I have used my angle grinder for sanding I do have a smaller angle grinder I bought at HARBOR freight I modified for different sanding disc to fit. I couldn't find a small sander like the air die grinders so I had to make my own electric small die grinder/sander
The sanding solution that we use daily for our work, that no one seems to know about, is an expanding-drum lapidary wheel. They are amazing for being able to push hard into a high surface speed wheel, but without pushing into either a flat or a rigidly round fixed-radius surface. This means that you can have a lot of finesse in making nice soft (external) edges and radii on large handheld metal objects, while still removing a lot of material quickly. I'm always surprised that these are not a staple of more metal shops, and don't seem to be mentioned by any maker RUclips channels. Maybe I should make a video about them...
Not mentioned in the video but the #1 Sanding tool you should have is a block of spun rubber to clean your sand paper. A.K.A. Abrasive Cleaning Stick If you have never had, used, or heard of one your shop life will never be the same without it.
In a pinch, you can also use e.g. the soles of some old shoes or the like (if you don't have special cleaning stick's) to clean the sandpaper. You get a LOT more mileage out of e.g. your disk sander before you have to change the sand paper itself by cleaning it.
You forgot to mention fingernail file sticks. You'd talked about them in some projects in the past. Also, the advice to try the drum sanders to determine whether or not your shop needs to escalate to one of the more expensive options is a fantastic one.
Alligator finger tape! End of video you mention gloves but I've found cases where gloves create more of a danger and I still needed some kind of protection. Alligator tape is commonly used by jewelers and when you need to hold light small items for sanding and especially when you have to work with a rotary tool. This tape is an absolute finger saver. It gives you more grip and both heat and abrasion protection. It only sticks to itself and it's very affordable. You can even use it over gloves if you need chemical/grime protection but your gloves are too thin to last from abrasion. Makes your disposable gloves last forever when polishing. Fingers are usually the first thing to go.
Also, gloves and spinning tools are a hazard - saw a guy nearly lose his left index finger to a drill chuck. Alligator finger tape sounds like a great idea. Thanks!
Great idea! After seeing your post i googled around a little and it seems quite a popular trick. Thanks! I just have to see what kind of stores have it in Bulgaria. Seems like something a sports store or a big pharmacy would have.
Yup! Jeweler here. When you're working with powerful rotary tools and holding something that's just shy of 4mm large, alligator tape is the way to go. So much better than any type of glove.
Adam, you are one of the makers who inspired me to get into making. About a year ago I sorted out the garage and have converted half of it into a woodworking shop. I have made so many things and have spent countless hours building things. I’ve started making the gifts I give to my family for holidays. I went from using just the tools my family had in the garage and I now have 2 3D printers (1 fdm printer and 1 msla printer), a bandsaw, and a hand lathe. This is something I could see myself doing as a hobby for the rest of my life. I just wanted to thank you for the motivation to finally do something I had wanted to do for a while and now love doing.
While I understand what was said about gloves, there's a counter to this "wear gloves" thing. I specifically instruct people in my shop /not/ to wear gloves with any spinning machine. The fact is, you can't feel the tip of that glove, and you will find yourself bumping stuff sometimes. That's fine. But with a spinning machine, it can be the case that the machine snags the glove and pulls it. Then more contact is made, and thus more pulling, to the point that the glove can end up being pulled into the machine. But if you go back to the start of the scenario, you'll be reminded that your hand is /in/ that glove when that happens. It can be quite unpleasant, and make a band-aid situation into an ambulance situation. The best example is a jointer, where being pulled in means you don't get to enjoy the benefits of those fingers ever again.
The recommendation I've seen is to use nitrile or similar gloves, which give you some protection against nicks and abrasions, but will tear before they can pull your hand somewhere it isn't supposed to be.
@@poetac15 You don't have time to wait for your equipment to be damaged to pieces by the slow action of the machine because ... it's not slow action. It's a catch, a pull, and an instant later it's over.
My favorite sander is the THICKNESS SANDER from BYRNES MODEL MACHINES. It is a great and very precise sander for small things. 6” wide drum, with about 1,5” thickness capacity. All hand fed. It has very precise thicknesses adjustment, and can flatten and plane wood, plastic, and softer metals. A bit pricey, but well worth every penny at 350 bucks. Using it always makes me happy. And it has sped up my work with building and repairing guitars a lot. Especially for thickening nuts, saddles, binding, and fretboard blanks.
I'm an rc airplane modeler and my absolute favorite sanding tools are permagrit. They are tungsten carbide bonded to steel and will never wear out under normal use, and they usually dont gum up, if they do a wire brush will clean them. I have a dremel sanding drum that's over 20 years old and still works great. They make files, blocks, flat bars, dremel bits, and even a hacksaw blade. Great stuff
Hey Adam, a tip I’ve found works for me is on the top of your sandpaper storage screw a hacksaw blade teeth side out and it’s a nice serrated cutter, slide the sheet under it and pull up from one side.
I have done exactly this, but I used my old worn out blades. They cut sandpaper easily, but not sharp enough to dig into my hand when I bump it into the holder.
I grew up in a puppet making studio in a theater around my dad who was a sculptor. One of his most used tools was the grinder. Since during the 80s in Bulgaria sandpaper was rare to find my dad reused one thrown out from a furniture factory. Restoring it included using acetone and a brass brush and a cotton rag. He had a couple of 250, 400 and 600 sheets which were used very sparingly.
I'm no maker... at least not for years now but... Adams love and enthusiasm, plus his various stories act like ASMR to me. So I watch these vids to relax, despite having little practical utility for me. Mr. Savage, never lose that sparkle.
I'll add mention of two more tools that I love. The oscillating multi-tool is great for detail work, with those triangular pads able to work into inside corners. they don't remove a lot of material quickly, but do have good control, plus can cut. Also, for bigger jobs, a 4 1/2" angle grinder can be equipped with sanding disks or toothed abrasive wheels, and works very well for sculpting on wood.
The mention of knowing you will use a tool before investing in a good one is something I try to get people to appreciate. Some people want to get "the right tool" right away, which keeps them from getting projects done while they save up for it, then they get it and it isn't what they thought it would be, or they aren't skilled enough to use it. Getting a "good enough tool" is what I advocate people go with so that they learn the lessons they need to learn without spending too much money. That way, by the time the "good enough tool" is no longer doing enough, they are ready to use "the right tool" to it's full potential
At secondary school I spent a lot of time using sandpaper, Japanese rasps and the disc sander. Just the thought of using a rasp or sander like that is instant nostalgia trip for me
I might say this is an excellent tool tip! Of course at my age I have found through trial-and-error everything that you were teaching today which is fantastic for these young kids coming up. This was an excellent tutorial for these youngins. This brought up some excellent memories of some of my arduous attempts at using sandpaper, the hard way. But now I know when to advance and I know when to go to the next Grit and which machine to use, so on that note thanks very much for the video I'm glad you put this out for these young modelers I hope they take heed. Have a great day and stay safe and keep your powder dry and your sandpaper ready!
Some sanding tips I use all the time: I keep a pair of scissors at my sandpaper station. Sandpaper trimmed squarely can make details and edges easier to make. I also use an inexpensive bench brush to clean my sandpaper if it starts to clog. If I'm sanding something that really gums up the paper, I use a wire brush to clean the paper so it doesn't scour the surface. I also have a dedicated air regulator that I can chuck into my air hose so I can precisely control my die grinder speed. I'll often set my rpms to a speed that reduces vibration when I have an attachment that gets harmonic vibration at a certain speed. A tip for scotch brite; if the scotch brite gets worn out, you can cut it into smaller pieces and use the cross section as a sanding medium. It's 3 dimensional so the inside is just as good at sanding as the outside surface.
Honestly a few things worth mentioning: Mouse, orbit, and handheld belt sanders have their uses depending on what you are working on, although they are probably the most notorious tools in the household/DIY world of having one and thinking it can do way more than it actually can/should (memories of my dad and I taking shifts sanding a deck over several days with a dinky mouse sander because my mother said we already had a sander so there was no need to rent a big one from home depot) Also I think a big BIG thing to add is... PPE! Masks are always a good idea when sanding, and depending on the material and grade of sandpaper, maybe a ventilator. Eye protection is especially important when dealing with sanding metal (especially powered sanding) because if you get a tiny metal fragment in your eye, you may just lose the eye if you step into a MRI 10 years later since matter that gets lodged into the eyeball doesn't necessarily come out. And as always, gloves are great but something you have to be very careful with when doing powered machining with something that can grab like sandpaper.
