I'm new to woodturning and have a question about sanding my bowls. I start with a low grit sandpaper but as the lathe is turning I always end up with half the bowl being smooth (areas WITH the grain) and half the bowl being very rough (areas AGAINST the grain). Is this a sign of poor wood quality or do I need to do something differently to have a smooth bowl all around????
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New Woodturner......Sanding question!
- Thread starter MattyM
- Start date
Several options here. Although some woods just sand out better than others all wood will do as you describe (worse with softer woods than with harder stuff). As you work your way to finer grits the roughness should go away. If your lathe allows reversing you should reverse with every other grit. A small rotary sander (small dia. foam pad on a drill) will also take out the rough areas if you turn the lathe slow and the sander slow. Let the sandpaper do it's work, don't force it.
There are a lot of sanding experts on this board, and I am sure they will have additional suggestions. Some spray a mist of water to raise the grain as they sand but I have never had much luck with it. My biggest sanding problem is a lack of patience, but I am getting better. Or maybe my turning is getting better and I just don't need to sand as much?
There are a lot of sanding experts on this board, and I am sure they will have additional suggestions. Some spray a mist of water to raise the grain as they sand but I have never had much luck with it. My biggest sanding problem is a lack of patience, but I am getting better. Or maybe my turning is getting better and I just don't need to sand as much?
Soft woods will show this more than most hardwoods.
Continue going through your grits.
Sand the rough areas with the lathe off.
Apply some finish to the bowl to stiffen up the fibers and sand again.
If you are using wax or oil as a finish, wet sand using those finishes.
Power sanding may speed up the process.
Plus what has already been said.
Check the club listing on this AAW site and start attending meetings if there is one in your area.
Continue going through your grits.
Sand the rough areas with the lathe off.
Apply some finish to the bowl to stiffen up the fibers and sand again.
If you are using wax or oil as a finish, wet sand using those finishes.
Power sanding may speed up the process.
Plus what has already been said.
Check the club listing on this AAW site and start attending meetings if there is one in your area.
sanding
"If your lathe allows reversing you should reverse with every other grit"
i am new to turning so am new to sanding and finishing, but the reverse with ever other grit sounds like something that i should try, why would it not work with the same grit, do it one way with say 120 grit, reverse it and do it againg with 120 grit, then continue with finer grits????????
"If your lathe allows reversing you should reverse with every other grit"
i am new to turning so am new to sanding and finishing, but the reverse with ever other grit sounds like something that i should try, why would it not work with the same grit, do it one way with say 120 grit, reverse it and do it againg with 120 grit, then continue with finer grits????????
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woodwish said:
Two hits and a miss.
Grit is grit, and as it removes successively smaller amounts of wood, the scratches will fade beyond the resolution of your eye. This usually happens earlier with soft woods and ring-porous species than dense and diffuse. The paper's finer in texture than the surface can reproduce.
Use of a smaller diameter sander on a rotating lathe will give you a bit more random pattern to the ever-decreasing scratches. The important thing is not to dig, which is why sanding with lathe on makes good sense as well. You have any direction you care to have on a rotating disk, but if your scratches run one way, makes sense to remove them by sanding across, not with or against them.
As to reversing. Half your piece is going up hill, half the other as it rotates past. When reversing, what was up is going to now be pressed down, what was pressed down will now be picked up. Doesn't do much in the long run. The reason the flat folks like orbital and random orbit sanders is because they don't make digs if you pause like disks, and there is no direction as with hand sanding. Same for the curved surfaces. They also remove at a better clip if they're ventilated, so you aren't pressing dust and burnishing, so get the stuff out of your way often.
Take a hint from the flat folks, however, and stand up what might have been pressed down by a heavy hand with some water and a repeat of the second-finest and finest grits, wiping in between. If you're slurry sanding with oil or some other, wipe with a compatable solvent. If dry, paper towel will do.
As always, if you can feel the grit on the paper, the wood shouldn't shine, it should show dust. If it shines, stop and dampen, let dry, and press less next time.
EDIT: To Matty. If you can feel, rather than just see the difference between what you've burnished down and what's not, you probably have tearout problems from back when you were using your tools, or the piece is wet inside and steaming out.
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Two suggestions:
For rough end-grain, I stop the lathe and concentrate on those areas with the low grits to smooth them out before continuing. Power sanding is really helpful here, but keep the pressure light and let the sandpaper do the work. It may take several pieces of sandpaper to smooth the area out. Sandpaper does wear out. Sanding with a worn out piece of sandpaper is frustrating and doesn't work very well at all. (Been there, done that.)
A second thing to try is to sharpen your tool before your final cuts. A sharp tool cuts a lot cleaner and makes sanding go a lot faster.
For rough end-grain, I stop the lathe and concentrate on those areas with the low grits to smooth them out before continuing. Power sanding is really helpful here, but keep the pressure light and let the sandpaper do the work. It may take several pieces of sandpaper to smooth the area out. Sandpaper does wear out. Sanding with a worn out piece of sandpaper is frustrating and doesn't work very well at all. (Been there, done that.)
