sanding

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ahoiberg

ahoiberg

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i'm sure this topic has been beat to death and i've tried to teach myself the proper way and search for answers but i can't seem to find them... i've read russ' 5 rules of sanding, etc... so i just figured i'd start a new thread.

as far as pens go, i'm getting pretty confident with my sanding, only a few times will i end up with visible scratches. and CA glue seems to fill those in when they do happen.

but last night i was making my first bottle stopper and all went well except i have some problems with making curves with the tools so i'm not sure whether or not the marks/lighter areas i end up seeing are a result of poor tool control/usage or poor sanding technique. it seems that certain areas on pieces where the curves are (pens included) get more sanding than other areas. has anyone else had this experience?

i'm just curious if my sanding pressure is too hard, if i'm not moving the paper enough or if, completely opposite, i'm not sanding enough. i slowed the lathe down as far as it would go to sand last night and i still ended up with some lighter areas, if you will, that seemed like they were sanded too much or not enough or something... it's just driving me crazy that i can't figure out what the problem is.

perhaps i'm on an island here, but if anyone else can shed any light on this problem with similar experience or remedies, i would GREATLY appreciate it.

thank you all!
 
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Andrew, turning countours on any turning creates high and low spots. It is very easy to over sand the high areas, cutting through your finish. You may want to conside hand sanding, or the use of 4/0 steel wool to do your final sanding. Consider a sprayed lacquer finish. If done correctly, you should not have to sand the final finish.

FWIW,
 
thanks william. i guess what i'm seeing are high spots that need to be brought down, whether from sanding or turning, to the rest of the contour. i think i'm not spending enough time on sanding perhaps... these ones i refer to are well before i do any finishing on them. after i go through MM, i can still see the spots and when i'm using DNA or acetone to clean the wood with after a sanding, one spot on the contour stays a darker color than the rest... this must be a high spot... i'll try turning another soon and try to get the finished surface as even as possible and then sand until everything is coming out even... i just wasn't sure if i would exacerbate the problem by sanding too much, but thanks for the info!
 
Andrew, Sanding can be an exhausting and time consuming thing. Try and not apply too pressure when sanding and slower speeds are better. Remember, we are using a cutting tool to clean up what we did not get with the lathe cutting tools. A good finish cut helps eliminate most marks prior to sanding.
Also, some woods you just need to hand sand the piece parallel to the lathe ways to get rid of stubborn marks. Good luck!!
 
Another sanding factor is the type of wood, hardness and the grain direction.

Endgrain sand differently and with contours, you get more of it exposed. It also absorb finish differently and that may explain the color difference.

Good quality sandpaper is well worth the price due to more even grit size. Watch out for loaded paper too...sometimes those have some bigger grits stucked in them that will wreck havoc with your sanding.

hope this helps a bit.
 
I can only speak for myself, I never use sand paper or emery cloth. Thats because what others have said here, the problems of loading up, and the grit size is not accurate. I only use 3 products abranet, abralon and micro mesh. They have no loading, grits are very accurate and consistent, no bleed over and will last 30 times longer than paper. Why use paper?[8D]
 
i'd be curious to know if anyone uses a ridgid board or something to back their sand paper? or do most of you just hold it by hand?
 
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