That shinto rasp is one of the tools I used the most by far. After my mother died, most of her tools were lost, and that rasp was one of them. It works wonders to shape wood, and even to do fine details! It saves SOOO much time over using different other tools to do the same thing. As soon as I have any budget again to buy new tools, a rasp like that is absolutely on the top of my list! I recognize the sand-paper issue too. Running out of any sandpaper would be awful! I have lots of types brands and sizes!
A rotary rasp in a die grinder is far and away the best rasp tool going. Though I just did get a farrier's rasp. But those cheap rotary rasps can't be beat. The only one you really need is the cone.
Back in the tool and die shop my dad started in our basement in 1978 one of the most indispensable machines was the simple, cheap belt sander we bought at Sears on sale when we first opened. 3 decades later, my S.O. bought a tiny belt sander just on a whim at a thrift shop not knowing what it was used for. I gushed. I was working on the electrical for our fixer upper and putting in EMT and steel flexi (rat-proofing. Rural), and I'd forgotten just how much quicker and easier it is to deburr stuff, sharpen drills, etc. Recently at work, I've had to put fire retardant coating on plywood boards. I discovered they're now coating essentially a stiff sponge with grit, which is just so convenient for quickly prepping wood surfaces over trying to coat a wood block or piece of rubber with paper. Maybe that's been available for a while, but it was a welcome discovery for me. 24:00 I'm having a similar annoyance with the vibration on using countersinks in a hand drill for sinking flatheads. Because of the oscillation that builds up I'm always cutting a hexagonal chamfer around a hole instead of round. Since nothing I do for work has to be overly aesthetic it's not a big deal, but I still find it annoying.
I had a sanding job at a firetruck company. I absolutely LOVE finger sanders. I can get inside the tig welded compartments to make the joins look like they were molded in that shape. It removes the welding patterns in the aluminum in the corners and angled joins. Great stuff!
The don’t overwork sand paper is something I’ve had to re learn as I’ve got back into scale modelling. Even using the ladder with such small subjects makes a huge difference to the end result
Two comments: (1) Surprised you didn't mention the venerable random orbital sander. Maybe it's more of a mainstay for woodworkers, as opposed to makers, but I think it deserves honorable mention nonetheless. (2) My experience is that it is always better to buy quality sandpaper. It stays sharp longer, it provides a better 'sanding experience', and in the long run it costs less.
Even if you're broke (I am), cheap sandpaper is more expensive. It's just crap. The good stuff (3M) takes out matter so much quicker and lasts so much longer it's crazy. Yeah each disc is expensive but it's not completely shot after 5 minutes.
High quality sand paper, you hit the nail on the head. For hand or machine sanding, get the good stuff. Also keep it from gumming up. Brush it with a toothbrush occasionally or whatever - it'll work a bit better and last a bit longer.
@@motobenbh4722 You can use a piece of rubber to clean sandpaper, it works really well. They sell some made for it but any rubber works, even the sole of an old shoe. It's crazy how well it cleans sandpaper and how much longer it lasts.
When I was in high school auto-body class, one third of our final summative was taking an 8.5x11 sheet of sand paper, separating it into two halves, then folding those halves into thirds to give approximately hand-sized pieces of sand paper, that you could then swap between the 3 segments to most optimally use all of the sandpaper.
A form of drum sander I use all of the time is a 6'' rubber drum mounted on a bench grinder. The drum has a metal disk that is the body of it and rubber vanes radially cast to the body and a outer rubber drum face. It is very true running and the centrifugal force holds the sand belts firmly yet flexibly to the drum. I call it a jewelers drum sander.
Great overview! I’m a woodworker and I use the random orbital sander in he shop almost every day. I’ve also got a Festool rotex that is is a geared rotating sander for rapid removal of material on flat surfaces. I also use a sanding eraser stick to in-clog the sandpaper. It works great and can extend the usability of the sandpaper by a LOT. Thanks for the great content!
Aw man, I REALLY needed Adam to tell me not to be precious with my sandpaper. Here's hoping that leads to much better sanding discipline!!! Thanks, Adam!
First I was like…”I’m a puppet builder and I don’t sand…” then it hit me, I sand rod handles and mouth plates for my particular style of puppets so I think Adam is correct that sanding is what unites us all. Lol
My school design teacher was demonstrating a disk sander whilst talking to the class, got distracted and sanded off the ends of his fingers. Best lesson ever. Still not as bad as the poor kid who got his balls trapped in a workbench vice. He was known as womble from then on.
A couple of accessories I would mention are sanding pads and sanding blocks. The pads are flexible foam that have a strap that keeps on your hand. The one I have takes the same velcro sanding paper disc's as my power sander. I have 2 sanding blocks. They are the automotive kind with clips at the end. The reason I have 2 is with one I unscrewed the clip from the end and drilled a small hole. I added lead fishing weights and glue then replaced the clip. The added weight means it applies pressure without muscle power. And as mentioned elsewhere, a belt cleaner is a great way to extend the life of sanding material. Especially with any powered applications. It looks like a giant eraser and harbor freight cheap is just fine.
One thing I love is big rolls of sticky-backed sandpaper, can be ordered online or found in a well-stocked auto parts store (or hardware store if you have a really excellent one!). It stays stuck to your hand (or sanding block of any shape). (So remember to move it or rotate it to use clean areas of it.)
I use to use a larger disc sander and I loved it.. It ate everything.. Wood, steel, fingers. Had a young guy who used the tool without permission and had gloves on and was sanding a very small part. The glove caught and pulled his index finger into the gap space and he was down to the end of his fingernail before he could yank his hand back. Those are great tools, just they don't forgive mistakes.
Not sure what channel I saw it on, but a YT woodworker said the general rule when going up the grits is to add 50%, so 80 > 120 > 180 then whatever you want to finish with, either 240 or 320. I find that works well for almost all projects.
I can 100% relate to the disc sander. As a pattern maker and fabricator the two most important machines in our shop are the bandsaw and the 20 inch Apex disc sander. With experience the disc sander can yield results equal to those achieved by many machinists. We recently upgraded it to a new motor and a VFD, not for variable speed but for dynamic braking and safety. It was too easy for someone to throw the old barrel switch into reverse and do some serious damage. The VFD makes that impossible.
I found that exact five roll box about five years back after you mentioned on your podcast about auto shop fabric backed sandpaper being better and that it often came in rolls. That was the only form factor I found easily.
great show, love your tutorials. As a metal worker and polisher, I used the Rolls Royce of electric sanding machines. Suhner machines and abrasives are pricey but the best I have used.
I like wet dry sand paper because Then I don't have to deal with dust (I don't have a work shop I work in my office) when I'm done a I put the water through a coffee filter and throw it in the trash so Im not putting resin dust down the sink. My sanding tip if your flattening the bottom of somthing put you sandpaper in a metal baking dish and use strong magnets to hold it them you just hold the tray much easier
The low hanging fruit for sanding is DA's and random orbit sanders but you can get large shaker sanders. They are helpful on large flat surfaces. The self adhesive sand paper is what I always go for. They make it easy to get small pieces or attach to any surface that you need. You can also remove some of the gum up with the rubber erasers or my dad always just used his jeans. This is tough on them but can get a lot off. The only thing I will add is that you should be careful if you get a buffer/ grinder. My dad always told me they are hungry for you and will not care what is in their way. He told me about a guy he knew being severely injured from it and not to wear baggy clothes while using one.
Very nice alternating plane sander, dear! My grandmother would approve. I am thinking maybe folks of previous generations so hoarded every scrap of things such as sandpaper out of necessity that your students were just used to doing so from watching the habits of their childhood mentors.
There is a tool used in the prosthetics and orthotics industry (artificial limbs and braces) called a "Trautman sander". It is a long stick with a thread on the end, where you can thread on various grits of cones (thin to thick) as well as grinder bits. This allows you to do fine sanding work on larger objects (cast of a leg or arm) using both hands. There are variable speed models, but I've only used the single speed ones. The trautman unit is on a pipe stalk and can be raised or lowered. The angle of the trautman can also be changed to point downward or upward.
