Sanding light wood - Dirty ends

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Rogersab1223

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Jun 22, 2011
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Alexandria, VA
Hello everyone -

Quick question. I've noticed that when I sand lighter woods (maple, spalted tamarind, zebrawood, etc) I get a rough looking "dirty" spot near the ends.

Can anyone tell me what that is and how to avoid it?

Andy
 
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leestoresund

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Oct 27, 2009
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Could be fine fine metal dust from the bushings.

If that is the case in 2 weeks you can get a set of delrin bushings from JohnnyCNC.

Lee
 

Timebandit

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Sounds like metal dust from your bushings. You need some delrin finishing bushings or you need to sand between centers so that you dont sand on your metal bushings.
 

Rogersab1223

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That was my gut as well...

I'll be more careful - I'm guilty of not carefully whipping down between grits and between lengthwise sanding...

Thanks.
 

DurocShark

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After trimming the ends of the blank, seal them with thin CA. That will help keep the sanding dust from getting in.
 

mick

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Decatur AL, USA
Roger, I'm going to back up a step and ask what tool you use for final turning. If you're using a gouge or a scraper then logically you start sanding with a coarser grit paper. It's just my opinion but the coarser you start the more likely you are to sand into the bushings.
If you hone your skills with a skew you end up with a very smooth blank requiring very littlesanding or at least a much higher grit. You will have better control of your paper and its much easier to avoid the bushings.
 

Tage

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Dec 1, 2010
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NJ
I have had this problem in the past using osage orange, maple, and jacaranda. I found that I need to be extra careful not to sand the bushings, it was metal dust from the bushings being dragged onto the blank. It's tough (i.e. impossible in my experience) to get rid of once it's there without sanding down below the bushings.
 

workinforwood

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Eaton Rapids, Michigan, USA.
I just remove the bushings, place blank between centers and now you can sand without worrying about hitting them. Just don't sand over the edges or they won't be sharp..you can use a little sanding block to prevent breaking the outer edge. If you sand slightly below the bushings, life is good, because your finish will bring you back up a little higher than the bushings and when you sand and polish your finish you will be right in the middle where you want to be! I'd apply that ca finish too..right between centers with no bushings. Any CA that gets on centers, so what..chisel will take it right off. If you apply finish with bushings on, you glue bushings to pen, and with delrin bushings you can still have problems or at least chip ends of finish from blank. Heck...eventually you can just take all those bushings and toss em! That's what calipers are for.
 

its_virgil

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Wichita Falls, TX, USA.
I don't understand what is.magical about delrin bushing and this sandind problem, if the OP is sanding his metal bushings I whould think he will sand the delrin bushings also. Delrin...black dust...same problem. Educate me!
Do a good turn daily!
Don
 

Timebandit

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I don't understand what is.magical about delrin bushing and this sandind problem, if the OP is sanding his metal bushings I whould think he will sand the delrin bushings also. Delrin...black dust...same problem. Educate me!
Do a good turn daily!
Don


White Delrin:biggrin:
 

TerryDowning

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Newhall, CA
It's also in the shape of the bushings. I made my own tapered finishing bushings from some clear urethane I had laying around. Note the tapers on the photo of Johnny's delrin bushings. The tapers reduce the likelihood of contacting the bushing with the abrasive or finish you are using.
 

SCR0LL3R

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May 19, 2011
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NS, Canada
When I do have to sand onto the bushing, I make sure that I don't touch the wood with the metal dust on the paper. I just slide the paper in an outward direction and then use a different spot on the paper after the metal dust gets on it. After I run out of clean spots on the paper, I brush the metal dust off of it... It seems to come off quite easily.
 

workinforwood

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I don't understand what is.magical about delrin bushing and this sandind problem, if the OP is sanding his metal bushings I whould think he will sand the delrin bushings also. Delrin...black dust...same problem. Educate me!
Do a good turn daily!
Don


White Delrin:biggrin:

so you get white dust..and you collect what doesn't get penetrated into the wood into a plastic bag. White dust is worth far more than the pen too! :laugh:
 

sbwertz

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Phoenix, AZ
I have the delrin eliminator bushings, but for 7mm pens I just replace the bushings with short pieces of brass tube for sanding and finishing.
 

toddlajoie

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Feb 6, 2010
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Feeding Hills MA
I had similar issues starting off with lighter wood even without the bushings. You may be pressing to hard or sanding too much, and the lighter woods will build up heat and you can toast the end grain a bit which can cause it to make a dark line on end of the blank. A lighter touch with both the tools and sandpaper, relying less on sanding for final sizing, and being aware of any heat buildup and taking a cooling break if it starts getting warm can solve this if it's your problem...
 
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