Bowl Sander Mandrels. Using the oil will even bring a gummed-up old piece of emery paper back to life instantly, clearing out the resins aone in the woodtutning. Does the RPM of woodturning bowl sanders zone sanding disc matter, or is that not a concern? The adjustable head which runs on a durable phospor bronze bushing lets the turner reach even the more inaccessible spots. You can use woodturning bowl sanders zone aggressively. Table Saw Accessories. Gwinnett Woodworkers Association Meets Here.

Kent, what an amazing website! Well done sir. To quote Jerry, I stumbled on your site a few days ago and agree it is amazing. As you promised, so much info all in one place. What am I doing wrong? When I first learned this I had to think about it a bit.

If you sand from the bottom up as I do, then cross the center point, you just sanded the area around the center twice. This makes a valley or groove around the center point.

Instead, sand up to the center point but do not cross the center, with the lathe running slow. Stop the lathe and sand the center area smooth, sanding with the surface grain pattern.

Let me know if that helps. Check out this recently released article I made just to address your question about grain orientation. Am I correct to believe that you are making the bowl from the side of the log instead of the end grain? Thanks and really enjoyed your article…I saved it to refer back to once I actually start turning bowls.

Yes, most wood bowls are side-grain oriented. Of course, there are also bowls made with end-grain oriented wood. It can be done either way, but for the most part, bowls are made with side-grain oriented wood. In context of sanding, are there any other circumstances other than green wood where you prefer to use the mesh over paper?

Thanks for the question. In general, I use the mesh pads most of the time because they last longer, grip the velcro backing well, and perform very well compared to the paper sanding disks. I usually use the paper disks when I know the wood is going to eat them up, like when it is green for example. The grain runs all over the place and appears to be quite a problem to sand without getting scratches. Any recommendations on getting this thing smooth other than hand sanding it?

If so, I would recommend making very thin finishing cuts to leave the surface as smooth as possible. Turn the lathe up as fast as possible without creating any vibration, staying within safe limits, see this article. Now make a very thin and slow final pass basically shaving the surface.

For deeper tear out or marks on the surface, you may need to make a couple passes like this. Be sure the gouge is perfectly sharpened and make the feed rate of your gouge very slow and deliberate. Helpful as always and always more questions. Have you used a random orbital sander? Compare that to the basic drill please. On a well turned bowl of average size you define that what is an average amount of time you spend power sanding and hand sanding?

I have never used an orbital sander on my bowls. The disk pad would be too large. Sanding time depends on many factors; wood hardness, moisture content, bowl gouge skills, etc. On average a inch bowl takes about 5 to 10 minutes to sand. If there are trouble areas then the time might increase a bit. I do no hand sanding usually, only lathe on and then lathe off sanding all with the electric drill. I spell that out in this article. Absolutely excellent article Kent, as always.

While I am up in age and self taught turning sanding always been a mystery to me. Like you I wanted to be turning not standing there rubbing my bowl with a piece of paper. I did a respectable job using 3 or four grits and sanding the entire surface No one ever really told me what I was doing wrong. You article opened my eyes as to what I was doing wrong.

Finally someone opened my eyes to exactly what I was doing wrong. I finally turned and finished a bowl that I was truly happy with.

From the first bowl they have improved, now I am turning out bowls that I am truly proud of. This does prove you can teach an old dog new tricks. Thanks for the tips they are a real learning tool. Charles Harmon. Please let me know how else I may help. I have a friend who loves to finish and he does a great job of sanding and finishing but spend many hours doing so. I had rather be turning. Thanks for the compliment John. So, why not find a happy medium. The sander will last a long time.

The big thing is to blow out the dust. I use my air compressor to blow out dust from the vents on the sides of the drill. Gosh after reading how you sand a bowl, I am at a loss! Even when I get better I may still do this, less expensive and I like how the bowls look. Depending how I use the finishing tool, I start at grit but my lathe is on at about rpm. I have been turning for years as I turn other creations but bowls is a challenge for me. Sanding will also be a challenge for me at the moment.

The blocks of wood is side grain, so the edge of the bowl is the end grain. That is my issue right now and any help or additional advice is much welcomed. Thank you so much for sharing all of your knowledge with us who love to turn. The end grain needs to be sanded with the lathe off. Use the edge of the sanding disk and sand with the surface grain of the wood. When you sand only with the lathe running, you are sanding with the surface grain half of the time and the other half against the surface grain.

When we sand against the surface grain we leave scratches. This is why you then need to turn off the lathe and sand the end grain areas with the surface grain.

Take a look again at the images above. Also, turn the lathe speed down when you do the first sanding portion of each grit. There is no need for fast lathe speeds because the sanding disk is doing all the work. Username or Email Address.

Remember Me. Bowl Sanding Tools. Steve, Interesting question. All the best to you and Cheers! Happy Turning, Kent. Your question has a couple of variables that need to be considered. Let me know if that helps and all the best to you! Thank you again for your advice and help. Hi Andrew, Yes, every different tree has plenty to discover. It also keeps the sanding dust to a minimum and smells nice. Best, Jerry. Hello Jerry, Thank you for sharing this wet-sanding information!

