scary sharp sandpaper supplier

Right Here!

Hoa Dinh in Alameda

>Go to WC Marketplace, click on "TOOLS FOR WORKING WOOD", then "Sharpening."

-- Hoa

Re: scary sharp sandpaper supplier

Jim in Burlington Ontario

>ca as in Canada? If so www.sandpaper.ca Spray glue + wet dry paper is alot cheaper than PSA paper

Important point

Neal (San Jose)

>Make sure you use Aluminum Oxide paper. Silicon Carbide is much too soft and breaks down before any useful work is accomplished. The black wet/dry paper you find at paint stores, automobile supply houses, the borg, etc is almost certainly the wrong stuff. SiCa paper is designed for use on paint and works well in that application, but is almost useless for abrading hardened tool steel.

P.S.

Neal (San Jose)

>Another of our sponsors, Lee Valley, stocks Aluninum Oxide papaer, along with more sharpening aids than you can shake a dull blade at.

Re: Important point

Joel

>I would have to disagree with this - SC is sharper and cuts faster - but fragments. AO doesn't fragment but is softer and has a rounded crystal - so cuts slower but the paper lasts longer.

the practical result for sharpening - a tie.

in the very ver fine grits of course we want the smoother action of the AO paper in the coarser grits we would rather cut fast.

However the real difference between wet/dry papers, cloths, lapping film - etc is the binder to the backing and the size consistency between grits. with precision lapping films you get a more even grit so more of the paper is actually used also the rosin that holds the grit to the paper (actually film) is thick and the grit is used up - the result is that the lapping films last considerably longer.

Joel

(who spent far too much time researching this and conferring with manufacters than he thought he had time for but is pretty happy with the selection at the end)

Re: scary sharp sandpaper supplier

Adam Cherubini, NJ

>I recommend the PSA stuff Gluing paper down isn't fun, can result in bubbles that cause tears, and isn't fun to remove. Just to be impartial, I guess you could buy film backed PSA stuff from some faceless industrial supply house instead of Joel. That's up to you!

I think the film backed stuff lasts way longer than paper, glue or no glue. When you take tearing into account and mounting and unmounting from the glass.... My guess is the final cost between paper and PSA backed film is closer than it may initially seem.

But seriously, give the film a try. If you hate it, you're only out $10. Its not like you bought yourself some fancy diamond stone that didn't hold up and isn't flat. Its all disposable.

Adam

Disagree, maybe, and a bunch of data

bill tindall

>I too have researched this topic as well as evaluated a number of products. Some recommendations and sources can be found in our article in the Articles section of this Forum. However, the information in this article predated our work with the mylar film based abrasive sheets. Klingspor Industrial division is a good inexpensive source for these paper or PSA backed products in any size rolls (about 40% off list).

The black silicon carbide paper ( eg 3M wet or dry)in the coarser grits crushes very quickly when used on hard tool steels. In my hands it is thus more expensive, and vastly slower than aluminum oxide, or preferably zirconia. I would call it near useless. Ditto for the loose grit silicon carbide lapping compounds (Clovite) in coarse grits. I believe the poor life of this abrasive has given abrasive sheet sharpening a bad name in some circles.

I have never seen aluminum oxide offered with paper backing in very fine grits. The silicon carbide seems to work fine in these very fine grits and it is available with paper backing, PSA or not. I got good life from it, in the fine grits.

Two places that supply material for polishing metal test specimens recommended aluminum oxide on mylar backed abrasive for hard steels so that is what I tried. It is available down to boggling small grit sizes. I was just begining to use this product when we discovered diamonds and I dropped further work with it. However, I preferred it to paper for a number of reasons. It cut O1 and A2 steels quickly. Possibly silicon carbide on mylar has some advantages in the mylar format and users could elaborate on what they are. I have some but never did a head to head comparison.

When we started making tools from the very abrasion resistant CPM 3V we discovered, along with others , that aluminum oxide would not cut it effectively. We were stuck with using the harder abrasive, silicon carbide, and suffered the very short life of this abrasive in the coarser grits (until we discovered diamonds).

There is yet another abrasive. It uses the abrasive grain technology used for "SG" or seeded sol-gel wheels and "ceramic" sharpening stones. It is a special grain of aluminum oxide that wears while maintaining a sharp grain edge. Knife makers swear by it for abrading tools steels. This material is available in abrasive sheet form (and it is pricey!). I have not used it. It will be advertised as some sort of "long life" paper. Possibly it may be "best" for coarse grit work.

glue alternative

bill tindall

>Instead of using the "recommended" 3M 77 contact cement use "repositionable" contact cement, 3M 75 or equivalent, available at art stores. It is a Post- it Note kind of adhesive and it is easily removed.

Or simply use mylar sheets and "stick" them to a sheet of glass with a spritz of water.

neanderthal INTELLIGENCE

frank_shic (walnut ck, ca)

>thanks a bunch, guys! i'm grateful for all of the advice that's been shared - definitely MORE than i had expected! i'm going to compromise by getting some PSA SC sandpaper in 80/120/320 through woodworker's hardware and pick up some wet/dry sandpaper in 600/1000/2000 from pep boys - i'll just place the wet/dry on top of the PSA sandpaper's surface like mike dunbar does in the video.

hopefully, i'll be able to start sharpening up the chisels i bought last year and start practicing some hand carpentry - for a refreshing UNPLUGGED change!

Re: scary sharp sandpaper supplier

Frank Mutchler in Colorado Springs

>I have used 3M wet/dry paper from 500 to 2000 grit very successfully. I spray some WD40 on my table saw or jointer bed, lay the paper on it, spray some more WD40 on the paper and go to work. Works great for me. Paper stays put & blades get sharp....scary sharp ;>)!!

Re: scary sharp sandpaper supplier

frank_shic

>frank, that's a VERY interesting method that i haven't heard about before! if the wd40 works as well as the adhesive, it makes a lot more sense for me since my table saw and jointer's are always ready whereas i have to pull the glass out of storage every time i need to sharpen. i was wondering how people were getting their sandpaper to stick to the cast iron surfaces without leaving the adhesive residue all over the place. thanks!