Thread: MEMBERS ADVICE NEEDED

Originally Posted by PilatusAbrasive

Hello everyone!

My name is Dale and I am sure some of you would have seen our advertisement on the side bar. Pilatus Abrasives. We're an Australian Abrasives company.

I need your help. I want to put together some small packs of velcro discs but I need to know what grits you guys use the most of.

I was thinking of doing a pack where you get 5x80#, 5x120#, 5x240#, or something like this.

Any help would be appreciated.

Dale, that would be easier to answer if we knew what grits are available in the range, and what sizes you are talking about.

Just had a look at your website - one has to login to see prices - why?

Unless a site is the only one that has the product I'm looking for, I never bother with logging in just to see prices - there are plenty of other choices where I don't have to log in - this to me is a sales prevention strategy which is usually quite successful.

Yes you'll have to specify what type and size range you are considering...
Could be any of the round disc's & there various machine application; from 100mm to 305mm plus delta pads????
You website http://www.abrasiveindustrial.com.au/ is quiet extensive already....
It maybe best to offer variety of your choice type discount purchase, rather than trying to pre-package such a wide range!!
In many of the store bought packs on always seems to have an excess on one size left over..
Cheers, crowie

Thank you everyone for your imput so far.

We import jumbo rolls of Velcro and we make the discs in all sizes here.
The grits generally available would be:
40#, 60#, 80#, 100#, 120#, 150#, 180#, 240#, 320#, 400#

So, in those grits we can do anything up to 400MM in diameter.


We also import a Film Velcro which is in 150mm discs, so we can punch dust holes into them as well as punch them down to smaller discs/delta pads, etc.
The grits generally available for these discs are:
40#, 60#, 80#, 100#, 120#, 150#, 180#, 240#, 320#, 400#, 600#, 800#, 1000#, 1200#, 1500#, 2000#

Our business is largely Metal Fabrication companies. We want to deal with the wood industry more, so I am trying to establish smaller pack sizes as a lot of DIY guys think 100 discs in a pack is too much (which I can understand).

We normally only sell in pack quantities so I would need to make a small mixed pack to be able to do this.


In regards to logging in to see the prices, this was a decision made as we know we have the products most people need.
All you need to do is put a Name and Email address, you don't need any other information.

Originally Posted by PilatusAbrasive

.....as we know we have the products most people need.

Perhaps....but we don't know that. You see, whenever I see this my very first thought is "expensive".

Originally Posted by PilatusAbrasive

In regards to logging in to see the prices, this was a decision made as we know we have the products most people need.
All you need to do is put a Name and Email address, you don't need any other information.

Why should I have to give you my email address and my name just to look at what you have to sell?

Plenty of other people selling abrasives, why would I take the risk of getting yet more unwanted emails trying to flog things (aka as SPAM).

Not a very clever business model.

Thanks for the opinions on the viewing of prices, any opinions on subject of the thread?

Maaaaaate, we've told you what we need to know before we can say any more. Give us the info and we'll give you the feedback.

Hint - the most popular size is 6" disc with extraction holes.

Originally Posted by PilatusAbrasive

Hello everyone!

My name is Dale and I am sure some of you would have seen our advertisement on the side bar. Pilatus Abrasives. We're an Australian Abrasives company.

I need your help. I want to put together some small packs of velcro discs but I need to know what grits you guys use the most of.

I was thinking of doing a pack where you get 5x80#, 5x120#, 5x240#, or something like this.

Any help would be appreciated.

A better model would be to let the consumer decide what they need in a pack (minimum sizes requirements need to be applied).

As a size for me.... 5X80# , 3X120#, 10X240# and some higher grits up to 600# but no need to login. Just build a pack and buy.

Originally Posted by The Bleeder

A better model would be to let the consumer decide what they need in a pack (minimum sizes requirements need to be applied).

As a size for me.... 5X80# , 3X120#, 10X240# and some higher grits up to 600# but no need to login. Just build a pack and buy.

I like this idea. I will talk to my website guys and see if we can build something like this.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Maaaaaate, we've told you what we need to know before we can say any more. Give us the info and we'll give you the feedback.

Hint - the most popular size is 6" disc with extraction holes.

I have given all the grits available. We punch the discs, so all sizes. I am pretty much asking what you guys use regulary. If you use the 150mm Velcro Discs with 6 Holes and you use 5x80# + 5x120#, that's what I am looking for info on.

"We import jumbo rolls of Velcro and we make the discs in all sizes here.
The grits generally available would be:
40#, 60#, 80#, 100#, 120#, 150#, 180#, 240#, 320#, 400#

So, in those grits we can do anything up to 400MM in diameter.


