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Sanding paper

Ray7756

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Dec 4, 2017
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Ray
I have noticed a lot of post mentioning abranet and other sanding mediums, and moans about the cost of them, why not just use the appropriate grit of " normal" sandpaper,as I am totally new to this I am probably asking a daft question, can someone explain the advantages over normal sandpaper ???
Cheers
Ray
 

21William

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There’s no reason at all why you can’t use cheap sandpaper, it’s just that some of the higher priced products work so much better. My personal favourite is Abranet, it’s a great product in my opinion and worth the cost. Now, if I was going through boxes of abrasives in a commercial environment I might change my mind.
 

Prokraft

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Oct 21, 2017
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Ludlow, UK
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Hi Ray,

Abranet is a synthetic sanding medium which is perforated to allow the abrased particles to escape from the sheet (so you can breathe it in!) and it reduces clogging which you get with normal sandpaper - it is a bit like a holey scouring pad - in differing grades.

Which sanding medium is best? everyone has different ideas and likes and dislikes it is a case of trial and error until you find something that suits you. There is nothing wrong with "normal sandpaper" - a bit like a bicycle and a Rolls Royce - they both get you from A to B but in a slightly different way!

If you are new to turning welcome to a world full of all sorts of items parts and tools that have little if any purpose but that someone will glady take your money for (I try not to do this).

So the answer is there is nothing wrong with normal sandpaper at all.

Hope that helps.

Cheers

Jon
 

Phil Dart

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I agree with what both William and Jon have already said, but I would add this too. The advantages for me are that it doesn't clog; it seems to last longer than traditional paper backed abrasives (but I suspect if you pay enough for traditional abrasives they will last a long tome too); it's based on a synthetic backing which is very user friendly in terms of bending to shape without that inevitable loss of grit along the crease, or on coarser grits, that "breaking the spine of a book" effect you often get with cheaper abrasives; it can be used for wet sanding; there is no physical grit welded to the backing, to come off in use; it comes in very handy sizes without the need to cut up larger sheets or rolls, and most importantly, I seem to get better results with it with far more ease and far less effort than with other abrasives.

However, a box of 50 sheets is about £18 or £19 these days, so that's a heck of an outlay if you want to adopt it across all the available grades, but it's possible to buy a sort of trial pack which comprise 10 each of 5 grades. Thereafter, if you decide to stick with it, you could begin to change over starting with the finest grade, then invest towards the coarser grades as budget allows.

Can you tell that I'm a big fan of Abranet:whistling:
 

Ray7756

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Ray
I knew there had to be a good reason "Quality" and if I want a quality pen i need to use quality materiels , will try a starter pack first
:thumbs:
Cheers
Guys
 

Lons

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I knew there had to be a good reason "Quality" and if I want a quality pen i need to use quality materiels , will try a starter pack first
:thumbs:
Cheers
Guys

Sensible Ray and you don't need to break the bank, I use all sorts really and bagged what I thought was a steal at Harrogate show from a guy selling factory surplus quality abrasive 110mm wide x 50 metre rolls for £4 each. I only bought 3 grades and wish I'd got more tbh.

I also use Abranet as I bought loads of 150mm disks really cheaply for my ROS.

Don't use cheap sandpaper or you'll be disappointed especially in finer grades, much better with reasonable quality cloth backed abrasive.
 

Penpal

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May 26, 2013
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Peter
My understanding is even sized grit particles and for pens ease of use and longevity makes me an Abranet person.I buy the cloth backed for preference. I always keep the finest grades in Wet and Dry paper.

Now for economic use and precision in use I cut strips of each material to enable the paper pressure to be felt between hand control.

The very first time you use cheap and nasty you will fing jagged lines uneven and difficult to sand down.

All the best .
Peter.
 

Penpal

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First blush it seems reasonable in price but the description does not give the width and length of the strips but certainly very handy and available.

Peter.
 

APH

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Nov 25, 2017
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Herts
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Paul
Abranet is great for pens, but I think a little over praised for more general woodturning. It's not much use for fast rotary sanding, either with power or hand held system (eg Hope), as the mesh is blocked by the pad and any overheating passes through the mesh and can damage the Velcro.
Abranet is also quite stiff and soemtimes doesn't follow contours as well as more flexible products.
I find Rhynogrip Plus (white) as long lasting as Abranet, more flexible and significantly cheaper.

YMMV
 

PetrolP

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Cambridgeshire
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Peter
Abranet were the innovators of this type of sanding product using ceramic as the abrasive.
But I believe the patent has run out and clones of it are coming onto the market, notably from Mirka, who make good stuff.
So prices will start to vary.
As an abrasive it is a class act!!
 

wm460

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Mar 16, 2013
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Tennant Creek, Northern Territory, Australia.
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Abranet is great for pens, but I think a little over praised for more general woodturning. It's not much use for fast rotary sanding, either with power or hand held system (eg Hope), as the mesh is blocked by the pad and any overheating passes through the mesh and can damage the Velcro.
Abranet is also quite stiff and soemtimes doesn't follow contours as well as more flexible products.
I find Rhynogrip Plus (white) as long lasting as Abranet, more flexible and significantly cheaper.

YMMV

BUGGER now you tell me.:sob::sob:
 

Bucks

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I’ve just moved over to Abranet from the cloth backed aluminum oxide abrasive strips you get in the Turners Sanding Packs.

I have only had chance to try the 400 & 600 grit on a couple of pens, the other grits (180,240 & 320) only turned up late last week so haven’t tried them yet! But going by the 400 & 600 I’m already converted.
 

21William

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I had some wood filler I wasn’t looking forward to sanding down a while back, Abranet did the job easily in the end.
 
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