As a knifemaker myself, it's good to see very specific tools for the knifemaker like the grinder you have to handle other detailed tasks in your shop. As a suggestion, I love using 3M stikit red. It's a 2 inch thick adhesive backed roll that's great for getting things flat and not have the sand paper move.
Great video, Adam! When I was working in the traveling wave tube (TWT) industry, I started out manufacturing waveguides, towards the end of assembly, we would climb the sandpaper ladder and at the last step, use the backside of 600 grit paper to obtain a polished surface on the waveguide flange.
One of my blacksmithing mentors apprenticed years ago with a professional swordsmith, and one of the gems of knowledge he picked up was, “Grind like the belts are free.” Using dull grinding belts and dull sandpaper is a false economy, as you will get your work done faster and better with sharp.
Great video! I screwed a hacksaw blade raised up by a two pennies into my sandpaper shelf. Slide a sheet of sandpaper and tear for perfect strips and sections.
Tossed a vfd on a Kalamazoo combo 12/6x24 $300 auction find. Lovely machine with the vfd, Put a plug on the built in vacuum for now taking this thing down to 10-20 percent power is is controllable. I couldn't ever imagine living without a sander like this.
For use on a die grinder, the best abrasive I've ever used is scotch-brite in a barrel form factor. It has almost no weight, so there isn't any chatter. These are designed to be used in a horrible arbor designed by 3M that don't really work, so don't use it. The best "arbor" we've found is an old short worn out conical burr. Push it right onto the cone. Just make sure they don't pentrate past about 1/2 way through the barrel. These are stiff little barrels of scotch-brite. These are really nice because you use them like you use a grinding wheel. If you need to clean up a radial surface, you use the barrel. If you need to clean up a flat surface you used the flat surface on top of the barrel. These were used to clean up holes when grounding vehicles to a frame. In 2 seconds the hole would be clean, then to make sure you had good contact with ground strap, we'd hit the area surrounding the hole with the top. These things are amazing. They work so well because they're designed to be used in die grinders. Every mechanic at out shop had a burr with one of these barrel pads in their tool boxes. Some of them had more than one. This was because, as they wear, they usable in smaller diameter holes. So once one wore out, they'd save them for tighter clearance situations. The ones you want are about an inch in diameter and maybe a little over an inch tall. Again the arbors you're supposed to use are worthless. Just experiment with finding the right conical burr. For safety reasons, you don't really want the exposed surfaces of the old cutting edge exposed, or maybe just file them down. www.rshughes.com/p/3M-Scotch-Brite-XL-UW-Unitized-Aluminum-Oxide-Medium-Deburring-Wheel-Medium-Grade-Arbor-Attachment-1-In-Diameter-1-8-In-Center-Hole-1-8-In-Thickness-15517/048011_15517/
Those 1" and up to 3" strip rolls are commonly called "abrasive shop rolls" if you're looking to buy some. Also those rolloc disks also come in a huge variety of sizes and grits that you can attach to a die grinder or drill. And the drums can also be had in a variety of scotch Brite abrasives.
yeah, agreed sanding is extremely important in many fields. I'm a woodworker, so I don't have much for knife grinding, but, I do have lots of sanding stuff. Sure, we all have our RO sanders, and portable belt sander. I have two stationary belt sanders, plus an edge sander, (horizontal and much longer belts). Yes, I agree a good disc sander is a must. I too have a Max, (20). But for wood, we need more. I have a BC large oscillating spindle sander, flap sanders, (they are great for curves). But the best investment in my mind for any woodworker, is a thickness sander. I originally got one of those drum sanders, but as soon as I could, I bought a small wide belt. Woodworkers spend about 80% of their time sanding it has been estimated. I pre sand ALL my stock to thickness, at least to 180 grit. Having a thickness sander, with belts that change in less than 20 seconds, makes woodworking enjoyable. If one is a serious woodworker, spending more than 8 hours a week even in the shop, I can't imagine not having such a machine. There used to be more models available, but now there are very few for the small shop. I have a 16" open ended wide belt, like the PM. Does it do as well as the closed ends? obviously not, but hell, it also only has 7 1/2 hp, where the closed ones start at 10 or more HP. My shop can't handle that amount of power.
I was a knifemaking apprentice, and we used those rolls of sandpaper strips extensively for handles. They are convenient, but expensive compared to making your own from sheets.
A decent alternative to a disc sander is a calibration platter for your table saw, to which you can attach adhesive sand paper; along with a variable speed motor controller which allows you to get better speed control, though the table saw on its own is quite adequate for most jobs. I also like the drill press for rotary drum sanding; you can even get adapters to allow it to travel up and down, equalizing the drum usage. Working in a small shop one has to maximize what you can accomplish with minimum tools.
Great video!! These comments are great too, adding to your case of just how broadly used sanding is. For the last bit on your die grinder with the drum sander, we use flapper discs in our metal shop, it keeps the vibration down and fits into contours quite well. One word of warning though, when they give up, they make a spectacular mess.
I like those finger sanders. That might be an upcoming purchase. I use pretty much everything you do otherwise though mostly on a smaller scale. The one tool that I have come REALLY to like is my floor standing 8" expanding wheel lapidary drum sander. I usually run 80 to up to 800 on it. My unit has two drums so I usually go coarse and fine. It does a great job on stone obviously but I also use it on Metal and wood. The resulting finishes can almost be mirror-like. Certainly a buffing wheel can take it the rest of the way there but I can take something that is gnarly pitted and rusted down to almost mirror-like with it.
I make and use a type of flap sander in my air die grinder, i start with a piece of 1/4" steel round stock, 4" long and sometimes longer, i then cut a slit in one end about 1", in the slit i slide a 1" strip of sand paper 2 or 3 inches long that i have folded in half lengthwise, you may need to tap the slit closed a little to keep the sand paper locked in, and twist the sand paper around the shaft in the direction the die grinder spins, this works great on any size hole you can make it fit into, 3/8" up to 2" in dia, they cost about 50 cents to make and about 15 min time.
W.r.t. sandpaper, I've been taught to use it as if it's free. No use spending more time with the same piece, as you don't end up using much more, but you save a lot of time
Excellent video Adam thank you. I converted one of my band saws into a sander. I custom order the sanding belts in the exact grit, diameter and size that fits. It is my go to for thin edge sanding on curvy material. I usually run 400.
Only thing I would add is to be careful with those drum sanders chucked into a drill press. The bearings on a drill press are sensitive to too much sideload, so go easy, friends! If you really bear down on a drum sander that's spinning in a drill press chuck you can easily cause permanent runout on your bearings. But they do great if you only need a bit taken off (or are really, really patient). Great video, Adam!
Adam for that little sander just order 5” or 6” PSA sanding discs. Also you already have cordless tools. Makita has the finger sander in 18V so does DeWalt I believe. For the little angle die grinder air tool those are called Rolocs. They have sand paper in that form factor as well. 40,60,80,120,180,220,320 grits etc. I’ve had good luck with Jet die grinders. They don’t vibrate. They’re more expensive though. I think I paid $140 for my straight die grinder and $128 for my angled die grinder.
Thank you as always for the informative and always entertaining and inspiring videos! If I can share one thing I picked up from a woodworker, the best way to cut sheets of sandpaper is with a metal hacksaw blade, it tears easily and leaves a beautiful clean edge!
Stellar video, with loads of helpful info, thank you! As an amateur knifemaker sanding and abrasives have become my life lately. And I agree that you can never have too many sanders :)
one thing i have found indispensable is the little mini drum sanders for dremel type tools. they can hog out a surprising amount of material thanks to dremel rpm but can be precise at the same time. they even make spiral shaped sanders for getting into tight places. if you're not already familiar with these i think you'd quite appreciate them!
Not many folks have the ability to project such a passion for something as mundane as sanding. I guess, to some degree, I have that passion. Over the years, there have been a couple of things that I have really liked using. The first was when I worked in manufacturing of plastic parts for the medical industry (making orthotics and prosthetics). We had a number of "spindle sanders" that were a long shaft that a rubber mandrel (with a brass center) could thread onto. My favorite were these tapered units about 4 inches long. We had gotten them from the industrial tool supply company called MSC. Really handy little tools. The other is a 3M product called "Sandblaster Pro Ultra Flexible" sanding sheets. They are like sandpaper, but with a flexible rubber sheet baking (instead of cloth or paper backing) which makes it REALLY GREAT for sanding contours (either inside or outside). I used to get this from Lowe's, but I haven't seen it for a long while now. Maybe it isn't on the market any longer. But if you find some...GRAB IT!