We also import a Film Velcro which is in 150mm discs, so we can punch dust holes into them as well as punch them down to smaller discs/delta pads, etc.
The grits generally available for these discs are:
40#, 60#, 80#, 100#, 120#, 150#, 180#, 240#, 320#, 400#, 600#, 800#, 1000#, 1200#, 1500#, 2000#"

Originally Posted by PilatusAbrasive

The grits generally available would be:
40#, 60#, 80#, 100#, 120#, 150#, 180#, 240#, 320#, 400#

Ok, well I use all of those grits in 150mm discs, either in a Festool 32 Hole Jetstream pattern or the Jöst pattern which suits any sander. I prefer the Jöst to Festool for a few reasons - bigger range of grits well past FT limit of 220, dust extraction is comparable, Jöst is cheaper, more durable and doesn't jag as much on a flat surface.

Originally Posted by PilatusAbrasive

We also import a Film Velcro which is in 150mm discs, so we can punch dust holes into them as well as punch them down to smaller discs/delta pads, etc.
The grits generally available for these discs are:
40#, 60#, 80#, 100#, 120#, 150#, 180#, 240#, 320#, 400#, 600#, 800#, 1000#, 1200#, 1500#, 2000#

This is getting a bit more interesting. As I understand it, film is more durable than paper, and probably better suited to wet sanding and hard burnishing, a bit more expensive but apparently compensated for by increased durability. Is that your take on it?

I use Jöst Superpad up to 500 and then Jöst SG2 discs for 800, 1500, 2500 (or 3000), and next time will get some 4000. This is all for timber. Some say that it's overkill for timber (and it is for softwood), but I guess they haven't seen the finish that 3000 will yield on hardwood.

This is a piece of Spotted Gum taken up to 3000 (dry) with no further finish applied (I should have taken one to show the gloss):


The 3000 was followed by their Dust Disc which removes the dust from the grain.

So, I would use all of those grits except 1200, and if I was looking for a sample pack my ideal selection would be one disc of each, with perhaps two of the most common I use (probably 240, 400). Generally I find I can go straight to 240 off the jointer, but it depends on the timber.

Do your very fine abrasives have a sponge layer or are they solid?

HTH
Brett

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Ok, well I use all of those grits in 150mm discs, either in a Festool 32 Hole Jetstream pattern or the Jöst pattern which suits any sander. I prefer the Jöst to Festool for a few reasons - bigger range of grits well past FT limit of 220, dust extraction is comparable, Jöst is cheaper, more durable and doesn't jag as much on a flat surface.

Great to know! Thanks!!

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

This is getting a bit more interesting. As I understand it, film is more durable than paper, and probably better suited to wet sanding and hard burnishing, a bit more expensive but apparently compensated for by increased durability. Is that your take on it?

The Premium Film Velcro Discs we sell are much better than paper, especially for the finer grits. The Paper Velcro is no good for any wet sanding and the Film Velcro generally last longer too. We sell them at the same/very similar pricing.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

I use Jöst Superpad up to 500 and then Jöst SG2 discs for 800, 1500, 2500 (or 3000), and next time will get some 4000. This is all for timber. Some say that it's overkill for timber (and it is for softwood), but I guess they haven't seen the finish that 3000 will yield on hardwood.

This is good information for me. Yes, we normally sell 40# - 400# to wood workers and sometimes a bit finer. The finer grits from 600# - 2000# are mainly for sold to the Automotive Industry. We also sell them and stock (not on the website yet) the foam velcro discs (3mm of foam on each disc) in 4000#. These you might be interested in trying.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

So, I would use all of those grits except 1200, and if I was looking for a sample pack my ideal selection would be one disc of each, with perhaps two of the most common I use (probably 240, 400). Generally I find I can go straight to 240 off the jointer, but it depends on the timber.

Cool, maybe I can put sample pack together like you suggested and heavily discount it, then sell small packs of 5 or something, letting people choose.

Originally Posted by FenceFurniture

Do your very fine abrasives have a sponge layer or are they solid?

Not our normal range but as mentioned above we have some in 4000# that have around 3mm of foam/sponge between the velcro and the abrasive.

We also have available what is known as an Interface Pad (Not sure if you've used them before). They're great for sanding curved surfaces, etc.

You can check ours out here:
softfx-01.jpg

What sort of market are you trying to grab? Casual DIY? Enthusiast/professional?

If it's more than just casual DIYers, the average hardware store tends to run out of grit after 240; maybe packs that go 320 - 800, and 1000 - 2000, although I too would be interested in even higher grits (I play with wood and metal and plastic).

And I second/third/fourth/fifth the comments about seeing prices. If I have to logon to see them, I'm simply not going to bother. There are other places (here and overseas) that don't make me jump through that hoop.

The majority of ecommerce sites don't need a logon to track customer browsing, so put the hard word on your IT people - I have enough passwords to remember as it is, and it reminds me of the bad old days when you went to an industrial supplies place like CIG or Dunlop Flexhide and they had to look up EVERY single price on a remote mainframe teletype terminal.

And keep in mind that this forum makes frequent snarky comments about the 'Australia tax' - the extra 50% or more on top of shipping that you have to pay simply to buy from an Australian supplier.