Sanding issue

[ToddMR]

I have been noticing lately that I get a lot of fine scratches building up around my pens when doing my 150-600 grit dry sanding. At first I thought I was applying too much pressure so I backed off on it and still got them. Basically I am having to turn off the lathe and sand with the grain to get them where I see very little to no scratches. Then once I move to micro-mesh and turn the lathe back on everything is fine. Now I did just read how you should wipe down the blank after each grit sanding. Is that true? I am running at about 1725 RPM, maybe that is the issue too. The only thing that makes sense is that since I am sanding back and forth with the grain, but the lathe is spinning, it is actually causing the sanding to go against the grain thus causing fine scratches all the was around the pen. Does anyone have an idea as to what I can do to correct this?

Thanks!

 

[Wheaties]

Sounds to me like you figured it out. I sand with the lathe on starting at whichever grit, then turn the lathe off and sand with the grain to remove those scratches. Then move to the next grit and do it all again. Burls are generally a little less prone to this but I still do it the same way.

Welcome BTW!

 

[pensmyth]

Todd,
When I sand the blank with the grain I stop the lathe and just rotate it by hand. Sand a little rotate, sand, rotate. I don't normally wipe it off between grits but I do wipe it down at the end with denatured alcohol.

 

[ed4copies]

Consider buying better sandpaper.


(AND start with 300 or finer, 150 is too coarse)

 

[knifecut]

Sounds to me like you figured it out. I sand with the lathe on starting at whichever grit, then turn the lathe off and sand with the grain to remove those scratches. Then move to the next grit and do it all again.

Me too.

 

[2cor520]

It might be overkill but I do the same as Pensmyth except I do wipe with denatured alcohol every other grit.

 

[Seer]

I use my skew to finish very little sanding then and I only use the micromesh to wetsand after I have applied my CA finish, oh and get some good sand paper I found as mentioned this helps alot as well. But you do need to sand with the grain to get rid of the scratches as mentioned earlier.

 

[ssajn]

Consider buying better sandpaper.


(AND start with 300 or finer, 150 is too coarse)

I agree with Ed. Use a good sandpaper. Cheap sandpaper can be very inconsistent with grit size. Sometimes you'll get big 'chunks'.

You should also use the sandpaper like someone else is paying for it. Don't use it to death. Wipe down between grits or better yet use compressed air.

BTW I usually start at 400.

 

[Russianwolf]

anything courser than 400 is a poor man's gouge, meant for shaping, not finishing.

Again, I sand the length of the piece with the lathe off before moving to the next grit. I do this from 400 all the way up through step 4 MM on plastics, then just with the lathe on after that.

On woods, I go to 1000 grit then lacquer, and then MM once cured.

 

[lazyguy]

On the lower grits 320 - 400 (I rarely dip below 320) I spend a little extra time on "with the grain" sanding and really watch the ends of the blank because that is where most direction changes occur and I have a tendency to press harder and linger longer on those spots. One thing that I remember from high school shop is that if a peice is not BBS then it is not ready for finish becauses the finish will magnify all imperfections. I have found that cheap sand paper is just that cheap sand paper.

 

[Lenny]

400, 600, 1500, 2000, works for me (usually)

 

[jtdesigns]

One thing you could if you do not buy the best sandpaper is burnish the piece of paper across the bed of your lathe bed to try and level high spots in the media(grit).

 

[hunter-27]

Consider buying better sandpaper.


(AND start with 300 or finer, 150 is too coarse)

Nailed it!

 

[CaptG]

Looks like the above posts say it pretty well. All I got left is welcome to the IAP.

 

[ed4copies]

400, 600, 1500, 2000, works for me (usually)

Lenny,

Consider putting 1000 in the mix. I have heard and believe you should not go more than double the previous grit (600-1500 is likely to leave scratches).

This, like all other things I type, is up to you to accept or ignore---we'll still be friends!!:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

 

[bradh]

Another suggestion: go to Russ Fairfield's website and read his article on sanding. Lots of good pointers on how to sand properly.

 

[Lenny]

Lenny,

Consider putting 1000 in the mix. I have heard and believe you should not go more than double the previous grit (600-1500 is likely to leave scratches).

This, like all other things I type, is up to you to accept or ignore---we'll still be friends!!:biggrin::biggrin::biggrin:

I thought the same thing as I typed that...
Problem is where I have been buying mine THAT is what they have. What I need to do is stop at an automotive parts store THEY will probably have more of a selection.
To be honest I also have MM pads that I use (sometimes) as well. :biggrin:

 

[wezzer1994]

My Woods teacher says I don't need anything finer that 240. grrrrr
I can do better than that with a skew.

 

[ldb2000]

My Woods teacher says I don't need anything finer that 240. grrrrr
I can do better than that with a skew.

Your wood teacher is right ... if your doing flat work but for pens 240 is still a bit too rough . I start with a 320 and very rarely go beyond 600 or 800 for wood . The most important thing is to sand length wise with the lathe turned off after each grit .
I see someone mentioned Alcohol which seems like a good idea to remove previous grits but is not really a good idea . Alcohol is hygroscopic (it absorbs water) and water on wood is not good . Moisture will cause several problems . It will swell the wood which can lead to cracking as the wood drys out and can cloud a CA finish .

 

[nava1uni]

If you don't wipe between grits you can get the grit from a coarser grit caught in the dust and grind your surface and leave it marked rather then smoothing it. I just wipe with a soft piece of cloth, little piece and then throw it away. I also sand with the grain between grits.

 

[randyrls]

Norton makes and sells wet/dry sandpaper in grits up to 2000.

I usually start with 320, 400, 600, 1000, 2000, then MM, then CA on wood, Polish on Acrylics.

 

[ToddMR]

Thank you everyone for the great information on here! I actually have the wood turners pack of sand paper I use from WoodCraft. I also do have MM pads as well. I did slow the RPM of the lathe down and worked on some Cherry wood last night doing my first keychain, not that its too much different than a slimline pen. I didn't notice the issue with slowing the lathe down. I normally work up to 600 grit and then do the denatured wipe down, go through the MM and then do the wipe down again. I think too on the lighter/softer woods like cherry, I tend to not have the issue as much. I am TERRIBLE with the skew tool. I start going right a long and then I hear that dreaded noise that lets me know I just messed up lol.

 

[arkie]

You want to be able to start with 320, but you can start coarser if you need to. You can go as low as 120 backed by another pen blank to clean something up if needed. Repeating a few excellent comments by others and adding my own:

The lower the grit the more important it is to use a premium quality sandpaper.

Use a fresh surface and low pressure when sanding.

Speed is less important than pressure. (I do everything about 1700).

When in doubt about pressure, speed, etc, stop and feel the wood It should be no more than slightly warm - not hot.

Clean off dust after each grit.

Stop and sand lengthwise after each grit up through the first 3 MM grits.

If you find scratches, drop back two grit levels to remove, then re-start from there.

I haven't found any advantage to sanding the wood beyond 400 before applying CA.

Be sure to give our CA ample curing time before sanding.

Read and re-read everything Russ Fairfield has written on the subject.