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"random orbital" by hand........tip!

Odie

Odie

Panning for Montana gold, with Betsy, the mule!
Joined
Dec 22, 2006
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Tried something the other day, and it worked beautifully.

Worked up a sanded surface to 600 grit, and some faint streaks were visible. If I don't see them until after finish is applied, I usually use 0000 steel wool wet with the finish, at that point. This time the light was right to see them and I tried a very slow rpm (around 75rpm +/-), and worked a circular path while the bowl rotated on the lathe.......worked! This is something worth remembering.:cool:

ooc
 
Bill Boehme said:
What size ROS do you have? Mine is 6" and obviously too big.
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Bill.....Mine is a Grex with 2" and 3" pads, but I wasn't talking about using it. What I was talking about was using sandpaper in your hand, and applying it to the wood with circular motions while the lathe was running. In this case, it worked so well, that I'll have to remember it in the future. It's a new discovery for me. Probably others have already done it, and it wouldn't be anything new for them, but it is for me and anyone who hasn't done it.....yet! ;)

ooc
 
odie said:
?... What I was talking about was using sandpaper in your hand, and applying it to the wood with circular motions while the lathe was running. In this case, it worked so well, that I'll have to remember it in the future.....
Click to expand...

It just occurred to me when I saw the thread title that I didn't catch the hand sanding part. I don't know what others do, but that has basically how I have sanded when the lathe is running. In the past I have said that I don't like sanding with the lathe running, but age has made me reconsider the benefits of less shoulder and elbow pain. By keeping the sandpaper moving, it is easier to wind up with nice pleasing shapes with smooth curves. I also continuously change my pattern -- clockwise, counterclockwise, large and small ovals, etc. I also have the lathe speed around 100 - 200 RPM. Sometimes a little faster. I tried the minimum speed and the drag goes way up because it is almost like sanding off the lathe where I supply all the work. There is a magic speed where where the lathe takes over doing the work.
 
Bill Boehme said:
It just occurred to me when I saw the thread title that I didn't catch the hand sanding part. I don't know what others do, but that has basically how I have sanded when the lathe is running. In the past I have said that I don't like sanding with the lathe running, but age has made me reconsider the benefits of less shoulder and elbow pain. By keeping the sandpaper moving, it is easier to wind up with nice pleasing shapes with smooth curves. I also continuously change my pattern -- clockwise, counterclockwise, large and small ovals, etc. I also have the lathe speed around 100 - 200 RPM. Sometimes a little faster. I tried the minimum speed and the drag goes way up because it is almost like sanding off the lathe where I supply all the work. There is a magic speed where where the lathe takes over doing the work.
Click to expand...


For me, that "magic" speed is around 300 rpm. I use this standard for all powered and hand sanding, with some variance according to the diameter and other needs of the moment.....but, in the case I'm speaking of in this thread is where all sanding is done normally and some residual streaking is taken care of by manually doing some RO sanding only at the highest sandpaper grade used. Obviously, this isn't going to do the job in all cases, as powered RO sanding is needed sometimes for more pronounced streaking.....but, in this particular specific case, it worked beautifully!

ooc
 
When I notice sanding problems I simply turn the lathe off and hand sand with the grain. Takes only a few seconds to do the objectionable areas and you can move on to higher grits. I do this frequently when you have mild torn grain. I find hand sanding with whatever grit needed to take out that bad area will go far faster than trying to sand with the power on. I think what happens is the sandpaper bounces over the bad area when the piece is spinning even at slow rpms. Stop and hand sand it for about 10 seconds and it's gone. Then I can go back to sanding with the lathe running and step through the grits.
 
john lucas said:
When I notice sanding problems I simply turn the lathe off and hand sand with the grain. Takes only a few seconds to do the objectionable areas and you can move on to higher grits. I do this frequently when you have mild torn grain. I find hand sanding with whatever grit needed to take out that bad area will go far faster than trying to sand with the power on. I think what happens is the sandpaper bounces over the bad area when the piece is spinning even at slow rpms. Stop and hand sand it for about 10 seconds and it's gone. Then I can go back to sanding with the lathe running and step through the grits.
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Hi John......We are talking about two entirely different things here. I think Michael understands what I'm addressing, and it has nothing to do with torn grain. If you are still dealing with torn grain when you are sanding at 600gt, then you've progressed to finer grits prematurely several grits previous to this stage of the sanding process.

You are correct about the usefulness of stopping the lathe and hand sanding with the grain direction. It works, but it's application isn't appropriate for this particular need......with exception of the very center of a bowl interior, where the grain isn't alternating end grain to long grain. It's not always needed here, but when it is, it's a valuable component of your "bag of tricks"! :cool:

ooc
 
Sometimes my streaks are from sanding sealer or maybe danish oil. I find at times that sanding or steelwooling is more helpful to go across the streak (with may be perpendicular to the grain) at first in order to ? break thru the streak? and then finish with the grain and then orbital very litely by hand to get rid of ANY marks at all seen with magnification. I am getting better at this.:) Gretch
 
Gretch Flo said:
Sometimes my streaks are from sanding sealer or maybe danish oil. I find at times that sanding or steelwooling is more helpful to go across the streak (with may be perpendicular to the grain) at first in order to ? break thru the streak? and then finish with the grain and then orbital very litely by hand to get rid of ANY marks at all seen with magnification. I am getting better at this.:) Gretch
Click to expand...

Agree mostly. When I sand a bowl I use a 2 or 3" disk with the contract point such that the abrasive is moving at 90° to the form (across the face grain- towards either the center or the rim) using very light pressure. This removes tool marks and erases tear-outs faster and better in my experience. Doing so "reduces" the fibers on either side of the offending mark without pushing the mark deeper into the wood so the surface is cut to an even level. Orbital sanders (random or otherwise) are great for flatwork, but I have no use for them on turnings.
 
Odie I didn't mean to imply that I only use the hand sanding to get rid of tearout although that's where i use it a lot. If I'm sanding with 600 grit and see a small line probably left by other grits I find hand sanding is usually the fastest way for me to get that line out.
 
Mark Mandell said:
Of course. It is a functioning cooperative agreement between two surfaces for the use and benefit of the party of the third part (namely me).

Sheesh; thought that was obvious . . . res ipsa loquitur!!! :p
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Wow, you're good! I want to sue my bowl gouge for negligence. I swear that I was just an innocent bystander when it went rogue. Do you think that we have a case? :rolleyes:
 
Bill Boehme said:
Wow, you're good! I want to sue my bowl gouge for negligence. I swear that I was just an innocent bystander when it went rogue. Do you think that we have a case? :rolleyes:
Click to expand...

Always possible, but between the fees and disbursements you'll incur it's likely the most you'll walk away with will a bill from the lawyer. Last time I checked, gouges were pretty much judgment proof.

That said, I do know a firm that specializes in consumer class actions on products liability. Were all the OSHA-approved safety items that came with the tool in use? Was the gouge prominently labeled to provide notice to the user?
 
john lucas said:
Odie I didn't mean to imply that I only use the hand sanding to get rid of tearout although that's where i use it a lot. If I'm sanding with 600 grit and see a small line probably left by other grits I find hand sanding is usually the fastest way for me to get that line out.
Click to expand...
Yes, John.......I figured we were talking about two entirely different things. :D

Later, ooc
 
Mark Mandell said:
Of course. It is a functioning cooperative agreement between two surfaces for the use and benefit of the party of the third part (namely me).

Sheesh; thought that was obvious . . . res ipsa loquitur!!! :p
Click to expand...

Said the lawyer...
 
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