Is it wrong that I got really excited about this video 😂 I looooove sanding, and I WILL use anything from a stone to a machine sander.. But you can't beat the feeling of a piece of paper on the tips of your fingers going over the surface of the wood you're working on... Blissfully meditative ❤️🦊🏴🇬🇧
The Proxxon 5" disc sanding machine is sweet for model making - pricey, but well made, and with a variable speed control that allows you to sand styrene. Pricey, but worth it.
I have the 25cm version, the TSG 250/E, and I also can't say anything but great things about it. One of the most used machines in my shop, worth every penny of the 220ish Euros it cost. And the durability from Proxxon tools is pretty great, been using it heavily for over two years now, and it still chugs along perfectly like the very first day.
Loving this masterclass! Before watching, I was recalling Derek/Vice Grip Garage's recent meme about using 1 grit sandpaper...basically a cinder block LOL
When cutting an opal we use a similar process. We start with a 120 grit wheel, through to a 3000 grit wheel, then you have the options of diamond paste, cerium oxide or Nova wheels through to 50,000 grit wheel.
Adam, have you ever had the pleasure of using a micro mesh kit? As a surface finisher, I would frequently use a micro mesh sanding kit for fine work. I even used it to sand out scratches in Perspex aircraft windows. Micro mesh starts from about 400 grit and work up to 2000 - 2500 grit. Cool stuff.
Like Adam said in his shop he doesn't have to go past 400 grit. People get retarded with super fine grits finishing. If you're painting something 400 is about the limit.
A great place to get a lot of sanding tools and supplies would be your local Rockler store - for Bay Area folks, there is one in Concord. Perhaps Tested could reach out and get a sponsorship with them - a store tour with Adam would seem a natural way to benefit both companies.
Little advice. Specially for power tools. When the sand paper gets messy y clean it with dry silicone. You could use that silicone that comes in cartridges (don't know how You call it in usa) as a rubber for sand paper. Cheers from Argentina
This was a great informative vid Adam - As a prewar car body builder I use an edge sander everyday for shaping timber framing but probably a bit brutal for model making.
Not terribly long ago, ridgid changed the game for sanding by introducing an oscillating belt and spindle sander. The cool feature was that you got the benefits of being able to sand inside edges with the spindle sander and flat/outside edges with the pie slice/belt sander. They are now mass produced by numerous companies for grizzly, harbor freight, Triton and wen as some examples, but they are a fantastic tool and highly recommend one to any maker!
Klingspoor sells a “bargain box” of sand paper for dirt cheap. It’s a great way to get a range of grits in your shop fast. It’s off cuts from giant rolls, so it’s usually narrow rolls, but they’re extremely useful in the shop!
Scads of makers, including knife makers, have made their gateway bench sander your basic 1" x 30" belt sander, with like a 1/3 HP motor, and even the Harbor Freight version has allowed people to be introduced to whatever making at a very reasonable cost.
Excellent overview -- and encouragement to make one's own variation of a needed tool. In my experience, making a really narrow or oddly contoured sanding device has suggested to me that I cut the shape out of -- in my case -- .040" styrene and CA whatever grit I wish in place. One can often get close to tight radii with simply rolling up sandpapers-- but when you need a little more ooomph, a solid backing is nice. This is a variation on using a popsicle stick (of course) but I feel with more flexibility. Plus, if you use wet-or-dry, you can usually just wash it clean to use it "forever!" (I work in really soft stuff, styrene, resin and putties.)
I often use a Dremel for small or fine work. They have 2 diameter drums with a couple of grades of grit ,3 grades of flat discs and 3 grades of scotch pad type abrasives.
One bit of advice for power sanders, don't apply too much pressure. Let the tool do the work. Too much pressure can lead to clogging the abrasive faster. Also, they sell sanding belt cleaners, which are a big rubber stick that you press against the running tool and it cleans sawdust (and some plastic residue) out of the abrasive. I've used them on belts, disks, and drums, all to good effect.
As a very precise, pencil-style of sanding, I use a pin vise with a variety of vertical wire brushes as my sanding ladder, culminating in a fiberglass sanding pen as the highest 'grit'
The dewalt rotatory sander: "DWE6401DS" - I take the dust shroud off but my goodness... I use that thing every time I go into the shop, almost daily. first off... Hook and loop sanding system with a sponge backer. Conformal. Maybe not ideal, but it makes swapping paper easssy. Love the fact you can take the second handle right off. AND... Not gonna lie, I've made some mounts for it too. At first I didn't like it that much, but now, if it ever wears out I'm buying another right away. Great RPMs, VERY variable, in fact it's just a sanding head mated to a drill, but without all the mechanical slop and excessive length a chuck-in sanding adapter has. It feels like an engineers afterthought, but I love it :)
One little piece of abrasive you might like are mold polishing stones They come in a variety of abrasives and normally used in the vehicle industry for precision surfacing of things like alloy heads and other gasket surfaces on cars. Come usually in the standard spec of 80-1000grit and I find them really useful in some knife making, so they stand up well to hardened metals- not much good on timber or softer plastic though
Thanks for the great advice . I have never been very skillful at cutting sand paper plus I don't like to dull scissors or tin snips, so I fold the sand paper, grit side in, and gently run the folded edge across the face of a grinding wheel. It always cuts right where I want it to and harms nothing.
I am very surprised you have not mentioned using shoe crepe sole to extend the life of any grit sandpaper. I use my drill press with drum sanders and frequently run my small crepe square on it to clear the voids between the particles. I use it on my dremel attachments. It extends the life and is very inexpensive. My crepe square used to be for removing rubber cement from paper. It has now be relegated to cleaning all my sanding surfaces.
Wood turning taught me how to sand after decades of bad sanding habits. When I’m done sanding there is a mountain of tiny strips of paper on the floor - I have a really good feel for when to toss a piece that’s losing its effectiveness, and with higher grits, especially after shellac or CA, it can be after a couple passes. Same thing with applicator cloth/paper towel for CA. One pass and toss.
Tool tips by Adam, the tool man savage. I love sanders In the process of setting up my garage as a make space. Amazon and harbor freight are great cheap resources to see if you will utilize a tool. If it works and you wear it out time to get a better version.
Great vid as usual. The only thing I would add would be using blades and scrapers. A lot of shaping and smoothing I've done with plastics I've done with the humble Stanley knife blade.
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I have used my angle grinder for sanding
I do have a smaller angle grinder I bought at HARBOR freight I modified for different sanding disc to fit. I couldn't find a small sander like the air die grinders so I had to make my own electric small die grinder/sander
Do you have a link for the metal sanders that you learned about from Weta?
The sanding solution that we use daily for our work, that no one seems to know about, is an expanding-drum lapidary wheel. They are amazing for being able to push hard into a high surface speed wheel, but without pushing into either a flat or a rigidly round fixed-radius surface. This means that you can have a lot of finesse in making nice soft (external) edges and radii on large handheld metal objects, while still removing a lot of material quickly. I'm always surprised that these are not a staple of more metal shops, and don't seem to be mentioned by any maker RUclips channels. Maybe I should make a video about them...
Good advice
Not mentioned in the video but the #1 Sanding tool you should have is a block of spun rubber to clean your sand paper. A.K.A. Abrasive Cleaning Stick If you have never had, used, or heard of one your shop life will never be the same without it.
I came here to say this. I just started using one a couple years ago and it’s been a phenomenal upgrade.
That sounds amazing. Will definitely buy that
The afore mentioned cleaning tool also works a trick for de-gunking needle files and bench grinder wheels. Gotta have it.
In a pinch, you can also use e.g. the soles of some old shoes or the like (if you don't have special cleaning stick's) to clean the sandpaper. You get a LOT more mileage out of e.g. your disk sander before you have to change the sand paper itself by cleaning it.
Yes two very neglected and very handy tools, the rubber sanding cleaner, and the grinder wheel dresser. ESPECIALLY if you have an Aluminum addiction.
