Thread: Abrasives: type and grits for turning?

Lance

In the coarser grits I use old belt /linisher sanding belts as the first stage of sanding. These are typically anything from 40g through to 120g. I use emery cloth type strips from there up and finally use anything up to 400g in ordinary sandpaper.

I think is relevant to note that good woodturners aim to keep sanding to a minimum both from a time aspect and the potential for dust irritant. Needless to say I find myself using a lot of sand paper, which is a direct consequence of not having enough skill in this department, using timbers more prone to tear out and not having my turning tools sharp enough.

I get by.: Just.

Regards
Paul

Abranet. It’s wonderful stuff, not cheap but it really works and you don’t need a lot of it. I usually try to start no lower than 120 grit, 180 or 240 if I’m having a really good day or using really co-operative timber, going up to 400 or 600. I sometimes touch up with a bit of 1000 grit emery paper. I’ve never seen Abranet above 600 Sold here locally but you might be able to get it there. It probably makes no real difference, but it’s what I’m used to doing.

Thanks Paul and Colin.

Using Abrasive papers on lathes are a major source of fine dust. Even though I don't always practice what I'm about to preach I do know that improving tool sharpening will drastically reduce the need for abrasives.

A few years ago I attended a Turning Convention and watched a master turner turn two goblets in front of a 100+ audience. Lots of beaut shavings but it was clear he was making very little dust and only using abrasive paper for about 30s when he finished each goblet. For dust control he was using a Room Air filter (RAF) down behind his lathe. I was there to present my usual spiel about dust and I decide run my particle collectors while he was demonstrating. OK he was starting from a substantially prepared blank and he was often stopping and commenting on what he was doing but when he finished the room air was MUCH cleaner than when he started. Razor sharp tools and minimal abrasives made a bit difference.

As for me I start with about 120 or 180 and work up from there to at most 320.
I also occasionally hold the work piece still in the lathe and run the paper long the grain, intermittently rotate the work around by hand. I find this removes some bigger scratches faster than just sanding by rotating the work.

I envy those who don't need to sand much

Being an occasional turner, my skills aren't good enough to avoid using sandpaper. I use an inertia or friction sander (search google for examples) where I can and find it generally does a better than a regular sandpaper.
If using regular sandpaper I find that the cloth backed stuff is good on the inside due to its flexibility but most sorts work on the outside.
Prior to sanding I like to use either a negative rake scraper or sometimes a shear scraping cut to smooth out tool marks. Do what ever you can to reduce sanding, I hate sanding. There are videos out there on these techniques, look for robo hippy, Stuart Batty or Cindy Drozda, all are professional turners.

as much as i hate sanding for us that aint so good it is quite a life saver or bowl saver in my case! Just par of the course when you are average

I agree with Colin and use Abranet and find that 120 grit down to 420 does a top job and if using EEE the finish is tops.

Originally Posted by brainstrust

Just par of the course when you are average

Its a simple law of mathematics that most of us have to be average

Originally Posted by tony_A

Its a simple law of mathematics that most of us have to be average

This is not really correct.

What is more correct is provided the distribution is normally or evenly distributed. about half of us will be "above average" and half will be "below average" but not that many will be average.

But even this is not often correct. An example of this is Australian household income. About 65% of Australian households earn below the average household income and 35% earn above.

A more extreme example is when the distribution is what is called bimodal when there may be no-one or very few individuals that are even around the average.
The average supporter at a collingwood/carlton match with equal number of supporters of each side present is not "half collingwood/half carlton" supporter. Although there will usually be some that don't support either team present we would maybe not consider them "average"

Originally Posted by BobL

This is not really correct.

What is more correct is provided the distribution is normally or evenly distributed. about half of us will be "above average" and half will be "below average" but not that many will be average.

But even this is not often correct. An example of this is Australian household income. About 65% of Australian households earn below the average household income and 35% earn above.

A more extreme example is when the distribution is what is called bimodal when there may be no-one or very few individuals that are even around the average.
The average supporter at a collingwood/carlton match with equal number of supporters of each side present is not "half collingwood/half carlton" supporter. Although there will usually be some that don't support either team present we would maybe not consider them "average"

Ooooops! Perhaps we should be using "mode."?

Regards
Paul

Originally Posted by Bushmiller

Ooooops! Perhaps we should be using "mode."?

Regards
Paul

Yep, better than "average" (mode, the most common value in a set of data) but even then, on a spectrum of
"Haven't got a clue" to "master craftsperson", the most common value is likely to be "Haven't got a clue".
Even within wood workers the most common value is likely to be at the weekend warrior end of things

I too am a fan of Abranet, it works very well and within reason, does not clog up. I run from 80 grit through to 400. I also have a simple holder made out of foam and a cheaper version of Velcro, works very well for doing hand sanding over non-flat surfaces.

I also have a set of normal sandpaper in 50mm diameter which I use with either my cordless drill or a hand held device powered by the movement of the wood. This is quite useful for the innards of bowls, as well as their exteriors.

With spindle turning, I mostly run the lathe in reverse for sanding. The dust pretty much runs straight into my dust chute.

Mick.

Abranet_002_IMG_20200716_132321_resized_20200716_013139245.jpgAbranet_001_IMG_20200716_132350_resized_20200716_012507377.jpg

Originally Posted by BobL

A few years ago I attended a Turning Convention and watched a master turner turn two goblets in front of a 100+ audience. Lots of beaut shavings but it was clear he was making very little dust and only using abrasive paper for about 30s when he finished each goblet. For dust control he was using a Room Air filter (RAF) down behind his lathe. I was there to present my usual spiel about dust and I decide run my particle collectors while he was demonstrating. OK he was starting from a substantially prepared blank and he was often stopping and commenting on what he was doing but when he finished the room air was MUCH cleaner than when he started. Razor sharp tools and minimal abrasives made a bit difference.

Just out of interest, and I'm asking this as a serious question not for laughs, how much fine dust would 100+ pairs of lungs filter out of the air?