Sanding is one of the most important aspects of woodworking. There are a number of different applications for sanding and each requires a specific type of sandpaper.
Calibrating sanding is the process of removing material from the workpiece using sandpaper rather than a planer or thicknesser. Typically this requires sandpaper with a very course grit, and a power sander to quickly remove the material to the desired thickness.
Intermediate sanding uses a medium grit paper and is intended to prepare the wood surface for finishing. This sandpaper smooths out the surface and eliminates any imperfections like scratches. Additionally it removes any machining marks left by the sawmill, planer or calibration. The surface must not be over sanded as most finishes need some roughness to properly adhere to the timber’s surface.
Inter-coat sanding is the process of sanding a coat of finish before applying the final coat. This flattens and smooths the surface as well as filling the grain of the wood. The sandpaper used is typically very fine which removes a very small amount of material. If the grit is too coarse, the sand paper could remove the first coat of the finish.
There are many different techniques and machines used for sanding, and the sandpaper itself varies greatly. Sanding discs, sanding belts, spindle sleeves and flap sanders are just some of the different types. Grits vary from course (low value) ie P60 to fine (high value) ie P400. Additionally there are different types of sandpaper designed to be used on different timbers & boards depending on the hardness of the wood or the amount of oil in the timber. South African timbers react to sandpaper differently compared to wood from other regions and it is therefore important to choose the correct paper for the wood species.
Different sanding machines use different shapes and sizes of sand paper and many now have dust extraction holes cut into the paper which greatly increase the life and effectiveness of both the sandpaper and the sanding machine.
Tools4Wood carries a massive range of sandpaper and associated products. Please browse through our online catalogue.
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