Sanding against the grain on lathe

[Vernon Jenewein]

VERY new to woodworking and my wife says you sand with the grain, but on a lathe I see sanding while the lathe is spinning, which is against the grain. Is the 1" rolls of sanding material on cloth backing different than regular sand paper? Why does one sand against the grain on the lathe then, and not on other wood workings?

[Eric Holmquist]

Sanding on the lathe is is to some degree a matter of convenience. The lathe makes the wood move and all you have to do is hold the sandpaper. That being said, there are other sanding strategies, like afterwards sanding 90 degrees from rotation by hand, this may not really make the surface smoother, but does break up the scratches formed by sanding so that they are less obvious. Also consider that wood is not always mounted with the grain parallel to the ways. Bowls are typically mounted with the grain perpendicular to the ways.

[John Keeton]

Vernon, welcome to the creek!!

Turning involves pieces that are turned end grain - like a spindle piece, i.e., chair leg, etc. Some vase forms are also turned that way. Most bowls are turned side, or face grain, and as a result have end grain on two opposing sides.

Each method produces its own sanding challenges. The end grain turnings are sanded against the grain, but as Eric said, often cleaned up with some sanding with the grain. Face grain turnings are sanded with the grain, but the challenging part are the two end grain areas. There are tricks used to deal with those areas, too.

The other thing to consider is that most flat workers sand to 220 prior to applying a finish. Most turners sand to at least 400, and in a lot of instances, much higher prior to finishing - depending on the piece being turned.

I don't know where you are in your travels into turning, but you might consider getting a power sander for use on bowls and turnings. It can make a big difference in the horrible task of sanding. I use a Neiko right angle drill like this one. Then, I would suggest you call Vince Welch at http://vinceswoodnwonders.com and talk to him about getting started with power sanding. Vince has good products and a bunch of knowledge about sanding.

[Michelle Rich]

welcome to the creek...when you sand a spindle you are sanding crossgrain & must then, stop the lathe, and sand length-wise. Your wife is correct. When you sand a bowl,(ususal orientation) the grain is now in proper orientation, but you may be turning against it depending on the wood. I think as a beginner, you should try handsanding with the lathe turning slowly & study the effects. It will teach you alot. Down the road, when you understand wood and turning, then I'd get some sort of powersanding.

[Vernon Jenewein]

Thanks for the replies and the welcome!! Sometimes a picture is worth a thousand words, so a video is priceless. Here is Karen Hakobyan of Armenia in some of the process of making a duduk. He makes and sells them, as do a few other artisans in that country and neighboring countries. http://tinyurl.com/7f2meeg
It is a YouTube video, quite short, but you get a feel and general idea on what the flute looks AND sounds like that I am making. I have made the basic "shaft" of my duduk from aged Apricot wood. I have a 12mm 15" long wood boring bit I am going to mount on the end of my tail-stock and use a steady rest to bore out the center hole.

Pic of Karen running his lathe



Pic of Master Arthur Grigorian turning on his lathe:



Also, picture of a duduk, front and back with pretty good showing of the grain structure. Traditionally they are always made from Apricot wood.



And, only if anyone is really interested in seeing a lot more of this process (AND I guarantee you will at least chuckle at their woodworking methods) is this link, albeit long: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UHuC_guTDtw I had to laugh seeing them cut a piece of log with slippers on, as well as how they cut their split wood on a table saw cranked way up!

[Bernie Weishapl]

Welcome Vernon. You got some good advice and the video was interesting.