I adore these deep dives into tools- some of my favorite content Adam makes (and I love it all)!
Thank you for the comment! We appreciate it.
@@tested as a tobacco pipe carver, I thank you for putting this up, it will give me all kinds of new ideas
Small orbital sander
You forgot to mention fingernail file sticks. You'd talked about them in some projects in the past.
Also, the advice to try the drum sanders to determine whether or not your shop needs to escalate to one of the more expensive options is a fantastic one.
Yep, small spots that just need a kiss.
Alligator finger tape! End of video you mention gloves but I've found cases where gloves create more of a danger and I still needed some kind of protection. Alligator tape is commonly used by jewelers and when you need to hold light small items for sanding and especially when you have to work with a rotary tool. This tape is an absolute finger saver. It gives you more grip and both heat and abrasion protection. It only sticks to itself and it's very affordable.
You can even use it over gloves if you need chemical/grime protection but your gloves are too thin to last from abrasion. Makes your disposable gloves last forever when polishing. Fingers are usually the first thing to go.
Also, gloves and spinning tools are a hazard - saw a guy nearly lose his left index finger to a drill chuck. Alligator finger tape sounds like a great idea. Thanks!
Great idea! After seeing your post i googled around a little and it seems quite a popular trick. Thanks! I just have to see what kind of stores have it in Bulgaria. Seems like something a sports store or a big pharmacy would have.
Yup! Jeweler here. When you're working with powerful rotary tools and holding something that's just shy of 4mm large, alligator tape is the way to go. So much better than any type of glove.
Adam, you are one of the makers who inspired me to get into making. About a year ago I sorted out the garage and have converted half of it into a woodworking shop. I have made so many things and have spent countless hours building things. I’ve started making the gifts I give to my family for holidays. I went from using just the tools my family had in the garage and I now have 2 3D printers (1 fdm printer and 1 msla printer), a bandsaw, and a hand lathe. This is something I could see myself doing as a hobby for the rest of my life. I just wanted to thank you for the motivation to finally do something I had wanted to do for a while and now love doing.
Tool videos are always my favourite.
While I understand what was said about gloves, there's a counter to this "wear gloves" thing. I specifically instruct people in my shop /not/ to wear gloves with any spinning machine. The fact is, you can't feel the tip of that glove, and you will find yourself bumping stuff sometimes. That's fine. But with a spinning machine, it can be the case that the machine snags the glove and pulls it. Then more contact is made, and thus more pulling, to the point that the glove can end up being pulled into the machine. But if you go back to the start of the scenario, you'll be reminded that your hand is /in/ that glove when that happens. It can be quite unpleasant, and make a band-aid situation into an ambulance situation. The best example is a jointer, where being pulled in means you don't get to enjoy the benefits of those fingers ever again.
I broke a finger and crushed 3, when my glove was grabbed by a sewer snake.
The recommendation I've seen is to use nitrile or similar gloves, which give you some protection against nicks and abrasions, but will tear before they can pull your hand somewhere it isn't supposed to be.
Don’t wear gloves strong enough to pull you into any spinning tool.
@@poetac15 You don't have time to wait for your equipment to be damaged to pieces by the slow action of the machine because ... it's not slow action. It's a catch, a pull, and an instant later it's over.
For manual sanding it should be fine. I nicked a knuckle with a rasp the other day. It was small, but the tiny cuts got infected for two days.
My favorite sander is the THICKNESS SANDER from BYRNES MODEL MACHINES. It is a great and very precise sander for small things. 6” wide drum, with about 1,5” thickness capacity. All hand fed. It has very precise thicknesses adjustment, and can flatten and plane wood, plastic, and softer metals. A bit pricey, but well worth every penny at 350 bucks.
Using it always makes me happy. And it has sped up my work with building and repairing guitars a lot. Especially for thickening nuts, saddles, binding, and fretboard blanks.
I'm an rc airplane modeler and my absolute favorite sanding tools are permagrit. They are tungsten carbide bonded to steel and will never wear out under normal use, and they usually dont gum up, if they do a wire brush will clean them. I have a dremel sanding drum that's over 20 years old and still works great. They make files, blocks, flat bars, dremel bits, and even a hacksaw blade. Great stuff
I've invested a lot of resources in sanding machines. They take up a lot of space in the shop but worth every inch.
Sand in the place where you live....
Hey Adam, a tip I’ve found works for me is on the top of your sandpaper storage screw a hacksaw blade teeth side out and it’s a nice serrated cutter, slide the sheet under it and pull up from one side.
Like the sharp box edge for a roll of seran wrap. Nice tip!
I have done exactly this, but I used my old worn out blades. They cut sandpaper easily, but not sharp enough to dig into my hand when I bump it into the holder.
Beat me to it.
I grew up in a puppet making studio in a theater around my dad who was a sculptor. One of his most used tools was the grinder. Since during the 80s in Bulgaria sandpaper was rare to find my dad reused one thrown out from a furniture factory. Restoring it included using acetone and a brass brush and a cotton rag. He had a couple of 250, 400 and 600 sheets which were used very sparingly.
I'm no maker... at least not for years now but... Adams love and enthusiasm, plus his various stories act like ASMR to me. So I watch these vids to relax, despite having little practical utility for me.
Mr. Savage, never lose that sparkle.
I'll add mention of two more tools that I love. The oscillating multi-tool is great for detail work, with those triangular pads able to work into inside corners. they don't remove a lot of material quickly, but do have good control, plus can cut. Also, for bigger jobs, a 4 1/2" angle grinder can be equipped with sanding disks or toothed abrasive wheels, and works very well for sculpting on wood.
Thank you for sharing your tip, Mark!
The mention of knowing you will use a tool before investing in a good one is something I try to get people to appreciate.
Some people want to get "the right tool" right away, which keeps them from getting projects done while they save up for it, then they get it and it isn't what they thought it would be, or they aren't skilled enough to use it.
Getting a "good enough tool" is what I advocate people go with so that they learn the lessons they need to learn without spending too much money. That way, by the time the "good enough tool" is no longer doing enough, they are ready to use "the right tool" to it's full potential
At secondary school I spent a lot of time using sandpaper, Japanese rasps and the disc sander. Just the thought of using a rasp or sander like that is instant nostalgia trip for me
I might say this is an excellent tool tip! Of course at my age I have found through trial-and-error everything that you were teaching today which is fantastic for these young kids coming up. This was an excellent tutorial for these youngins. This brought up some excellent memories of some of my arduous attempts at using sandpaper, the hard way. But now I know when to advance and I know when to go to the next Grit and which machine to use, so on that note thanks very much for the video I'm glad you put this out for these young modelers I hope they take heed. Have a great day and stay safe and keep your powder dry and your sandpaper ready!
Some sanding tips I use all the time: I keep a pair of scissors at my sandpaper station. Sandpaper trimmed squarely can make details and edges easier to make. I also use an inexpensive bench brush to clean my sandpaper if it starts to clog. If I'm sanding something that really gums up the paper, I use a wire brush to clean the paper so it doesn't scour the surface. I also have a dedicated air regulator that I can chuck into my air hose so I can precisely control my die grinder speed. I'll often set my rpms to a speed that reduces vibration when I have an attachment that gets harmonic vibration at a certain speed. A tip for scotch brite; if the scotch brite gets worn out, you can cut it into smaller pieces and use the cross section as a sanding medium. It's 3 dimensional so the inside is just as good at sanding as the outside surface.
Honestly a few things worth mentioning:
Mouse, orbit, and handheld belt sanders have their uses depending on what you are working on, although they are probably the most notorious tools in the household/DIY world of having one and thinking it can do way more than it actually can/should (memories of my dad and I taking shifts sanding a deck over several days with a dinky mouse sander because my mother said we already had a sander so there was no need to rent a big one from home depot)
Also I think a big BIG thing to add is... PPE! Masks are always a good idea when sanding, and depending on the material and grade of sandpaper, maybe a ventilator. Eye protection is especially important when dealing with sanding metal (especially powered sanding) because if you get a tiny metal fragment in your eye, you may just lose the eye if you step into a MRI 10 years later since matter that gets lodged into the eyeball doesn't necessarily come out. And as always, gloves are great but something you have to be very careful with when doing powered machining with something that can grab like sandpaper.
