Sanding discs.. what do you like ?

[Rick Fisher]

I am new to turning and have been using the Klingspor sanding discs on the Australian backing pads.

The discs don't last long at all. The heat of sanding wrecks them super fast.

The backing pads seem the same. They aren't really cheap considering how long they last.

I ordered some of the new wave discs to try them out, with the wavy edges.. Does anyone know who makes those discs ?

I am curious what people suggest ?

Sizes are 2" and 3" ..

[Reed Gray]

For me, dollar wise, and for cutting ability, the blue discs from VincesWoodNWonders work the best. I do have a clip up on sanding if you go to my You Tube channel. The biggest thing about sanding is speed and pressure. While you would think that high speeds cut better, on advice from Vince, I started sanding at slower speeds, in the 600 rpm or less. I found it cuts way better, and for pressure, only the weight of the drill. If you are sanding at higher speeds, it is like a dragster burning out its wheels, lots of heat and no traction. His discs are 3 3/8 inch diameter, so same as the wave I think, but solid. I prefer his firm interface pads for grits through 180, then the medium pad for grits 220 and up.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC7r...oTl18_dSSaffjw

robo hippy

[Joe Meirhaeghe]

I like the Norton & 3M disc from the Sanding Glove. Maybe a little more expensive but they are high quality with consistent grain size giving a fast cut with even scratch patterns. I've tried the blue disc from Vince 5 or 6 yrs ago and just didn't like them as well as the Norton or 3M. I don't mind paying a little more for quality, I find it usually pays off in the long run.

[John Keeton]

I have used Vince's blue discs since I started turning and they work well and are affordable. Plus, I like supporting another turner and a small business.

I can't compare them to any others as I haven't had the need to try anything else. The grit seems to be very even and I have no difficulty working thru the grits with them in short order.

[Justin Stephen]

I also use Vince's blue discs. I have tried a couple of others, one I liked a lot and one I didn't, and went back to Vince's discs as they were just as good as the other brand I liked and cheaper.

[Grant Wilkinson]

Mine is another vote for Vince's blue discs. I sand fast following advice from the late Bill Neddow, but with very little pressure. Both the discs and the backing pads are holding up very well.

[terry mccammon]

Count me in the Vince column. I used his blue disks for several years. However this summer he starting offering green disks which so far I like even better. His stuff is first rate, and count me with John K, I like supporting a fellow turner and a nice guy.

[Peter Lamb]

Try Vince's new green discs. They seem sharper and may last longer.
I think though not sure yet that they may be better than blue.

[Prashun Patel]

I like Vince's discs, 2sand's Indasa Rhyno discs, and Abranet for the coarse grits south of 100. The Abranet is pricey, but it lasts much longer than either of the other discs.

The biggest revelation for me, though was getting a quality mandrel and backing pad. For this, I HIGHLY recommend Vince's mandrel and all manner of innerface pads. They really make all the difference.

The Abranet also comes with its own innerface pad which is a must as it will generate heat. I use that pad with conventional discs too; it's thinner and can be used nicely when a hard backer is required.

[Scott Hackler]

Another vote for Vince. Good products, good prices and good guy.

[Reed Gray]

I did try the Dry Ice discs from Norton, and while they cut very well, I found the 'wearability' to be almost identical to the blue discs from Vince. It was some years ago, but then, their cost was more than double what Vince's blue discs were. I got home from my evening swim last night and the phone rang. It was Vince. He wanted to know if he had sent me samples of the green discs, and some new mandrel that he had. I have only sanded a couple of bowls with the green discs, and didn't find that they had any advantage to the blue discs. Vince said he felt pretty much the same way, though he thought the 120 grit green disc was a bit sharper than the blue disc. Not positive about that. I did get some samples of discs from him that were similar to the Abranet discs, complete range from 80 to 400 or 600, can't really remember. I tried them out and found that they cut much slower than the standard abrasive discs till you got up into the 220 grit range. Too much open area I am guessing. I tried some of the Astra Dot discs years back, and felt that was pretty much true for them as well.

robo hippy

[ken kruizenga]

I like the white Rhino paper from Industrial Abrasives out of Reading PA. I also like the disk to over hang the mounting pads so they offer one yard sheets of hook and loop paper, so I cut my own disks, it is kind of a hassle but they are fairly cheap. I hate to call myself cheap but generally on the 3" disks only the outside 1/2" of grit is used I cut them down for the 2" disks. Industrial Abrasives also have the foam mounting pads which seem to work good enough the foam does tend to rip just above the shank. They have kits that of the 2" and 3" mandrels for less than 12 bucks

[Dennis Ford]

I use disks from Vince, Klingspor and a couple of others; all are good. If the disks are breaking down from heat, you are using too much pressure and/or too much speed.

[David Delo]

I like Vince's blue disks. Tried a batch of the newer green disks but couldn't keep the disks on the pad when using inside of a bowl. Worked well on the outside but not on the inside. Using a slug of Mirka gold right now from Turningwood. Seems to cut a little better but I don't think they last quite as long as the blue disks.

[Lee Watermann]

I had,have, the blue and green. The greens would fly off often and would go through 7 or 8 on a bowl. the blues were a little better. the 220s and above were terrible. Most recently I got the whites and have done two bowls without losing one disc. I still have some blues and greens and switched back and off they went and once they fly off they will not go back on. No more blues and greens for me especially 200 and above. Can't wait until I use them up. I use them for hand sanding now.