Friday, September 19, 2008

Sanding Tip


HI Folks
Been all go in the Philly Workshop these last few weeks. Another Woodworking show (Yandles), catching up with orders and making two Oak Bookcases. And a few other things besides.....

First up - a tip. If you use power sanders of any type you really need to get yourself a "belt cleaner". I use a 12 inch disc sander for roughing out and they clog fast - as soon as they clog they burn out and become useless. A cleaner removes any clogging in seconds and prolongs the life of the abrasive by ten times, easily. They cost little (I bought the small one form Axminster and it has lasted 18 months) and work well. You can see the remains of the old one on top of the new one - I certainly had my use from it ;)

Next up - the oak bookcases. These were a project for my friend Steve. They were pretty big (2.2m high, 1.5m wide and 400mm deep) and I managed to use pretty much every clamp in the workshop. But the customer was very happy and it was good to do some furniture making.

Cupcake the 'shop cat is getting bigger by the minute. She is also quite comfortable in the workshop now and looks forward to having a nap in there (when she's not rooting out sawdust). Here's a photo of her hard at work ;)Yandles show was a lot of fun (except for the rain!!!!). It was great to meet so many of you in person and fun to see Folks making shavings with my planes. I have some new models in the pipeline so keep your eyes peeled (as well as a new-look website!)

Cheers
Philly

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Glad to see Cupcake is is letting you still have the use of the 'shop, seems as though she has imparted a stricter clean-up routine as part of the deal.

Bookcases look like a pleasant break in routine and being Oak a good test for the in-house products.
I'm a bit worried about the proximity to the stove though if that is a genuine wood burner, although I guess it may not be as there is no fireproof hearth below/infront of it.

Chas.

Philly said...

Chas
Yes, Cupcake is fitting in well - alas, I do try and keep the place a little cleaner. Not really a bad thing!
Thankfully, the burner is a modern "look-a-like". Time will tell - fingers crossed :)
Best regards
Phil

Nick Webb said...

You can also use plastic wine corks and scrunched up plastic bags as belt cleaners.

Ethan said...

You're also supposed to get really good results from white PVC pipe. If you have any laying around, it might be worth giving it a try.

Lovely to see Cupcake properly filling her shop cat role, Phil. Nothing adds "warmth" to a room like a curled up cat.

Anonymous said...

I used to have a pair of handmade shoes I bought in Glastonbury in one of my 'unreasonable' moments that had crêpe rubber soles (the same stuff used for these belt cleaners). Visitors to my workshop used to wonder why there was a single shoe hanging on the wall by its laces.

Your local shoe repair man should be able to supply you with off-cuts of crêpe rubber.

Cheers, Woodwould, Australia.