That shinto rasp is one of the tools I used the most by far. After my mother died, most of her tools were lost, and that rasp was one of them. It works wonders to shape wood, and even to do fine details! It saves SOOO much time over using different other tools to do the same thing. As soon as I have any budget again to buy new tools, a rasp like that is absolutely on the top of my list!
I recognize the sand-paper issue too. Running out of any sandpaper would be awful! I have lots of types brands and sizes!
A rotary rasp in a die grinder is far and away the best rasp tool going. Though I just did get a farrier's rasp. But those cheap rotary rasps can't be beat. The only one you really need is the cone.
Back in the tool and die shop my dad started in our basement in 1978 one of the most indispensable machines was the simple, cheap belt sander we bought at Sears on sale when we first opened. 3 decades later, my S.O. bought a tiny belt sander just on a whim at a thrift shop not knowing what it was used for. I gushed. I was working on the electrical for our fixer upper and putting in EMT and steel flexi (rat-proofing. Rural), and I'd forgotten just how much quicker and easier it is to deburr stuff, sharpen drills, etc.
Recently at work, I've had to put fire retardant coating on plywood boards. I discovered they're now coating essentially a stiff sponge with grit, which is just so convenient for quickly prepping wood surfaces over trying to coat a wood block or piece of rubber with paper. Maybe that's been available for a while, but it was a welcome discovery for me.
24:00 I'm having a similar annoyance with the vibration on using countersinks in a hand drill for sinking flatheads. Because of the oscillation that builds up I'm always cutting a hexagonal chamfer around a hole instead of round. Since nothing I do for work has to be overly aesthetic it's not a big deal, but I still find it annoying.
I had a sanding job at a firetruck company. I absolutely LOVE finger sanders. I can get inside the tig welded compartments to make the joins look like they were molded in that shape. It removes the welding patterns in the aluminum in the corners and angled joins. Great stuff!
The don’t overwork sand paper is something I’ve had to re learn as I’ve got back into scale modelling. Even using the ladder with such small subjects makes a huge difference to the end result
Two comments: (1) Surprised you didn't mention the venerable random orbital sander. Maybe it's more of a mainstay for woodworkers, as opposed to makers, but I think it deserves honorable mention nonetheless. (2) My experience is that it is always better to buy quality sandpaper. It stays sharp longer, it provides a better 'sanding experience', and in the long run it costs less.
Even if you're broke (I am), cheap sandpaper is more expensive. It's just crap. The good stuff (3M) takes out matter so much quicker and lasts so much longer it's crazy. Yeah each disc is expensive but it's not completely shot after 5 minutes.
High quality sand paper, you hit the nail on the head. For hand or machine sanding, get the good stuff.
Also keep it from gumming up. Brush it with a toothbrush occasionally or whatever - it'll work a bit better and last a bit longer.
@@motobenbh4722 You can use a piece of rubber to clean sandpaper, it works really well. They sell some made for it but any rubber works, even the sole of an old shoe. It's crazy how well it cleans sandpaper and how much longer it lasts.
When I was in high school auto-body class, one third of our final summative was taking an 8.5x11 sheet of sand paper, separating it into two halves, then folding those halves into thirds to give approximately hand-sized pieces of sand paper, that you could then swap between the 3 segments to most optimally use all of the sandpaper.
A form of drum sander I use all of the time is a 6'' rubber drum mounted on a bench grinder. The drum has a metal disk that is the body of it and rubber vanes radially cast to the body and a outer rubber drum face. It is very true running and the centrifugal force holds the sand belts firmly yet flexibly to the drum. I call it a jewelers drum sander.
Great overview! I’m a woodworker and I use the random orbital sander in he shop almost every day. I’ve also got a Festool rotex that is is a geared rotating sander for rapid removal of material on flat surfaces. I also use a sanding eraser stick to in-clog the sandpaper. It works great and can extend the usability of the sandpaper by a LOT. Thanks for the great content!
If you were a woodworker you'd use planes and scrapers on wood. You're one of those Normites that can't even read the grain of wood.
Aw man, I REALLY needed Adam to tell me not to be precious with my sandpaper. Here's hoping that leads to much better sanding discipline!!! Thanks, Adam!
First I was like…”I’m a puppet builder and I don’t sand…” then it hit me, I sand rod handles and mouth plates for my particular style of puppets so I think Adam is correct that sanding is what unites us all. Lol
👆This comment was written by Anakin Skywalker
PUPPETS????!!! We love puppets!
@@tested I know :)
My school design teacher was demonstrating a disk sander whilst talking to the class, got distracted and sanded off the ends of his fingers. Best lesson ever.
Still not as bad as the poor kid who got his balls trapped in a workbench vice. He was known as womble from then on.
A couple of accessories I would mention are sanding pads and sanding blocks. The pads are flexible foam that have a strap that keeps on your hand. The one I have takes the same velcro sanding paper disc's as my power sander. I have 2 sanding blocks. They are the automotive kind with clips at the end. The reason I have 2 is with one I unscrewed the clip from the end and drilled a small hole. I added lead fishing weights and glue then replaced the clip. The added weight means it applies pressure without muscle power.
And as mentioned elsewhere, a belt cleaner is a great way to extend the life of sanding material. Especially with any powered applications. It looks like a giant eraser and harbor freight cheap is just fine.
One thing I love is big rolls of sticky-backed sandpaper, can be ordered online or found in a well-stocked auto parts store (or hardware store if you have a really excellent one!). It stays stuck to your hand (or sanding block of any shape). (So remember to move it or rotate it to use clean areas of it.)
I use to use a larger disc sander and I loved it.. It ate everything.. Wood, steel, fingers. Had a young guy who used the tool without permission and had gloves on and was sanding a very small part. The glove caught and pulled his index finger into the gap space and he was down to the end of his fingernail before he could yank his hand back. Those are great tools, just they don't forgive mistakes.
Not sure what channel I saw it on, but a YT woodworker said the general rule when going up the grits is to add 50%, so 80 > 120 > 180 then whatever you want to finish with, either 240 or 320. I find that works well for almost all projects.
I can 100% relate to the disc sander. As a pattern maker and fabricator the two most important machines in our shop are the bandsaw and the 20 inch Apex disc sander. With experience the disc sander can yield results equal to those achieved by many machinists. We recently upgraded it to a new motor and a VFD, not for variable speed but for dynamic braking and safety. It was too easy for someone to throw the old barrel switch into reverse and do some serious damage. The VFD makes that impossible.
I found that exact five roll box about five years back after you mentioned on your podcast about auto shop fabric backed sandpaper being better and that it often came in rolls. That was the only form factor I found easily.
great show, love your tutorials. As a metal worker and polisher, I used the Rolls Royce of electric sanding machines. Suhner machines and abrasives are pricey but the best I have used.
I like wet dry sand paper because
Then I don't have to deal with dust (I don't have a work shop I work in my office) when I'm done a I put the water through a coffee filter and throw it in the trash so Im not putting resin dust down the sink. My sanding tip if your flattening the bottom of somthing put you sandpaper in a metal baking dish and use strong magnets to hold it them you just hold the tray much easier
The low hanging fruit for sanding is DA's and random orbit sanders but you can get large shaker sanders. They are helpful on large flat surfaces. The self adhesive sand paper is what I always go for. They make it easy to get small pieces or attach to any surface that you need. You can also remove some of the gum up with the rubber erasers or my dad always just used his jeans. This is tough on them but can get a lot off. The only thing I will add is that you should be careful if you get a buffer/ grinder. My dad always told me they are hungry for you and will not care what is in their way. He told me about a guy he knew being severely injured from it and not to wear baggy clothes while using one.
Very nice alternating plane sander, dear! My grandmother would approve. I am thinking maybe folks of previous generations so hoarded every scrap of things such as sandpaper out of necessity that your students were just used to doing so from watching the habits of their childhood mentors.
There is a tool used in the prosthetics and orthotics industry (artificial limbs and braces) called a "Trautman sander". It is a long stick with a thread on the end, where you can thread on various grits of cones (thin to thick) as well as grinder bits. This allows you to do fine sanding work on larger objects (cast of a leg or arm) using both hands. There are variable speed models, but I've only used the single speed ones. The trautman unit is on a pipe stalk and can be raised or lowered. The angle of the trautman can also be changed to point downward or upward.
