Sanding Block

[Rockytime]

How many of you remember or have had these? I had long ago forgotten I had this. I found it while looking for something else. I thought about ordering another one from Amazon but no luck. They have a new plastic model.

[dgman]

I have three home made ones made from Maple and Walnut that are a lot like yours. Made from plans from Wood Magazine ten or fifteen years ago.

[tgiro]

The first thing we made, in high school freshman shop class, was a sanding block. It actually had a  lock mechanism to trap the sand paper to the block.  Mine has been long since lost. Now, I just wrap a piece of sandpaper around a piece of scrap wood - works fine.

[Woodmaster1]

That was a project I had my 7th graders make first. They would use it on all their projects. Tools used: hand saw, hand plane and a hand drill. 

[OCtoolguy]

I've got a rubber block that has a flap on each end that has 3 nails under the flap to hold the paper. I load it with 3-4 strips and peel them off as they wear out. I've had it for about 40 years.

[rjweb]

I remember those worked great, not like the ones they make today, RJ 

[BadBob]

Sanding blocks are easy to make from MDF or plywood. I have a plywood block that I have been using for years.

You can still get the rubber blocks.

 

[Scrappile]

8 hours ago, octoolguy said:

I've got a rubber block that has a flap on each end that has 3 nails under the flap to hold the paper. I load it with 3-4 strips and peel them off as they wear out. I've had it for about 40 years.

I have two of these.... Done a lot of sanding with them.  I never thought of putting more than on sheet at a time on them.

Edited April 9, 2020 by Scrappile

[GrampaJim]

11 hours ago, Rockytime said:

How many of you remember or have had these? I had long ago forgotten I had this. I found it while looking for something else. I thought about ordering another one from Amazon but no luck. They have a new plastic model.

How old are you???  I have one exactly like yours - I bought it over 45 years ago! 

And I use my almost every day too.

Edited April 9, 2020 by GrampaJim

[Rockytime]

I'm 81. I lost track of it a long time ago. Finding it was like finding an old friend. 

[kmmcrafts]

12 hours ago, octoolguy said:

I've got a rubber block that has a flap on each end that has 3 nails under the flap to hold the paper. I load it with 3-4 strips and peel them off as they wear out. I've had it for about 40 years.

I have several of those style that you mention.. The local Finish Master still stocks them on their shelf.. I have all sorts of sanding blocks with different contours etc for doing bodywork.. Now days though they use a lot of flexible rubber / sponge like sander blocks etc... I have those too and those work awesome for wet sanding etc.. 

[teachnlearn]

I thought everyone fell in love with sanding sponges. RJF

[OCtoolguy]

10 minutes ago, teachnlearn said:

I thought everyone fell in love with sanding sponges. RJF

I'm not sure what that is. Can you explain or post a pic?

 

[teachnlearn]

Take your pick. RJF

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=sanding+sponge&ref=nb_sb_noss

 

Edited April 9, 2020 by teachnlearn

[OCtoolguy]

1 hour ago, teachnlearn said:

Take your pick. RJF

https://www.amazon.com/s?k=sanding+sponge&ref=nb_sb_noss

 

Thanks. I forgot that I have a couple of them in odd shapes. I'll have to dig them out. Getting old/forgetful sucks.

[dgman]

Here’s mine. Made from Maple and Walnut. Made up of two glued up assemblies then cut into three pieces each. The tops rounded over for comfort. They take a quarter size sheet of sand paper. Plans came from a very old issue of Wood Magazine.

[teachnlearn]

21 minutes ago, dgman said:

Here’s mine. Made from Maple and Walnut. Made up of two glued up assemblies then cut into three pieces each. The tops rounded over for comfort. They take a quarter size sheet of sand paper. Plans came from a very old issue of Wood Magazine.

So you have plans to build an over sized boat in your basement? RJF

[teachnlearn]

To clarify my above comment. I spent my youth reading Popular Science, Popular Woodworking, Popular Mechanics. As Spring approached, there were articles to build a sail boat, or row boat, or paddle boat. The write ins and comments would follow of someone building a boat in their basement only to discover they had no way out. The decision was than to break the boat down or cut walls. Happened repeatedly over the years. I assumed anyone collecting and reading old woodworking magazines had read and would remember them.

A lot of those old plans were complete hand tools, and it would be rare to be able to use any portable drill bit above 1/2 inch. Building a boat was a pure demonstration of ones woodworking skill. RJF