What do you recommend for bowl sanding?

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Warren White

Warren White

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And, alternatively, what do you recommend I stay away from?

I have found there seem to be three options: there are 'powered' bowl sanding devises that you attach to a drill motor and sand while the lathe is turning; bowl sanders that spin on their own while the lathe is turning; and bowl sanders that rely only on the lathe spinning to do the sanding. There may be other options that I have not seen in my research. Reviews seem to run the gamut as well; the same item is praised and condemned by different reviewers. Hence, my interest in what you have experienced.

Costs vary widely, sizes seem to be 1", 2", and 3" and I imagine that is determined by the size bowls you intend sanding.

As I am interested in doing more bowl turning, I would appreciate some advise and counsel.
 
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I sand almost all bowls with sandpaper held in my hand. I use grits 150, 220, 320 and 400. Use a quality sandpaper.

I do own one of those sanders that you put a disc on and when you hold it against the turning bowl the sander spins. I believe it is called a Sorby Bowlmaster or something like that. I bought it a long time ago but rarely use it. It always seems awkward to use and to keep spinning at a good speed.

I am probably going to buy one that works with a drill because I am making more items of varying shapes such as bowls with wings etc and will be easier to sand with power.

When considering the size, 1", 2" or 3" remember that a 1" will fit in a big or small bowl but a 3" will not fit in a small bowl. What I have is the 2" and that seems like a good compromise.
 
I recently bought a 3/&" close quarters drill at Harbor Freight #95877 for power sanding. I've only used it a couple of times so far, but I really like it. They also have a similar one that's a little cheaper, but I liked the feel of this one a little better.
 
A powered angle drill will do the best job for you. A 45 degree angle will help with deeper bowls.
I use 2" and 3" hook & loop discs. You can get these in wavy edge as well as smooth. Some are going to the Abranet discs now.
Usually sand bowls to 600 or 800.
I do sand with the lathe running very slow. My lathe will dial down to 0 RPM.
 
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Warren White said:
And, alternatively, what do you recommend I stay away from?

I have found there seem to be three options: there are 'powered' bowl sanding devises that you attach to a drill motor and sand while the lathe is turning; bowl sanders that spin on their own while the lathe is turning; and bowl sanders that rely only on the lathe spinning to do the sanding. There may be other options that I have not seen in my research. Reviews seem to run the gamut as well; the same item is praised and condemned by different reviewers. Hence, my interest in what you have experienced.

Costs vary widely, sizes seem to be 1", 2", and 3" and I imagine that is determined by the size bowls you intend sanding.

As I am interested in doing more bowl turning, I would appreciate some advise and counsel.
Click to expand...

Are you intending to sand dry wood or, work on wet/green wood and finish it in the same go, contrary to turn it thick and let it dry for a few months and then, finish it then...?

Cheers
George
 
Before retiring, I took several sessions with skilled turners learning how to get my gouges very sharp, then used sandpaper to 600 grit, not skipping any grit, then 2" discs from turningwood.com up to the highest grit he had, then, depending on the finish I was seeking, MicroMesh up to 12000 with mineral spirits not water for wetsanding. Once again, do not skip any grit!

Over time, you will decide what to use and what your customers prefer as far as sanding. I wound up with some ladies who said they wanted to "feel the wood, not some plastic finish, so the only finish I used was Tung Oil.

Good Luck and don't be afraid to experiment!:biggrin:
 
I have (and am) learning a lot!

Thank you for the discussion. A couple of specific answers/thoughts on your inputs:

Jim: I appreciate your observations on the Sorby product. It is expensive, and after hearing your thoughts it doesn't appear to be something I am interested in.

Edohmann: I looked at the Harbor Freight drill and it looks great! That looks to me to be the way to go, both because of your experience and because others recommended that type of drill.

George: I 'think' dry wood is the direction I will go. I don't have the patience to wait a year or so before wet wood dries. (I am going on 75 and you never know. I buy slightly green bananas, but not the really green ones ;-) )

Nativewooder: I like the idea of mineral spirits and Micromesh. I hadn't tried that, but certainly will.

MTViper: I will look into the Ultimate Sanding kit. It looks good.

Charlie: Your advise is really appreciated.

Thanks to all! It is great to have mentors willing to share.
 
I tend to use all three methods. For the higher grits I like to use abranet sanding sheets it doesn't clog like regular sandpaper. For some of my larger bowls I have used a 5" random orbit sander that works well on the outside. For the 2" disks in the drill I made my own. I made one for each grit so the velcro doesn't wear out as quickly, as the sandpaper only needs to be changed when it gets dull not every time you change grits.
 
Years ago I bought the cheapest corded drill I could find at WalMart. I figured it wouldn't last very long, but surprisingly it's held up. I bought one of those padded velcro holders that uses 2" discs. When sanding bowls, I'll use this with 80 grit (if needed) and 120 grit. After than, I'll hand sand as I don't want too much heat generated to start microcracks in the bowl.

The handheld drill is reversible, so I'll pick a direction that works against the direction of my lathe. When it's needed, those green 80 grit ceramic discs from CSUSA really work well to make tearout disappear.
 
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