by: Sandor Nagyszalanczy
Topics include: woodworking abrasives, drum thicknessing sanders, sanding plane, sanding swarf, sanding performance, narrow belt sanders, graphite pad, sanding schedule, abrasive shaping, woolly grain, profile sanding, regular sandpaper, craft adhesive, plastic abrasive pads, scuff sanding, mop wheels, sanding bare wood, power sanding, form platen, sanding action, sanding tasks, sanding frame, scratch pattern, smooth sanding, plastic abrasives
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Exellent, informative book, November 19, 2001
Reviewer: A reader
As someone who has been working with wood for over 20 years I thought there's not much about sanding that I didn't know. The credentials of the author, Mr. Nagyszalanczy, who was Senior Editor of "Fine Woodworking" magazine's was deciding factor in purchasing this book. And the book is a delight! It is exceptionally well written in easy-to-understand fashion, and not a bit supercilious. Moreover,instead of being merely a dry manual on sandpaper and abrasives the book gives an excellent overview of wood finishing; the woodworking tips alone are worth buying this book. The author is straight in his opinions; the emphasis is made on modern tools and techniques, as opposed to "traditional" methods. It can't be said better about traditional rubbing out as being arcane. The recommendations in the book are given from the practical perspective and always make good sense. Superb illustrations. Highly recommended!
The Wood Sanding Book
Sandor Nagyszalanczy
A guide to abrasives, machines, and methods
If you think that all there is to sanding wood is sandpaper with a little elbow grease, guess again. In addition to the dozens of different abrasives that you can choose from, there are tools and techniques that can speed up this often tedious chore. If your sanding equipment consists of just a sanding block, this book will open a vast new world.
The Wood Sanding Book explores abrasive materials, machines, and methods. Compiled from the research and experience of veteran furniture maker and author Sander Nagyszalanczy, this book is designed to expand your understanding of abrasives and the multitude of jobs they can perform in the workshop. You'll learn how to accomplish these tasks efficiently and get good results whether you work by hand, by machine, or a combination of the two. You'll also learn how to remedy common sanding problems and prevent them from happening in the first place. Over 100 telling black-and-white photos and illustrations.
The Wood Sanding Book
Sandor Nagyszalanczy
A guide to abrasives, machines, and methods
Introduction
1 The Anatomy of Coated Abrasives
Grits
Sizes and Grades
Backing Materials
Bonds and Coatings
Products Made from Coated Abrasives
Other Abrasive Products
2 Shaping, Leveling, and Smoothing Bare Wood
Abrasive Shaping
Leveling a Surface
Sanding Wood Smooth
3 Sanding to a Great Finish
Surface Evaluation and Repair
Dewhiskering
Cleaning the Surface
Scuff Sanding Between Coats
Rubbing Out a Finish
Removing an Old Finish
4 Tips for Handling Sandpaper
Preparing Abrasive Paper for Use
Prolonging Paper Life
Curing Sanding Problems
5 Hand Sanding
Sanding Flat Surfaces
Cleaning Up Curves
Sanding Moldings
Sanding Details and Small Parts
Sanding Round Parts and Turnings
6 Power Sanding
Steps to Efficient Power Sanding
Working Safely
Personal Protection Against Dust
Power-Tool Dust Collection
7 Portable Power Sanders
Portable Belt Sanders
Orbital Sanders
Random-Orbit Sanders
Straight-Line Sanders
Rotary Sanding Tools
Discs, Wheels, Drums, Spindles, and Rolls
8 Stationary Sanding Machines
Edge Sanders
Benchtop Narrow-Belt Sanders
Disc Sanders
Combination Belt/Disc Sanders
Drum Sanders
Oscillating Spindle Sanders
Thicknessing Sanders
Arbor-Mounted Sanding Wheels
Sources of Supply
Index
Reviews:
The Wood Sanding Book
Sandor Nagyszalanczy
A guide to abrasives, machines, and methods
Every woodworker knows how to smooth wood, right? All it takes is a piece of sandpaper and a little elbow grease. You can certainly get adequate results with basic sanding techniques, but if you haven't yet explored the full range of modern abrasive materials, machines and methods, you've only begun to scratch the surface (pun intended).
It's hard to believe that a mere hundred years ago crude materials, such as sharkskin or ordinary sand glued to a paper backing, were the only kind of abrasive commonly available to woodworkers. Today, a quick flip through the pages of any woodworking or hardware supply catalog will reveal dozens of types of sandpaper and innovative abrasive products and machines that perform many woodworking operations besides merely smoothing a surface. Woodworkers now routinely use abrasives to shape wood parts, thickness boards to precise dimension, trim waste, remove an old finish or polish a new one, clean up rough turnings, refine moldings, and more.
