Monday, February 3, 2020

Simple DIY sanding tricks for woodturners















Tools and materials I propose:


The lathe is a really versatile tool. These sanding tricks are a proof of that. I hope you enjoy them and find them useful in your woodworking projects. 

The first trick is making some DIY sanding pads for your drill. These will help you sand your bowls because the foam lets you much the curves. 

Using a hole saw I make a small disc out of wood. I then epoxy a threaded rod in the disc. I cut a piece of sanding sponge and I glue it on the piece with double sided tape. That’s it, now you got a sanding bit for your drill. 

The second tip is really useful for sanding small inner curves. I use it to sand my homemade spoons. I mount a cylindrical piece on my chuck. I use a bowl gouge to shape one end of the piece at a spherical shape. Then I cut a circular piece of sandpaper. I use a pair of scissors to cut flaps around the circle’s perimeter. I then hot glue the sandpaper on the wood. I also use staples to keep the sandpaper in place. It is important to fold the flaps in a way that they follow the spinning of the lathe. This saves me much time when sanding spoons. 

The third trick converts the lathe into a spindle sander. All you need is a dowel mounted between centres  on the lathe. I then cut a strip of sandpaper. I mound the sandpaper on the spindle in a spiralling way. I secure the sandpaper in place, using zip ties. I use this to sand tight curved areas. 

The final trick is a homemade disc sander. You can also use ready made disc sanding adapters we use on the angle grinder. I cut a circular disc on the bandsaw. I epoxy a smaller disc as support on the back. In the middle I epoxy a threaded rod. Finally I use double sided tape to glue the sandpaper on the disc. I use a Jacob’s chuck on the lathe to mount the disc sanding bit. I like to use this trick to sand the bottoms of items that I have parted off the lathe.

I hope you enjoyed my little tricks. I certainly did. I use them almost everyday in my shop.

But that was it. See you soon, with a new project video!


Disclosure: Some of the links below are affiliate links, meaning, that at no cost to you, I get a small commission if you click through and make a purchase.

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