Sanding mop

[Stooby]

Hello. I am working my way through the Kathy Wise book of intarsia projects. She recommends a sanding mop for finishing pieces and I wondered if any of you have used one? I want to know what the finish is like after spending a weekend only getting about a quarter of the way through a project due to the sheer amount of hand sanding. She seems to use a sand flea mop like this:
http://www.woodworkscraftsupplies.co.uk ... ts_id=1288
It is expensive and I am not sure what grit would be best. Then they seem to have a very pricey postage cost for what it's not a big or heavy item.

 

[ChrisR]

Stooby.

I have made this type of sander, for very little cost.

You just need a bolt or machine screw of M6 or 8, with a nut and two penny repair washers, a roll of sand paper.

Just cut the sandpaper to shape/size you want, make a hole in centre, thread the bolt through with a penny washer each side of the sandpaper and tighten down the nut. Job done, the longest part of making, is cutting the sandpaper to size/shape.

Take care.

Chris R.

 

[Stooby]

Thanks Chris. I had thought of making one. I don't suppose you can send me a link of the bits I will need? I haven't got much experience of making anything but I have seen guides on this and it does not look hard if I get the right pieces.
Also how well does it sand? I don't suppose you have any before and after shots of what it does?

 

[Claymore]

Is this the type of thing?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ViFzlabVinM

Hope its ok me posting the link? if not feel free to remove and give me a severe telling off.
cheers
Brian

 

[Stooby]

That looks like the thing Brian. I will show my total lack of practical knowledge here and say what is the arbour, do I look for that our will it have a different uk name? Also what kind of size would I need?
Then do I need fabric type backed sandpaper?

 

[ChrisR]

Thanks Chris. I had thought of making one. I don't suppose you can send me a link of the bits I will need? I haven't got much experience of making anything but I have seen guides on this and it does not look hard if I get the right pieces.
Also how well does it sand? I don't suppose you have any before and after shots of what it does?

I have listed below a few suggestions.

All listed are from Toolstation. http://www.toolstation.com Disclaimer, I have no connection with Toolstation, other than a customer.

80444 Coach bolt & nut M6x75.
86424 Penny washer M6x25.

Or

41652 Coach bolt & nut M8x75.
94063 Penny washer M8x25.

All the above are multi packs, but little cost, and a few spare bolts are always handy.

19719 Sand paper roll 120 Grit.

I have given you the part number for 120 grit sand paper, but you can choose which grit you want from their list. (The higher the number the finer the grit).

This type of sander set up is ok for removing rough edges from saw cuts etc, but if you want to sand back to a line for example then a drum or belt sander would be more suitable, suggest you have a look through a few tool suppliers web sites. You will find a multitude of different types of sanders & sanding accessories.

Hope this is of help.

Chris R.

 

[martinka]

Chris, I think those rolls of Alox are paper backed. Cloth backed emery is much better for these mops. I made one a while ago and friend was so impressed with it he borrowed it and never brought it back.

 

[ChrisR]

Martin.

Yes you are correct, hope the original poster (Stooby) will note, and go for cloth backed.

Many thanks.

Chris R.

 

[Stooby]

Thanks all, I will take a look tonight, get some stuff offered (understood in the cloth backed, I will look around) and then look forward to a new project.

 

[Stooby]

Okay I have got the bits ordered and will let you know how I get on.

 

[Stooby]

An update for anyone interested. Sanding more are the easy to go for me. I was delighted to get my box of stuff from Toolstation in time for the weekend. The sandpaper came on a big roll, only 1 inch wide when all the demos talk about using 2 inch wide, that will teach me to pay attention to sizes!
Still I have it a go, used a guillotine to get 64 6 inch strips then made a template to cut the fingers into. All the demos of making one talk of using a bandsaw to cut the sandpaper with. I haven't got one so tried my scroll saw. 3 blades later and only managing to get 16 of the strips ready I have up. The sandpaper sanded the teeth of the blade right off!
So I resulted to chopping 6 bits of paper at a time with scissors. Forgot the template as I figured a random mop was what I was aiming for.
Mounted everything in my drill and sanded my intarsia project. It works amazingly well at smoothing all the marks from other tools, just what I was looking for.
Bit of a learning curve though, first mop won't last to long as I think my drill runs to fast, does is controlled through the trigger. Still my £12ish has bought me enough stuff to make 3 or 4 mops.
Thanks to all of you who helped.

 

[tigercub]

Hi. Stooby, have been reading this post with interest .Just an idea,but i would use a modified junior hacksaw blade to fit into your scrollsaw .Would imagine this would cut the abrasive paper a little better. Hope to make one of these mops myself . Thank you for posting this.

 

[ChrisR]

Stooby.

Pleased to see that you are up and running/sanding.

I use a Stanley type knife to cut up abrasive paper, cutting down onto a self-healing craft matt, a good way of reusing dull blades. Shhh, it’s the wife’s, craft matt. :roll:

Take care.

Chris R.

 

[Stooby]

Thanks both. When my mop runs out (using it again today and still working well, bits of fabric backing all over the place from yesterday have Henry a job to do) I will make another. I began in paper crafting so have plenty of knives and a couple of self healing mats. Mandy have some have blades somewhere.