A second thing to try is to sharpen your tool before your final cuts. A sharp tool cuts a lot cleaner and makes sanding go a lot faster.
I have posted these tips on a few forums, see if this will help you any?
Sanding is an art in itself!
There are many methods of achieving the same result, some turnings take a long time some don't. Some woods sands easily and some take forever to get right. Also a lot depends on what type of finish you are wanting to achieve, and how much time you want to spend on a particular piece. Gallery type of finish or utility type finish? It took me a while to learn how to sand properly and to get a good finish on my work! I was not satisfied with my finishes for a while and got plenty of help from friends and forums but reading and doing are two different things, it takes time to develop your techniques just like turning does.
I'm a Sanding nut I have been known to spend hours sanding on one piece!
I try my best to have no sanding scratches in my work, The way I see it why spend time to cut the wood, cut it into turning blanks, seal it with Anchorseal, rough turn it, let it dry, finish turn it, and then not take the time to give it a proper finish to show off your hard work?
I use the Souix angle drill for power sanding, the 2" and 3" pro Velcro disk holders from Packard Woodworks. I use Rhynogrip hook and loop sandpaper I cut to size, I have these grits 80,120,240,320,400,600, I start on the highest grit that the finished turned piece will allow. I run my lathe around 300 rpm and the drill medium speed to fast and use light pressure with the sanding pad. Remember heat is your enemy while sanding light pressure is best and it will cut faster and wont burnish your tuning from the heat which is not good because it makes the wood hard and will take you longer on the next grit. Everyone has their own ideas about speed and technique but this is how I sand mine. when you pick the starting grit and if it's not cutting fast enough, drop down one grit and start over. I try my best to get all the tool marks and tearout with my first grit. IMO this is where a lot of people make mistakes buy moving up to the next grit before getting them all out this was my main problem while I was developing my sanding technique! If you have tool marks and tearout after the first grit you will either spend lots of time trying to fix them a few grits down, or when you get to your last grit and get it off the lathe and think you are finished and admiring your work and it sticks out like a sore thumb! but some times you will miss one and you can get it with the next grit, but its best to give it a good look over before switching to the next grit. Be sure to wipe the previous sanding dust and grit off good before going to the next grit it leaves the residue from the previous grit and if you don't get it out it will leave sanding scratches.
Have fun sanding
Jim
Sanding is an art in itself!
There are many methods of achieving the same result, some turnings take a long time some don't. Some woods sands easily and some take forever to get right. Also a lot depends on what type of finish you are wanting to achieve, and how much time you want to spend on a particular piece. Gallery type of finish or utility type finish? It took me a while to learn how to sand properly and to get a good finish on my work! I was not satisfied with my finishes for a while and got plenty of help from friends and forums but reading and doing are two different things, it takes time to develop your techniques just like turning does.
I'm a Sanding nut I have been known to spend hours sanding on one piece!
I try my best to have no sanding scratches in my work, The way I see it why spend time to cut the wood, cut it into turning blanks, seal it with Anchorseal, rough turn it, let it dry, finish turn it, and then not take the time to give it a proper finish to show off your hard work?
I use the Souix angle drill for power sanding, the 2" and 3" pro Velcro disk holders from Packard Woodworks. I use Rhynogrip hook and loop sandpaper I cut to size, I have these grits 80,120,240,320,400,600, I start on the highest grit that the finished turned piece will allow. I run my lathe around 300 rpm and the drill medium speed to fast and use light pressure with the sanding pad. Remember heat is your enemy while sanding light pressure is best and it will cut faster and wont burnish your tuning from the heat which is not good because it makes the wood hard and will take you longer on the next grit. Everyone has their own ideas about speed and technique but this is how I sand mine. when you pick the starting grit and if it's not cutting fast enough, drop down one grit and start over. I try my best to get all the tool marks and tearout with my first grit. IMO this is where a lot of people make mistakes buy moving up to the next grit before getting them all out this was my main problem while I was developing my sanding technique! If you have tool marks and tearout after the first grit you will either spend lots of time trying to fix them a few grits down, or when you get to your last grit and get it off the lathe and think you are finished and admiring your work and it sticks out like a sore thumb! but some times you will miss one and you can get it with the next grit, but its best to give it a good look over before switching to the next grit. Be sure to wipe the previous sanding dust and grit off good before going to the next grit it leaves the residue from the previous grit and if you don't get it out it will leave sanding scratches.
Have fun sanding
Jim
Jim, good words of wisdom from a true sander. I agree wholeheartily will all of those tips. I am not fond of sanding but I am getting better at making the sanding productive, and I agree that it is a waste of time to prepare a piece and not sand it correctly. As I go back and look at some of my older bowls it is amazing how much experience with sanding makes a difference, probably as much as improved tool technique.