Sanding for woodwork and woodturning

There are so many abrasives around, it is difficult to decide which abrasives to use for various kinds of work with wood. In general, paper backed abrasives are the cheaper, but the quality and type of abrasive can make a difference. When sanding wood, you do not want sandpaper where the grit is too open and the grit material breaks when used to keep new sharp edges on the grit. With wood, this can cause bits of grit getting into the grain of wood and scratching the surface.

The three main types we stock are paper-backed, cloth backed and net abrasives. For woodturning, I would recommend the cloth backed abrasives, one is stearate coated to help minimize clogging. Other people find net abrasives very effective, but more expensive.

We prefer to stock quality abrasives that keep a cutting edge for longer, which helps to reduce heat from building up while sanding. Too much heat from sanding can cause checks in wood. Our preferred suppliers are VSM, Indasa and Mirka, but are continually revising suppliers as things progress. Norton and SIA are two other manufacturers we are reviewing.