Second attempt!

[HeliGav]

After taking some advice! Got me tools sharpened, got some decent wood from Nantwich timber merchant, (lump of Ash for 4 quid not the rubbish kiln dried stuff from wickes) 9 lots of sand paper upto 600 grit, cellulose sanding sealer and wax. Got alot better result today. Although I do loathe sanding, this is where I think i could spend more time learning a better technique or spending longer! Impresed today even put a smile on the other halfs face for a change! Going to try and make some small vase type things next time hopefully.

 

[Nippychippy]

Very nice heligav

 

[HeliGav]

What do people usually grit to like I say I went to 600, but on the finished and waxed item, when I look close in the light i can see the rings from the centre going outward from the lathe, do people tend to do much hand sanding / power sanding off the lathe with similar items? And what grot should i go to? Thanks

 

[bogmonster]

I tend to sant to 240 and then buff using the chestnut buffing system. Before that I usually sand to 400 to 600 depending on the wood. You need to sand at low speeds and keep the paper moving. Better still, use a handheld rotary sander or sand using a drill. I do the later. This will greatly help with sanding rings. Also make sure you work through all grits without missing any. I sometimes start at 80 if the grain has been really troublesome and work through 120, 180, 240, 320, 400 and 600.

If you decide to power sand invest in good quality arbors. I went too long using rubbish. My preference are the ones from Simon Hope but there are other good options as well. If you go for a hand held rotary sander then be aware that many are junk. The ones with a single bearing are not mush good IMHO.

Good finish takes time to learn and I still have a ways to go.

BM

 

[nev]

Looks good.
I found that as time goes by one tends to use less and less abrasive. I used to start at 80 grit and work through to 600, now I start at 180 or 240 then 320, 400 and then red and yellow nyweb pads, (if its a pen i go through the micromesh pads too.)
A quality sandpaper is also worth its weight in gold compared to diy homebrand poundshop types, try a sample pack from Richard at the turners workshop or some abranet and I'm sure you wont go back.
Another tip is at the end of each grit, stop the lathe and do a quick sand with the grain. Clean off the dust and proceed to the next grit, and dont be tempted to skip a grade.

 

[Dalboy]

Looks good.
I found that as time goes by one tends to use less and less abrasive. I used to start at 80 grit and work through to 600, now I start at 180 or 240 then 320, 400 and then red and yellow nyweb pads, (if its a pen i go through the micromesh pads too.)
A quality sandpaper is also worth its weight in gold compared to diy homebrand poundshop types, try a sample pack from Richard at the turners workshop or some abranet and I'm sure you wont go back.
Another tip is at the end of each grit, stop the lathe and do a quick sand with the grain. Clean off the dust and proceed to the next grit, and dont be tempted to skip a grade.

+1 that is the same thing I do

 

[bogmonster]

Which grit to start with is an interesting question and is harder to work out then which grit to stop at. There are some who say that anything more coarse than 180 grit and your technique is bad and your tools are blunt. Sanding destroys detail and can lead to uneven surfaces, especially on woods like ash where there are harder and softer sections. So in general try to get the best finish you can off the tools. However, at times, with tricky wood and difficult cuts tear out is hard to avoid. I use a lot of spalted wood and do a lot of undercut, semi enclosed items. With these a couple of minutes with 80 grit can save a lot of time rather than starting at 180 grit. I have no shame in this or perhaps more correctly my shame in other things eclipses this.

BM

 

[KimG]

+1 For Richard's abrasives, they are far and away the best I have ever used. Get one of the sanding pads he sells and a few spare backing pieces (for the velcro) as they are well worth it. I have the small 50mm one and cut my paper into 50mm squares, works fantastic!

I use 80 through 400. I find 600 grit pretty much redundant except on the finest of items like pens or perhaps a hard finial like ebony or blackwood.

 

[HeliGav]

http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-de ... anding-kit

Just been looking on axminister website, do you think this is worth getting, ive been cutting small squares and ising my fingers so far, do these rotate and would they help to improve finish eg geting rid og rings etc. wasnt sure how they worked or if it was just a pad on a stick?? THANKS

 

[Doofusme]

If your budget runs to it, item 1 in the link below in my opinion is a better buy

http://www.hopewoodturning.co.uk/pro_sanders_16.html

 

[KimG]

I currently use a small electric drill, but I have one of those sanders on my wishlist, if nothing else they will be good for accessing more challenging shaped bowls. Possibly less good for spindle sanding though, a drill is possibly better for that.

They do rotate, the rotation of the piece in the lathe drives that. Again, I find that getting rid of "rings" (tears in the end grain are what cause these mainly) is often best accomplished with an electric drill mounted pad and the lathe off with the piece locked to prevent turning, care is needed to avoid creating a hollow, but a minimal amount of material can quickly be removed to clear the tear, then once that is full complete (ie all sections that need it) sand again with the same grit (80 or 120 or even 180) depending on the timber and the severity of the marks to just even out the sanding overall, then you can quite quickly descend through the grits to a finish. It is pointless to even think of moving to a finer grit until you are truly happy with the finish of the current one, you will only end up heating the wood as you press unnecessarily hard to get the fine grit to remove the offending marks, which in turn will lead to heat checks and a poor finish anyway.