Modern abrasive technologies have an ever-increasing impact on the way both beginners and professionals are working with wood. Innovative sanding machines make jobs that were once difficult or troublesome to accomplish, such as planing highly figured woods or smoothing complex parts, much easier, faster, and more accurate. Also, new industrial abrasive products make many traditional sanding tasks less tedious. For instance, production sandpapers with anti-loading (stearated) coatings have a lubricity that keeps them from gumming up when smoothing resinous woods or when touch sanding between coats of a lacquer finish.
With the emergence of the American do-it-yourself market, power-tool companies have directed their attention to the needs of amateur and hobbyist woodworkers, developing many new abrasive tools specifically for them. Tools such as detail sanders and combination belt/disc sanders are easy to use and affordable. Many industrial abrasive machines designed for production woodworking have served as models for affordable, scaled-down tools designed for smaller woodshops. Machines once found only in large cabinet shops or furniture factories, such as oscillating spindle sanders, are now commonplace in one-person shops. Inexpensive versions of other industrial tools, such as pneumatic sanders, are now more available thanks to larger production volume and low-cost manufacturing abroad. We're also seeing more and more abrasive tools in the woodshop that were originally developed in other trades. For example, random-orbit sanders were originally designed for auto-body repair work, yet most woodworkers I know use them for removing waste quickly.
The abundant new developments in woodworking abrasives stem from the fact that abrasives perform many jobs traditionally done by bladed tools, but do them more easily and more safely. Safety is an important consideration for any woodworker, but especially for the beginner or novice: A careless slip when cleaning up a door frame with a belt sander has less grim consequences than the same slip made while trimming with a portable power plane!
The new abrasive materials and machines offer the promise of faster and better ways of working wood, but they also come with their share of challenges and problems. If you don't understand the tool and use it improperly, any abrasive device can quickly turn woodworking from a delight into a disaster: Even a belt sander can remove wood so fast that it can ruin a painstakingly built project in the wink of an eye. On a more insidious level, most abrasive machines are dust-spewing demons that can fill a shop with lung-choking clouds of fine particles. These can cause respiratory discomfort and long-term health problems.
Hence, while it's important to embrace (or at least be open to) new abrasives products and technologies, enthusiasm is best balanced with good judgment. just as when you buy any new tool or try a new joinery technique, it pays to be well informed ahead of the purchase or practice. That way, you're most likely to choose the right equipment for your needs, get the most out of it, and spend the least amount of time overcoming pitfalls. With these issues in mind, I've written this book to aid woodworkers in search of truth and wisdom about sandpaper and abrasives. This book has four aims:
To give extensive, up-to-date information about modern abrasive materials, from simple sandpaper sheets to discs, drums, belts, sleeves, and special wheels. I'll delve into all the aspects of abrasives important to the woodworker, including how grits are graded (coarse to extra fine) and what abrasive minerals, surface coatings, and backing materials and treatments are best for what particular jobs. This information is intended to help better prepare you to select the right product for the right job-and avoid buying costly products you don't need.
To teach techniques for doing basic sanding jobs, such as shaping, leveling, and smoothing surfaces, polishing finishes, and removing waste, in ways that require the least effort and ensure the best results. I'll cover all manner of techniques for both hand sanding and power sanding, pointing out methods and tricks to make sanding easier, more accurate, and safer.
To display and discuss the abrasive devices, tools, and machines currently in use, from simple sanding blocks to complex stationary machines. Included are the fall range of portable power sanders, from old standbys, such as belt sanders, to recent introductions, such as detail and profile sanders. Detailed descriptions of what jobs each tool does best will help you make well-informed purchases (a "Sources of Supply" appendix at the end of the book provides listings of abrasive-tool manufacturers and suppliers). And a wealth of suggestions for using power sanders should help you get the most out of all your abrasive tools, both new and old.
To help readers avoid or overcome common problems associated with sandpaper and sanding, such as cross-grain scratches, paper loading, and veneer sand-through. I'll also address the important issue of how to defend yourself against dust, including personal protection by means of masks and respirators and dust-collection strategies for your shop.
The information presented in this book will benefit any woodworker who is looking to make the most of modem abrasive products and sanding methods. If you're a professional or serious amateur already making extensive use of abrasives in your shop, you're sure to discover loads of techniques and tips to improve the quality of your work and to boost your productivity. If you're a beginner who uses sandpaper only for smoothing surfaces (and an old orbital sander is the only piece of power-sanding equipment you own), get ready to explore the many facets of a bold new world of abrasive woodworking!
