Power Sanding: Lighten Up
by Phil Colson
Woodturner
I got a call the other day from a customer saying his 2” and 3” sanding disk holders were falling
apart after using them a very short time sanding turnings on his lathe. His comments took me back to
a time when I, too, was having the same problem.
Then I attended a demonstration with Dale Nish where he was turning a natural-edged bowl. When he
finished turning, he power-sanded the bowl in less than three minutes, using four grits of
sandpaper. I was amazed. I asked him how he could sand so fast? He told me to lighten up.
Yes, lighten up. If you press the sandpaper's grit too hard into the wood fiber, it heats the
surface and causes surface checking. It doesn't allow the grit to break off and renew itself like it
was intended to do. It breaks down the sanding disk holder and it clogs up the sandpaper.
Think about it. No pressure on the tool is needed when turning on the lathe, so why would you
need to apply pressure when sanding on a lathe?
So lighten up and do a better job of sanding with less effort. Give it a try.
Phil can be reached directly via email at
woodturnerphil@gmail.com.