 

[nev]

http://www.axminster.co.uk/axminster-deluxe-bowl-sanding-kit

Just been looking on axminister website, do you think this is worth getting, ive been cutting small squares and ising my fingers so far, do these rotate and would they help to improve finish eg geting rid og rings etc. wasnt sure how they worked or if it was just a pad on a stick?? THANKS

Yes they do rotate, the speed of which is determined by (the lathe speed and) the angle of contact with the work. You use the spinning work to spin the pad and then angle it slightly to get the abrasive to work across the work, if that makes any sense.

You may also consider getting a arbor/ pad that fits in a cordless drill - very handy for stubborn bits of grain.

BTW the rhyno abrasive Richard sells is velcro backed so you can cut your own discs as and when you need them.

EDIT: Kim beat me to it.
and as kim says - dont put too much pressure on when using, you will just waste abrasive and ruin the pad (damhikt)

 

[John. B]

As Doofusme says,
If you can run to that little extra this, IMHO is the best sander you can get.
I have used one for the past year and no other sander I've ever used can touch it.
The sanding heads pull off and push on in a second (they are held by a magnet) the head is adjustable for angle,
But to be honest I've never changed it from the angle it came with.
I have no connection with Simon other than attending a few demos by him.
John. B

 

[user 17340]

Firstly it's a very good result. It could be worth sticking to the same form a few times, rather than give in to enthusiasm and try a vase. Repetition is a good teacher. I too use a small cordless drill with sanding head. It does take care of end grain tearout when it occurs. It's a plus for any stationary sanding of bowls/platters with voids or cutouts. I use the soft Velcro pad from the Hope system for hand sanding too. I do like the look of the long handled sander from Simon Hope for deep vessels, although it's a form I don't attempt (yet!). I also never get beyond 400 grit.

 

[winemaker]

Nice =D> , I sand useing 80,100,240,340,800,1000, then 1200 I then finsh with sanding sealer 3 coats sanding between coats.

 

[nicguthrie]

That's a very nice result indeedy!

For what it's worth in my own limited experience (but rather a lot of reading) I sand up to 600 grit just using Abranet and the stuff is every bit as good as people say. It lasts absolutely ages per sheet too, unlike average sand paper. I've cut a few smallish sections and glued them to the end of strong oak sticks (offcuts) with a pad of hand-towel as a pad behind it. They've been useful for my limited amount of hard to reach bowl bottom sanding and such.

If you want a really fine finish, either go with micromesh, as mentioned above, or try out EEE Ultra Shine by Ubeut. It's got abrasive mixed in with the paste stuff it's made of and it gets finer and finer the longer that you work it. Makes for a lovely finish under a wax or shellac coat. I use it on some pens, and I've used it on several desk ornaments etc. in combination with the other preoduct they specialise in - Shellawax - you get a very nice finish indeed.

Thanks for sharing your progress. Keep it going!

Nic.

 

[HeliGav]

Ive sanded down to 600 and now going to apply a coat of sanding sealer, what would u start and finish sanding with now, or would u just wait till it drys and apply wax.

 

[nicguthrie]

Once the sealer dries, sand lightly again, the final two grades of paper may be enough. Rub it off with a cloth, if it's looking good and shiny, flawless enough that you're happy with it, move to wax, if not give it another coat, sand, wipe down again... a lot of finishes accentuate any flaws left in the wood that they're applied to, so be sure that you are happy with the finish of the actual wood surface, before you move to putting any kind of final finish over the top.

I'm no guru, but that's my tuppence worth.

Nic.

Sent from my GT-N7000 using Tapatalk

 

[CHJ]

..... Although I do loathe sanding, this is where I think i could spend more time learning a better technique or spending longer!....

Much better looking finish, but if you want to avoid all this time and effort sanding down to 600 grit, have a look at some pieces finished using a buffing system.
More outlay in the first instance but considerably less on short lived abrasives in the long run.
Not many woods used for bowls and the like have a surface structure anywhere near that level of finesse, and surface scratches from abrasive only have to be as good as or a fraction better than the wood texture to be 'non visible' and a lot of achieving that is down to technique and avoiding scratch trails, slow rotary sanding, sanding with the grain, sanding by hand with the piece stationary etc.

On the majority of woods 240 or 320 grit is better than the woods natural surface, seal that to form a hard impervious skin and then polish the skin not the wood. Buffing also has the advantage that it removes any surface blemish of the sealer such as streaks and dust mites.

See this sample of Walnut sanded to 240 grit.
<<< Link

 

[nicguthrie]

Chas, I've seen you post a few times about buffing around the forum. It seems to be one of those topics that, those who know about it assume is so obvious, those of us that don't know about it shouldn't need explained.

I've looked around and there's very little written about buffing for wood. I was wondering if you may be prepared to write a little how-to for those of us that don't know where to start? I even went so far as to buy a couple of buffing wheels, but I'm not sure what compound to use so that it won't interfere with finishing, whether the wheels will need washed after use, what sort of speed and pressure to use (I plan to use a buffind mandrel in my lathe for saving speed) There's undoubtedly many other tidbits that an experienced user may know, that those of us to have never tried wouldn't even guess...

If you would consider it, I'd be in your debt, and may even send you a couple of my rare wood pen blanks as a thank you

Nic.