An Impressive Sanding Method

by Phil Colson
Woodturner

My wife and I took a vacation in Vermont this year and while we were there I had the opportunity to spend the day with Al Stirt. His website is www.alstirt.com, check it out. I watched in amazement as Al showed me how he textured his pieces. His shop was a delight, with two 24/36 Oneway lathes back to back. One for turning and the other set up with a vacuum system. I also learned his method for sanding. He uses a 9000 rpm air sanding gun (looks like a drill), and he presses so hard that you can hear it slow down. Two passes in a bowl per grit and he's done. He is an excellent turner and cuts very clean, but two passes per grit and he's done! He let me try and my experience was the same, amazing.

When I got back home I started looking for an air gun, 9000 rpm. I couldn't find one so I emailed Al. He quickly emailed back with the name of two manufacturer that had this type of gun. The problem was the cost. Both pneumatic guns were over a thousand dollars. Out of my price range.>

I tried using a 25000 rpm pneumatic gun, zing, the paper flew off the 3" holder and the foam rubber on the holder flattened out. I started thinking about what made Al's work so well, and I remembered he used the mini foam I mentioned in a previous tip. I bought a new 3" Velcro holder, put it in a chuck on the lathe and cut the Velcro off with a skew. I cut out a piece of the mini cell foam and using contact cement adhered it to the existing foam. I then adhered the cut off Velcro to the mini cell foam. I put it back in the chuck and shaped it with the skew.

I decided to use my electric drill at 3200 rpm to test it out. It worked. It wasn't the speed, it was the mini foam. It along with the existing foam created a surface which was strong yet resilient. I pressed down on the grit and it did the job very fast. Applying pressure did not bury the grit so it couldn't abrade the fiber and it didn't heat the wood causing surface checks. The mini foam was the answer. I made another disk for my air sander to go between the sander pad and the Velcro sanding disks. I am an Al Stirt sanding believer. Try it out, I think you too will become an Al Stirt sanding believer.

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Phil can be reached directly via email at woodturnerphil@gmail.com.


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