Frustration = Discovery!

Hi Ed. One of my friends told me you were looking first class again when you were at Jim Clow's. I most pleased to hear this !!! Frank
 
Excellent! Yes, I'm on my third quarter-sheet sander dedicated to finishing flat ground blades. I'd never do it any other way anymore. But I never thought of backing the Micarta with cork - I think I like that idea. Where does one find this stuff? Auto store or somewhere? I've never used adhesive to attach the paper, just the clips that originally held the paper in place. Doesn't the adhesive pull the cork away? And doesn't the spray adhesive build up on the cork? I use acetone to clean the adhesive from my disc grinder; would the cork surface hold up to that? I like the idea of the cork surface, just wondering how well it will work.

I have not read all of the comments, so I apologize if these questions have been addressed. Either way, I've learned something valuable again today, and I'm going to see if I can find the cork stuff and give that a try immediately. Thanks Ed!

But I really would appreciate it if anyone could fill me in on where to find this stuff. We've just had a pretty good snowfall and I'd prefer not driving all over looking for cork! :) Curious about the adhesive question too. Thanks for any help. Have a great day all.
 
I made one of these up a couple of weeks ago and I have to say WOW this is cool and a real time saver. I used micarta for the backing plate and red rubber plumbing gasket for the pad over the micarta. This is cool. The only issue is I used it with a $9 on sale sander from Harbour Freight. There is so much vibration transferrred to your hand from this thing, your fingers tingle with just a few minutes use. I like it so much I may make another one using a bit higher quality sander and see if it works more comfortably. Its still good though.

Another note is this is especially good if you are a bit new as I am and leave yourself a bit more hand sanding than some of the more experience guys.
 
Hey BD, good for you! You'll find that a wonderful tool, but be prepared to replace your sander occasionally. I'm on my third one. :) But I'll never look back!
 
I did the conversion also. The first time it did not work at all. Whatever I used to replace the plate fell apart pretty quickly. So I set it aside. Since I am a pack rat, I did not throw it away.
Then I read this post by Ed and pulled it out and looked at it again. This time I used a piece if 1/8th Lexan, glued the cork to it and it works great!
Thank you Ed, for bringing this up again.
Fred
 
Back
Top