More sanding solutions

Looks can be deceiving. When it comes to sanding, all those discs and belts may look as they always did, but the way they’re made is fundamentally changing. The key areas of improvement are dust extraction, longevity, and scratch patterns.

The big change lately is holes.

Woodworkers all know the frustration of being halfway through sanding a project, only to discover that the holes haven’t lined up well between the disc and the orbital sander and all that residual dust is just getting polished, not collected. So, several manufacturers have come up with new hole patterns that allow the woodworker to just slap on a disc without worrying about where the five or eight induction holes on the tool are located. The new discs have multi-hole patterns that line up no matter what and allow for very efficient dust collection.

The next logical step is to attach the abrasive to an open mesh, which is basically about half backer and half holes. Mesh or net backers can be even more efficient than multi-hole discs.

Mirka offers a universal hole configuration on its expanded line of Galaxy products (mirka.com), which also feature a self-sharpening ceramic abrasive and an anti-clog coating. Every time the edge of the ceramic abrasive breaks off, a new cutting edge is formed and the disc keeps sanding just as efficiently as ever, according to the company. The anti-clog coating stops dust sticking to the abrasive, so it doesn’t build up and glaze the surface.

Mirka has even figured out a way to print the grit size on the abrasive face, so a woodworker can tell what grit is being used by just turning the sander over and looking at the disc. And it has brought the multi-hole technology to its wide belts, too. The company’s Ultimax uses a series of tiny cavities that are specially designed into the abrasive material to effectively prevent clogging.

The concept of an innovative hole configuration is shared by 3M’s Xtract discs (3m.com). Some of these products come in a vortex pattern where the holes are placed in curved lines, while others are mesh, where almost the entire surface acts as an extraction port for fines. The discs can be ordered with film, cloth, net or paper backing. The mesh backers are more expensive but last a whole lot longer.

Uneeda (sandpaper.com) also offers a net patterned backer for its Ekanet sanding discs.

If a mesh disc is applied directly to a hook and loop pad on a small sander, the hooks can penetrate through the mesh and wear down quickly. So, several manufacturers offer an adaptor pad to prevent this. Some of these adaptors have holes that match specific sanders, while others have a large number of small holes. They are also available in different thicknesses, and I’ve found the thicker foam adapters to be particularily handy for sanding on curved panels.

For shops that regularly need to sand large convex or concave surfaces, Flexisander (flexisander.com) makes both electric and manual sanding boards that are long, skinny tools that flex to the shape of a gradual curve.

Saint-Gobain, a division of Norton Abrasives (nortonabrasives.com), offers mesh ceramic grain abrasives that leave a very fine scratch pattern. That’s because the ceramic grain is very uniform, so it doesn’t need to cut as deeply as more traditional abrasives. And it doesn’t require as much downward pressure to achieve great results. In addition to mesh, Norton’s ceramics are also available on standard multi-hole hook and loop backers.

Sometimes an electric orbital sander can’t handle a profile, so for detailed work Norton has created the SoftTouch pad. This is a flexible sponge with high-performance aluminum oxide or silicon carbide abrasive, and it has a waterproof bond so it can be used wet or dry.

Micro-Surface (micro-surface.com) also makes soft abrasive manual pads, but in much higher (finer) grits. The company’s Micro-Mesh materials are usually used between coatings to achieve a superior finish. They polish more than abrade.

Indasa RhynoSoft Pads from 2sand.com (2sand.com) can also be used wet or dry. These 4-1/2” by 5-1/2” foam pads are the size of a quarter-sheet of sandpaper and work on both flat and contoured surfaces.

EZ Touch flexible sanding sponges from Bush Products (bushproducts.com) are designed for hard-to-reach areas. They have a waterproof bond and are available in grits from 120 to 1500.

The Gator division of Ali Industries (gatorfinishing.com) makes a wide range of manual sanding pads, backers and holders, including Zip sponge holders. They provide a better grip and more control than squeezing a sponge. Plus, they can help avoid cramping and sore knuckles.

Rockler (rockler.com) offers a sanding bow, sandpaper sheet cutter, turner’s kit of 2” square flexible pads, and a variety of contoured Sanding Grips. These double-ended blocks won’t distort or diminish the crispness of a shaped profile. They have a convex profile on one end, and a concave profile on the opposite end.

Global Abrasive Products (globalabrasiveproducts.com) offers Filmbac discs that have an aluminum oxide grain bonded to a tear resistant film backing. It also has half-moon sander pads that simply fold a 5” hook-and-loop disc around a foam backing pad. The pads come in 1/8”, 1/4”, 3/8” and 5/8” thicknesses.

Klingspor (klingspor.com) has an expansive catalog of abrasive products for every imaginable machine and power tool, and the company also offers Sandflex blocks that are made of firm rubber filled with abrasive grits. These can be used wet and dry and are especially useful for cleaning and polishing metal surfaces, such as fences and tables on machines such as jointers, shapers and table saws.

Not every job calls for discs or belts.

For turners and refinishers, Grizzly Industrial (grizzly.com) offers a five-pack of abrasive mesh rolls that are 20’ long. The set includes one roll each of 180, 240, 320, 400 and 600 grit abrasives. The Grizzly catalog includes everything from these 1” wide strips to the widest of sanding belts for industrial machines, plus sleeves, sheets, pads and rolls for everything in between. Among them are several American-made belts that use ceramic alumina as the abrasive, which stays sharp and cool throughout its usable lifespan. As the grains fracture to reveal new edges, a grinding agent prevents loading and heat build-up.

McFeeley’s (mcfeelys.com) carries two versions of the Fast Break sanding block from Fastcap. This is a simple hand tool that cleans up both edges of a panel in a single motion. It will ease and break sharp and chipped edges in a uniform and controlled manner, and it is available in both standard and XL versions.

The Wood River line from Woodcraft (woodcraft.com) includes packs of both paper and mesh-backed sanding strips for turners that are either 15’ or 20’ long.

Woodstock International (woodstockint.com) offers a wide range of pressure sensitive adhesive (PSA) aluminum oxide discs all the way up to a whopping 20” in diameter for shops that need to replace large discs on precision sanders. These large discs can also be attached to plywood circles or other shop-built jigs that are used to flatten surfaces on lathes.

Supergrit Abrasives (supergrit.com) is a distributor for several major brands of abrasive products and sells a proprietary line. Among its products is the Sand-O-Flex contour sanding flap wheel, which has eight abrasive cloth flaps backed by eight brushes that are designed to gently sand contoured surfaces. Turning a knob feeds out new abrasive strips as needed.

Gibbs Group (gibbsgroupna.com) makes a product called the ST Wheel that looks like a stone grinding wheel, and it will sand and seal the edges of MDF doors and panels. It’s a combination of resins impregnated with abrasive of various grits, and they come in different widths.

The Turbosand system from Voorwood (voorwood.com) is a tooling solution that sands profiled edges. Styles are available for outside edges, raised panels, and profiles up to 2-1/2” wide. Over 4,000 standard patterns are available in grits from 80 to 220. The tools can be used with shaper/sanders, CNC routers, single and double-end tenoners, plus other machinery.

A&H Turf & Specialties (ahturf.com) carries disc backer pads and specifically shaped pads for brands such as Festool, including that manufacturer’s line of contoured pads for its LS 130 linear sander.

Laguna Tools (lagunatools.com) is home to SuperMax sanding machines, so the company carries a wide range of abrasive products including wraps, pads, brush heads, and sanding discs.  

This article was originally published in the December 2023 issue.