Speeding up hand sanding

[Dennis Morland]

Use blue dykem in between belt changes. When you can't see any more blue you're ready for the next grit.

I do this...

 

[Frank Niro]

Wallace, once you start the hand sanding do you find the lines are running the length of the blade or still up and down?
Frank

 

[John Wilson]

I have created hand sanding nightmares for myself several times by trying to take the bevel too far on the lower grits, in an effort to save time on the grinder. I don't realize I went too far until I'm hand sanding and there are those faint scratches that simply won't go away. That's when I realize they are likely remnants of 120 grit scratches that I *almost* got rid of on the grinder. It can take hours to hand sand out 120 grit scratches. If I don't have a clean 320 finish after 20 minutes I know that my best bet is to go back to the grinder with a 220 belt and then again on the 400. And of course then the hand sanding starts all over again but in the end it's just faster overall in my experience.

 

[EdCaffreyMS]

identifying "left over" scratches from previous grit belts is part of the learning curve when it comes to finish grinding. Ty is on the right track! I take it one step further and have several "magic markers" that hang near the grinder, whenever I have a student learning to identify "leftover" scratches, I have them "paint" the blade they are working on with the magic marker, then take another pass on the grinder, The color that isn't ground off vividly reveals the missed scratches.

Having appropriate lighting around the grinder aids greatly in being able to identify those leftover scratches too.

 

[Kev]

I use a giant red marker and it works great. It's just like dykem. You can definitely see where you've missed. I like to change directions too it helps identify some of those stray marks.
With that I just added a leAther covered sanding block and synthetic oil. The results are phenomenal. I just use the store brand full synthetic and apply it with and old child's medication syringe. Works awesome. It's cut my time by 3/4 or better.

 

[Entropy762]

Well I finally tried the oil out. I used Mobil 1 and it really cut good. No pictures. I forgot the phone in the shop. But I will use the oil for hand sanding from here on out. Thanks.

Jake

 

[Frank Niro]

I'm so pleased to hear that. I'm trying to recover from an illness for many months and have not been able to do any shop work.
Frank

 

[Gliden07]

Ty what is that sanding block/stick made out of. I've been using an aluminum block but it's rough on my hand!

 

[Ty Adams]

Ty what is that sanding block/stick made out of. I've been using an aluminum block but it's rough on my hand!

The one in the picture is 3/16" hot roll strip. The one I use for everything but the final single pull strokes is a piece of laminated wood. I rounded off the corners and glued on some leather.

 

[Von Gruff]

I have hardwood blocks that are about 5 inches long of 7/8 x 7/8 and have one for each of the grits I use. I cut my W&D paper in 3 lengthwise and wrap the length round the block tightly. I can make a number of passes, moving along the block, before turning to the next face. An old knifemaker friend showed me this many years ago. I used to sand with a drop of water, then started to use kero but now sand dry as I dont keep sanding with the paper after it has started to lose its cutting edge. Use it like it is free is the best advise.