Sanding tiny items

[Sheen]

I’m thinking that there may be more sanding required because of cutting with the punch pliers rather than a disc cutter. I must admit that i have little cleaning up of edges with a disc cutter

That's interesting to know. When they come out of the punch pliers they are rather sharp.

[handmadeblanks]

I've spent the last few days sanding 20+ half inch discs (12.7mm) and I use my Foredom with a split mandrel and varying grades of wet & dry. As Dennis mentioned, to avoid distorting the shape when doing the edges I run the motor at a slow speed and avoid using anything less than 600 grit. I usually use 1200. I hold the discs with my fingers, doesn't seem to be a problem.

[Sheen]

Thanks handmadeblanks, do you use the sandpaper wet? Or is that a bit dodgy on a motor? I just recently bought some 600 grit and was very impressed by it's resin smoothing capabilities used wet. I am surprised that you are using such fine grades of sand paper on the discs i was using a file and a 280 sanding sponge (rushed job). So another thing for me to try.

[handmadeblanks]

Thanks handmadeblanks, do you use the sandpaper wet? Or is that a bit dodgy on a motor? I just recently bought some 600 grit and was very impressed by it's resin smoothing capabilities used wet. I am surprised that you are using such fine grades of sand paper on the discs i was using a file and a 280 sanding sponge (rushed job). So another thing for me to try.

No, never. I tried it wet once and it got messy. I used to use 180 for deep surface scratches but now I am taking a more ruthless approach. If I can't get a scratch out with 600 after a few minutes trying then into the recycling bin the disc goes. I found I was spending too much time finishing a disc. I now think it would be better to get rid of all the deep scratches and imperfections in my sheet during the rolling process so that the disc needs little work once cut...


Yes, try 1200 grit for the edges (IMHO) I bought 10 sheets from Screwfix and they weren't expensive. titan-wet-dry-sanding-paper-230-x-280mm-1200-grit-pack-of-10/98101

[Sheen]

Just seen your reply handmadeblanks. Thanks. I'm always keen to keep sanding to the bare mimimun