Brush Sanding Is The Latest Trend In Woodworking

Sanding in woodworking shops has gone from hard contour wheels that had to be shaped to the reverse profile of the piece being sanded. The process is very time consuming as a custom woodworking shop has a few of each sharp and size and changing would have to change sanding wheel all the time. In 1990 a new sanding system was developed where sandpaper where back up by a Tampico brush, this system game the sandpaper for force and when flex around a profile the brush would support the sand paper down in the profile. This style of sanding called brush sanding or brush back sanding would gain popularity for the next 10 year and in 2000 a new system again would make the brush system obsolete. A smart system came along where the brush could be reused many times over as only the sandpaper should be changed when needed. As the replacement cost of the brush sanding systems fell the popularity of brush sanding grew in the woodworking community and in some cases in the metal fabricating shops.

Brush sanding abrasives have the following advantages over hard wheel or sanding belts.

A brush sanding heads will contour or change to any profile, it will only sand the top surface of the profile and just slightly break any sharp edges on the profile. This sanding is often referred to as profile sanding or finishing sanding.

Small knife marks in the moulding can be removed with brush sanding as long as the knife marks are not too deep.

Removal of loose fibers on the molded piece will help on the overall look of the stain color when the work piece is being stained and sealed.

The different between brush sanding and hand sanding is the uniformity of the stain color. If you hand sand something different pressure is use to sand in different spots this will give the wood a different stain color because of over sanding in some spots. Brush sanding will use its flexibility to sand the same in every spot and with more pressure by the operator the brush sander will not sand much more and there by leaving an even stain color.

Brush sanding will however not be as aggressive as a contoured wheel and will not be able to remove the very deep scratches and other imperfections on your contoured piece.

In the sealer sanding or scuff sanding brush sanding is also very easy to use as gentle sanding can be achieved by using the slower RPM (Rounds per Minute) on the brush head. Grit 220 or 320 is normally used for sealer sanding with a brush sanding head.

Brush sanding is a very cost effective way of sanding contoured work pieces where a flexible medium is needed for sanding of an uneven piece.

About The Author-- Jacob Malherbe is working with QuickWood Abrasives and Brushes everyday, helping out woodworking shop everyday with their needs.Http://www.quickwood.com

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