Mini Sanding Discs For Bowl Sanders

[niall Y]

I've recently acquired a bowl sander, which uses a series of mini sanding discs. It came with two sets of discs in 1 inch and 2 inch sizes. And, there are five different grits ranging from 60 to 320 included.

I've had a cursory look around for replacement discs with Velcro backing, but I would like to know if other turners have discovered any real price advantage from making their own.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

Register for mailshots from Axminster, Yandles etc. - occasionally you will see heavily discounted discs.
https://www.thepolishingshop.co.uk/
is another.

 

[Vulcan]

They can be of variable quality and price. If you can accept the principle that they don’t need to be perfectly round (some folks use square!) they are cheap and easy enough to make. You can actually buy punches in the 2” size if you want perfectly round ones but I can’t remember how much they are? I made a little sanding pad recently to go on a flexible drive and just used some roughly scissored Abranet. It worked just fine.

 

[Katomi woodsmith]

I buy mine from amazom the last set of 188 p cost me less than 14 gbp

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I use squares and oversized discs - if you're not sanding into a corner it doesn't matter, and it can be an advantage when using coarser grades - it saves the edges digging in and leaving a ridge.

 

[Phil Pascoe]

I should have said - get some 3M Cubitron. You won't go back to anything else, not even Abranet.

 

[Tris]

Found these to be very good

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/33352537...XwgzqajSc-&var=&widget_ver=artemis&media=COPY

 

[kinverkid]

I use 50mm and 75mm felt-backed discs, which I get from various places. They are mostly of various quality, but that's not all that important to me for the amount I use them. As Phil suggests, I also cut oversized square or hexagonal shapes from rolls of felt-backed paper. They are great for tight curves. When the discs are near the end of their life, you might squeeze a bit more out of them by using them wet when hand sanding.