As a knifemaker myself, it's good to see very specific tools for the knifemaker like the grinder you have to handle other detailed tasks in your shop. As a suggestion, I love using 3M stikit red. It's a 2 inch thick adhesive backed roll that's great for getting things flat and not have the sand paper move.
Great video, Adam! When I was working in the traveling wave tube (TWT) industry, I started out manufacturing waveguides, towards the end of assembly, we would climb the sandpaper ladder and at the last step, use the backside of 600 grit paper to obtain a polished surface on the waveguide flange.
One of my blacksmithing mentors apprenticed years ago with a professional swordsmith, and one of the gems of knowledge he picked up was, “Grind like the belts are free.” Using dull grinding belts and dull sandpaper is a false economy, as you will get your work done faster and better with sharp.
Great video! I screwed a hacksaw blade raised up by a two pennies into my sandpaper shelf. Slide a sheet of sandpaper and tear for perfect strips and sections.
I am mostly a finisher and grew up on the sanding side of fabrication, I have always loved your stuff but this hit home :)
Tossed a vfd on a Kalamazoo combo 12/6x24 $300 auction find. Lovely machine with the vfd, Put a plug on the built in vacuum for now taking this thing down to 10-20 percent power is is controllable. I couldn't ever imagine living without a sander like this.
For use on a die grinder, the best abrasive I've ever used is scotch-brite in a barrel form factor. It has almost no weight, so there isn't any chatter. These are designed to be used in a horrible arbor designed by 3M that don't really work, so don't use it. The best "arbor" we've found is an old short worn out conical burr. Push it right onto the cone. Just make sure they don't pentrate past about 1/2 way through the barrel. These are stiff little barrels of scotch-brite. These are really nice because you use them like you use a grinding wheel. If you need to clean up a radial surface, you use the barrel. If you need to clean up a flat surface you used the flat surface on top of the barrel. These were used to clean up holes when grounding vehicles to a frame. In 2 seconds the hole would be clean, then to make sure you had good contact with ground strap, we'd hit the area surrounding the hole with the top. These things are amazing. They work so well because they're designed to be used in die grinders. Every mechanic at out shop had a burr with one of these barrel pads in their tool boxes. Some of them had more than one. This was because, as they wear, they usable in smaller diameter holes. So once one wore out, they'd save them for tighter clearance situations. The ones you want are about an inch in diameter and maybe a little over an inch tall.
Again the arbors you're supposed to use are worthless. Just experiment with finding the right conical burr. For safety reasons, you don't really want the exposed surfaces of the old cutting edge exposed, or maybe just file them down.
www.rshughes.com/p/3M-Scotch-Brite-XL-UW-Unitized-Aluminum-Oxide-Medium-Deburring-Wheel-Medium-Grade-Arbor-Attachment-1-In-Diameter-1-8-In-Center-Hole-1-8-In-Thickness-15517/048011_15517/
Those 1" and up to 3" strip rolls are commonly called "abrasive shop rolls" if you're looking to buy some. Also those rolloc disks also come in a huge variety of sizes and grits that you can attach to a die grinder or drill. And the drums can also be had in a variety of scotch Brite abrasives.
I can honestly watch your content all day Adam, it's so engaging
I made a 12" disk sander 5 years ago, I have used and loved it almost every day since
yeah, agreed sanding is extremely important in many fields. I'm a woodworker, so I don't have much for knife grinding, but, I do have lots of sanding stuff. Sure, we all have our RO sanders, and portable belt sander. I have two stationary belt sanders, plus an edge sander, (horizontal and much longer belts). Yes, I agree a good disc sander is a must. I too have a Max, (20). But for wood, we need more. I have a BC large oscillating spindle sander, flap sanders, (they are great for curves). But the best investment in my mind for any woodworker, is a thickness sander. I originally got one of those drum sanders, but as soon as I could, I bought a small wide belt. Woodworkers spend about 80% of their time sanding it has been estimated. I pre sand ALL my stock to thickness, at least to 180 grit. Having a thickness sander, with belts that change in less than 20 seconds, makes woodworking enjoyable. If one is a serious woodworker, spending more than 8 hours a week even in the shop, I can't imagine not having such a machine. There used to be more models available, but now there are very few for the small shop. I have a 16" open ended wide belt, like the PM. Does it do as well as the closed ends? obviously not, but hell, it also only has 7 1/2 hp, where the closed ones start at 10 or more HP. My shop can't handle that amount of power.
I was a knifemaking apprentice, and we used those rolls of sandpaper strips extensively for handles. They are convenient, but expensive compared to making your own from sheets.
A decent alternative to a disc sander is a calibration platter for your table saw, to which you can attach adhesive sand paper; along with a variable speed motor controller which allows you to get better speed control, though the table saw on its own is quite adequate for most jobs. I also like the drill press for rotary drum sanding; you can even get adapters to allow it to travel up and down, equalizing the drum usage.
Working in a small shop one has to maximize what you can accomplish with minimum tools.
Great video!! These comments are great too, adding to your case of just how broadly used sanding is. For the last bit on your die grinder with the drum sander, we use flapper discs in our metal shop, it keeps the vibration down and fits into contours quite well. One word of warning though, when they give up, they make a spectacular mess.
I like those finger sanders. That might be an upcoming purchase. I use pretty much everything you do otherwise though mostly on a smaller scale. The one tool that I have come REALLY to like is my floor standing 8" expanding wheel lapidary drum sander. I usually run 80 to up to 800 on it. My unit has two drums so I usually go coarse and fine. It does a great job on stone obviously but I also use it on Metal and wood. The resulting finishes can almost be mirror-like. Certainly a buffing wheel can take it the rest of the way there but I can take something that is gnarly pitted and rusted down to almost mirror-like with it.
I make and use a type of flap sander in my air die grinder, i start with a piece of 1/4" steel round stock, 4" long and sometimes longer, i then cut a slit in one end about 1", in the slit i slide a 1" strip of sand paper 2 or 3 inches long that i have folded in half lengthwise, you may need to tap the slit closed a little to keep the sand paper locked in, and twist the sand paper around the shaft in the direction the die grinder spins, this works great on any size hole you can make it fit into, 3/8" up to 2" in dia, they cost about 50 cents to make and about 15 min time.
W.r.t. sandpaper, I've been taught to use it as if it's free. No use spending more time with the same piece, as you don't end up using much more, but you save a lot of time
Excellent video Adam thank you. I converted one of my band saws into a sander. I custom order the sanding belts in the exact grit, diameter and size that fits. It is my go to for thin edge sanding on curvy material. I usually run 400.
Only thing I would add is to be careful with those drum sanders chucked into a drill press. The bearings on a drill press are sensitive to too much sideload, so go easy, friends! If you really bear down on a drum sander that's spinning in a drill press chuck you can easily cause permanent runout on your bearings. But they do great if you only need a bit taken off (or are really, really patient). Great video, Adam!
Flap wheels and sanding mops. So very useful for shaping.
Adam for that little sander just order 5” or 6” PSA sanding discs.
Also you already have cordless tools. Makita has the finger sander in 18V so does DeWalt I believe.
For the little angle die grinder air tool those are called Rolocs. They have sand paper in that form factor as well. 40,60,80,120,180,220,320 grits etc.
I’ve had good luck with Jet die grinders. They don’t vibrate. They’re more expensive though. I think I paid $140 for my straight die grinder and $128 for my angled die grinder.
Tools I use a lot for sanding: flap discs, both on drill and angle grinder
Thank you as always for the informative and always entertaining and inspiring videos!
If I can share one thing I picked up from a woodworker, the best way to cut sheets of sandpaper is with a metal hacksaw blade, it tears easily and leaves a beautiful clean edge!
Stellar video, with loads of helpful info, thank you! As an amateur knifemaker sanding and abrasives have become my life lately. And I agree that you can never have too many sanders :)
one thing i have found indispensable is the little mini drum sanders for dremel type tools. they can hog out a surprising amount of material thanks to dremel rpm but can be precise at the same time. they even make spiral shaped sanders for getting into tight places. if you're not already familiar with these i think you'd quite appreciate them!
I really like the sanding drums for dremels and such for small work.