All the best to you and Happy Turning, Kent. Thank you! Josh, Thank you so much!!! All the best to you. Take care! Love your tips! Hello Dave, Great question! Hello Larry, Thanks for writing. Cut out the pattern. Use it to trace the cutting lines on the back of your abrasive and cut it out by hand. If you have a scroll saw you can cut more efficiently.

Copy or print out the appropriate pattern [in Drawing 1] and cut it into a circle. You may wish to write the grit with marker in the center of each disc for easy identification. Tape the stack together at the edges with masking tape [as in Fig28 ]. Now tape the pattern on to the top of the stack [ Fig29 ].

Adding a plain paper disk on the bottom of the stack will make sliding the stack on the saw easier. Cut out the pattern [ Fig31 ], then remove the pattern and any tape from the top and bottom Woodturning Bowl Sanders Youtube pieces [ Fig32 ]. A stack of discs taped together for cutting. All the abrasive faces down. This makes it easier on the blade and is a requirement if you use the overlapping leaf pattern and want to drive the ball forward with your drill. After taping the pattern to the stack of discs. Cutting the stack on a scroll saw.

Yes, it trashes the blade. But scroll blades are cheap and you can cut several stacks with a blade. The stack after cutting out. A Velcro Only Foam Ball Sander loaded with overlapping pattern abrasive and the rest of the stack nearby.

To load a Velcro only Foam Ball Sander, put the center of the abrasive on the top of the ball and press down the leaves of the abrasive one by one.

If you are using an overlapping pattern you may have to tuck the last leaf under the first one. Put the center of the abrasive on the top of the ball making sure it is centered well enough that all the leaves will overlap the Velcro covered washer.

Press down the leaves one by one making sure the tips are pressed down on the Velcro covered washer. To load a Mechanical Foam Ball Sander, first back off the nut and washer. Place the center of the abrasive on the top of the ball and hold it in place with one hand. Wind a rubber band around the middle of the ball to keep the abrasive in place [ Fig33 ]. Now add another rubber band closer to the washer to bend the leaves inward [ Fig34 ].

You can tug the leaves snug at this point. Drop the washer into place and tighten the nut to hold the abrasive in place [ Fig35 ]. Even if it looks a little loose it will probably work just fine. After winding one rubber band around a Mechanical Foam Ball Sander and abrasive. After winding the second rubber band on the Mechanical Foam Ball Sander. After locking the abrasive in place with an abrasive covered washer and nut. You can use a small Foam Ball Sander to sand the inside of a vessel.

You can also let the vessel dry and remount it on the lathe. Turning the lathe on at a very slow speed will make up for any wood movement while drying. You can use the back third of the Foam Ball Sander to sand under the lip of the vessel [as in Fig36 ]. Try to avoid straight on contact with the nose of the ball as much as possible except for the very bottom, as this will make the Foam Ball Sander unstable in the same fashion as a foam backed disc is all the time.

Sanding under the lip of a vessel with the back third of a Foam Ball Sander. Sanding down the side of vessel with the side of a Foam Ball Sander. If so, sorry about that. Subjectively the Foam Ball Sander feels much nicer than a disc when sanding a bowl on the lathe. When sanding the outside of a bowl it helps to have the bowl turning in reverse to maximize the speed of the abrasive relative to the wood [ Fig39 ].

Avoid contacting the very nose of the ball. Sanding the outside of a bowl with the Foam Ball Sander. The bowl is turning in reverse. Use the side of the ball as much as possible when sanding the inside of the bowl [Fig40].

Have the lathe turning forwards. Angle the ball when sanding the bottom to avoid contacting the very nose of the ball [ Fig41 ]. You can stop the lathe and angle the ball to sand with the grain on the bottom of the bowl after each grit. Sanding the inside of a bowl with the Foam Ball Sander. The bowl is turning forward. Sanding the bottom of a bowl with the Foam Ball Sander. Note that the ball has been angled to contact the side or front quadrant of the ball, not nose dead on.

Use the side of the ball to sand the edge of a bowl. If the lathe is turning forward, sand at the front edge of the bowl [ Fig42 ]. Sanding the edge of a bowl with the Foam Ball Sander. If the bowl is turning forward then sand on the front edge. You can also stop the lathe to do spot sanding of defects. Spot sanding a defect on the inside of a bowl with the Foam Ball Sander. Since the Foam Ball Sander is so stable in use I can hold the drill in one hand and the bowl in other rather than lock the spindle.

If you reverse turn a bowl using a tailstock center for support and leave a small nub which is then cut or broken off, the Foam Ball Sander will almost instantly erase all the evidence.

You can use the Foam Ball Sander to sand the inside of a bowl off the lathe that has been finish turned while green and dried. Hand sanding with grit will sand off the high spots while the low spots will still be shiny until it is all sanded evenly. Well guess what, not only did it show up, it is worse than ever. You then leave it to the next day hoping it will look better then!

The reality is that had you gone back to that coarser grit you would have finished in less time with a lot less aggravation. Save time! Start with a coarser grit than you think you need and sand with it longer than you think you need to, until all tooling marks and damaged wood fibers have been removed, then the rest of the job will go quicker and be more satisfying. Put as much pride in your sanding as you put in the rest of your project.

A good sanding job will not be seen, but a poor sanding job will stand out above everything else. Think about it! Jack Morse johnmorse bellsouth. More Posts. CBN Wheels.

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