed with light pressure seems to be the route. I've also adopted a DA sander I use at 240, 400 and 600 grits. An issue I found with high RPM sanding is that you may miss areas you would normally hit at slower (500, as low as my Mini goes) and keeping lite pressure with the lower lathe/drill motor RPM helps prevent burnishing of the wood. Pens are the excepting...3000 turning speed and sanding after finish cuts with a skew seem to work best IMHO. Good luck!!