Abranet?

[Melinda_dd]

What does everyone think of Abranet sheets of abrasive?
I found they loose their sharp really quick and then doesn't really do much after that! shame as that's all I have right now...ran out of the normal sandpaper

I also just had dejuvu typing this so apologizes if i've already been here before :?

 

[Frank S]

I`m not a fan of it either as I have found the same,that it loses its sharp quickly.
Frank.

 

[henton49er]

I use Simon Hope and Sorby sanding pads with home cut cloth backed abrasives in a cordless drill for flat and large areas, but I do use Abranet (100 to 600) for small items or fiddly areas such as beads, grooves etc. I find the Abranet sample packs (one sheet of each grade) quite useful.

Mike

 

[loz]

I used to use it, and wash to reuse, but i now find it much cheaper to get the axminster 4 roll packs mailed over to Ireland, They last for ages.

 

[Blister]

I tried it once

Not for me

 

[Silverbirch]

I've used it, but I'm not keen on it either. The coarser grades are too stiff, and the size in which it generally seems to be available is a bit small. It doesn't seem to last any longer than standard cloth or velcro backed abrasive, which, being larger, can be cut to the size and shape required, can be used on a power sander and therefore is more versatile. It's promoted as being non clogging, but I find that standard abrasive is easily unclogged with a quick rub from an old toothbrush.
In short, not very cost effective for a hobbyist.

Ian

 

[boysie39]

also one of the use and wash brigade, but not anymore it has its uses i suppose but not for me

 

[woodturnerEric]

Well I`m a fan,the thing with Abranet is you have to sand with no pressure and let the sandpaper do the work,if you apply to much pressure you overheat it and then its useless,also keep moving it around so your not using just one spot as it will clog. 4yrs ago I bought ten packs of each grade up to 600 grit,this autumn I renewed my stock at the European woodworking show as it was getting low,I use mostly hardwoods for my work as well.Regards,

Eric.

 

[jimi43]

The key to both Abranet and MicroMesh is very very light pressure and go up the grades without missing any out.

I start at 120G and go up to 400G and then shift to 1500M and up to 12000M and rarely need anything other than oil on most hardwoods.

I bought the multigrade box on FleaBay and so far have never thrown a piece away!

I use the older pieces on brass after they have been "dirtied" on dark hardwoods and I still have a set of them with use in them yet.

I think it is great stuff...

Jim

 

[Paul Hannaby]

I use a mixture of abranet, cloth backed abrasives and velcro backed disks for power sanding. All will lose their edge faster if used at too high a speed. Abranet tends to clog less because it's easier to shake out the accumulated dust. I use the different abrasives for different applications.

 

[duncanh]

the problem I found with abranet was that I couldn't easily write the grit on the back in a long lasting way as I do with cloth or paper backed abrasive.

 

[paulm]

the problem I found with abranet was that I couldn't easily write the grit on the back in a long lasting way as I do with cloth or paper backed abrasive.

I keep mine in one of the units of small plastic drawers, the type for screws and stuff, a different grit in each drawer and the drawers marked in grit sequence.

In use I have a strip of wood with a number of parallel slots cut in it, and each piece of abranet (or J type or other) sits in a slot again with the grits running in sequence.

You use a piece, replace it in the slot, pick up the next piece and repeat through the grits.

No need to mark them up if you keep them organised, also not that difficult to tell from the feel of them which grit they are although I guess it's easier to tell 120 grit from 600 than it is 320 from 400.

Maybe I'm overly organised / borderline OCD though ? :lol:

Cheers, Paul

 

[Aled Dafis]

...Maybe I'm overly organised / borderline OCD though ? :lol:

Oh how I wish I was organised / borderline OCD!!! :roll: :roll:

Aled

 

[Paul Hannaby]

I thought abranet had the numbers written on the back anyway? Mine all does! The abrasive wears out before the numbers on the back fade so I never need to write on it.

 

[duncanh]

I thought abranet had the numbers written on the back anyway? Mine all does! The abrasive wears out before the numbers on the back fade so I never need to write on it.

I think it does, but if you use narrow strips I don't think you could numbers on all the strips

 

[Phill joiner]

I thought the whole point of abranet was that if used with an extracted sander it will not clog or throw dust everywhere. We use them on our air palm sanders in the workshop and find the dust extraction is great. Not much good for just sanding in the hand.... A tad expensive compared to the big rolls you can buy for that.