Not many folks have the ability to project such a passion for something as mundane as sanding. I guess, to some degree, I have that passion. Over the years, there have been a couple of things that I have really liked using.
The first was when I worked in manufacturing of plastic parts for the medical industry (making orthotics and prosthetics). We had a number of "spindle sanders" that were a long shaft that a rubber mandrel (with a brass center) could thread onto. My favorite were these tapered units about 4 inches long. We had gotten them from the industrial tool supply company called MSC. Really handy little tools.
The other is a 3M product called "Sandblaster Pro Ultra Flexible" sanding sheets. They are like sandpaper, but with a flexible rubber sheet baking (instead of cloth or paper backing) which makes it REALLY GREAT for sanding contours (either inside or outside). I used to get this from Lowe's, but I haven't seen it for a long while now. Maybe it isn't on the market any longer. But if you find some...GRAB IT!
Is it wrong that I got really excited about this video 😂 I looooove sanding, and I WILL use anything from a stone to a machine sander.. But you can't beat the feeling of a piece of paper on the tips of your fingers going over the surface of the wood you're working on... Blissfully meditative ❤️🦊🏴🇬🇧
I've worked on aircraft windshields, windows Inside and out ,wet . Very well paid rewarding work
The Proxxon 5" disc sanding machine is sweet for model making - pricey, but well made, and with a variable speed control that allows you to sand styrene. Pricey, but worth it.
I have the 25cm version, the TSG 250/E, and I also can't say anything but great things about it. One of the most used machines in my shop, worth every penny of the 220ish Euros it cost. And the durability from Proxxon tools is pretty great, been using it heavily for over two years now, and it still chugs along perfectly like the very first day.
Loving this masterclass! Before watching, I was recalling Derek/Vice Grip Garage's recent meme about using 1 grit sandpaper...basically a cinder block LOL
When cutting an opal we use a similar process. We start with a 120 grit wheel, through to a 3000 grit wheel, then you have the options of diamond paste, cerium oxide or Nova wheels through to 50,000 grit wheel.
Adam, have you ever had the pleasure of using a micro mesh kit? As a surface finisher, I would frequently use a micro mesh sanding kit for fine work. I even used it to sand out scratches in Perspex aircraft windows. Micro mesh starts from about 400 grit and work up to 2000 - 2500 grit. Cool stuff.
Like Adam said in his shop he doesn't have to go past 400 grit. People get retarded with super fine grits finishing. If you're painting something 400 is about the limit.
MicroMesh is great product, they have lines for wood, metal and several plastics.
@@ralphlindberg1299 thank you for letting me know Ralph. Using micro mesh kits is therapeutic. It’s so rewarding to get that finish.
A great place to get a lot of sanding tools and supplies would be your local Rockler store - for Bay Area folks, there is one in Concord. Perhaps Tested could reach out and get a sponsorship with them - a store tour with Adam would seem a natural way to benefit both companies.
Little advice. Specially for power tools. When the sand paper gets messy y clean it with dry silicone. You could use that silicone that comes in cartridges (don't know how You call it in usa) as a rubber for sand paper. Cheers from Argentina
That was great. One thing you did leave out was sanding and grinding bits for the Dremel rotary tool. I use those quite often in model making.
This was a great informative vid Adam - As a prewar car body builder I use an edge sander everyday for shaping timber framing but probably a bit brutal for model making.
Not terribly long ago, ridgid changed the game for sanding by introducing an oscillating belt and spindle sander. The cool feature was that you got the benefits of being able to sand inside edges with the spindle sander and flat/outside edges with the pie slice/belt sander. They are now mass produced by numerous companies for grizzly, harbor freight, Triton and wen as some examples, but they are a fantastic tool and highly recommend one to any maker!
This is really one of the most amazing video about Sanding ! Thank you so much , Mr. Adam 😌 !
Klingspoor sells a “bargain box” of sand paper for dirt cheap. It’s a great way to get a range of grits in your shop fast. It’s off cuts from giant rolls, so it’s usually narrow rolls, but they’re extremely useful in the shop!
Scads of makers, including knife makers, have made their gateway bench sander your basic 1" x 30" belt sander, with like a 1/3 HP motor, and even the Harbor Freight version has allowed people to be introduced to whatever making at a very reasonable cost.
That red scotch brite is fantastic for cleaning stainless steel BBQ. Those brown stains and dull finish cleans off fast.
Excellent overview -- and encouragement to make one's own variation of a needed tool. In my experience, making a really narrow or oddly contoured sanding device has suggested to me that I cut the shape out of -- in my case -- .040" styrene and CA whatever grit I wish in place. One can often get close to tight radii with simply rolling up sandpapers-- but when you need a little more ooomph, a solid backing is nice.
This is a variation on using a popsicle stick (of course) but I feel with more flexibility. Plus, if you use wet-or-dry, you can usually just wash it clean to use it "forever!" (I work in really soft stuff, styrene, resin and putties.)
Thanks Adam. I am just getting into sanding old tables and bedside tables etc. This is great for beginners like me
That Shinto rasp is fantastic for carving guitar necks
I often use a Dremel for small or fine work. They have 2 diameter drums with a couple of grades of grit ,3 grades of flat discs and 3 grades of scotch pad type abrasives.
Perhaps I could get the 4" wheel with belt sander and get by. That huge wheel is interesting. I will keep an eye out on Craigslist
wish I could work with you in you shop.So cool ,you have it all reminds of my grandpa's basement ×1000
One bit of advice for power sanders, don't apply too much pressure. Let the tool do the work. Too much pressure can lead to clogging the abrasive faster. Also, they sell sanding belt cleaners, which are a big rubber stick that you press against the running tool and it cleans sawdust (and some plastic residue) out of the abrasive. I've used them on belts, disks, and drums, all to good effect.
As a very precise, pencil-style of sanding, I use a pin vise with a variety of vertical wire brushes as my sanding ladder, culminating in a fiberglass sanding pen as the highest 'grit'
Scotch Brite pads were a secret polishing tool in the machine shop I used to work at. Also, air files can do some remarkable hard-to-reach work.
The dewalt rotatory sander: "DWE6401DS" - I take the dust shroud off but my goodness... I use that thing every time I go into the shop, almost daily. first off... Hook and loop sanding system with a sponge backer. Conformal. Maybe not ideal, but it makes swapping paper easssy.
Love the fact you can take the second handle right off. AND... Not gonna lie, I've made some mounts for it too.
At first I didn't like it that much, but now, if it ever wears out I'm buying another right away. Great RPMs, VERY variable, in fact it's just a sanding head mated to a drill, but without all the mechanical slop and excessive length a chuck-in sanding adapter has. It feels like an engineers afterthought, but I love it :)
One little piece of abrasive you might like are mold polishing stones
They come in a variety of abrasives and normally used in the vehicle industry for precision surfacing of things like alloy heads and other gasket surfaces on cars. Come usually in the standard spec of 80-1000grit and I find them really useful in some knife making, so they stand up well to hardened metals- not much good on timber or softer plastic though
Thanks for the great advice . I have never been very skillful at cutting sand paper plus I don't like to dull scissors or tin snips, so I fold the sand paper, grit side in, and gently run the folded edge across the face of a grinding wheel. It always cuts right where I want it to and harms nothing.
I am very surprised you have not mentioned using shoe crepe sole to extend the life of any grit sandpaper. I use my drill press with drum sanders and frequently run my small crepe square on it to clear the voids between the particles. I use it on my dremel attachments. It extends the life and is very inexpensive. My crepe square used to be for removing rubber cement from paper. It has now be relegated to cleaning all my sanding surfaces.
Wood turning taught me how to sand after decades of bad sanding habits. When I’m done sanding there is a mountain of tiny strips of paper on the floor - I have a really good feel for when to toss a piece that’s losing its effectiveness, and with higher grits, especially after shellac or CA, it can be after a couple passes. Same thing with applicator cloth/paper towel for CA. One pass and toss.
Yup
Tool tips by Adam, the tool man savage. I love sanders In the process of setting up my garage as a make space. Amazon and harbor freight are great cheap resources to see if you will utilize a tool. If it works and you wear it out time to get a better version.
Great vid as usual. The only thing I would add would be using blades and scrapers. A lot of shaping and smoothing I've done with plastics I've done with the humble Stanley knife blade.