Elevate Your DIY Kit With the Best Sanding Bands

Buyer’s Guide: The Best Sanding Bands

Ready to buy a set of sanding bands to make your DIY and woodworking dreams come to life? Well, it is important to know about different factors that can impact your purchasing decision. That’s why we’ve put together a detailed buying guide for you to answer all your questions, so you can invest your money in the right product. 

What To Consider When Shopping For the Best Sanding Bands

Your requirements

Do you need to work on a specific kind of material or surface? Are you planning on sharpening it or carving different designs in it? As you might have guessed, the questions you need to ask yourself prior to purchasing will relate to your place of work.

Different sanding bands serve different purposes, so it’s better to pick one that matches your intended use. If you are a veteran woodworker, you can purchase a set with different band types and sizes.

Specifications of the bands

Sanding bands come in different shapes, sizes, and configurations. Wading through all these specifications can prove intimidating, but you can get through it if you know what you are looking for.

To promote a smoother buying experience, make a list of how many hours you will be using the bands, the types you will require, and the number of pieces you might need. Once you have your specs ready, it will be easier for you to compare and buy.

Durability

Before choosing any tool, you should ensure it is strong enough to serve you while standing the test of time – because the last thing you’d want is to purchase generic brands that barely last a few weeks.

Pointers to Keep In Mind When Sanding With Sanding Bands

Select the right sandpaper grit

Grit is the rating of the abrasive material’s size that makes sandpaper. The higher the grit, the smoother the sandpaper is. Coarse sandpapers are perfect for removing imperfections but they don’t remove them as finely as fine sandpaper does.

You can use the latter when you want to shape or level a surface. Meanwhile, fine grit is more suitable for polishing and smoothing. For inexperienced users, we recommend using coarse grit and graduating to fine as you gain more experience.

Purchase the right accessories

Apart from bands, you can use flap wheels that are ideal for contoured surfaces, sanding discs for removing chips, abrasive brushes for detailed jobs, and abrasive buffs for hard-to-reach areas.

Keep your safety in mind

Sanding can produce harmless dust particles that contain all sorts of harmful chemicals, such as metal and fiberglass. To avoid inhaling any harmful substances, remember to wear safety glasses, a mask, and gloves.

To promote a safer sanding session, it is recommended you perform all activities outside or in a well-ventilated area. For those who suffer from asthma, this step is not optional but mandatory as breathing too much dust can irritate the lungs.

How To Achieve a Flawless Sanding Session

Keep either the workpiece or the sanding band steady

Sanding requires extremely fine finishing. To achieve a polished look, it is important to have a stable setting during the process. Unnecessary movements can create mistakes that can’t be fixed, so try using clamps or non-slip pads to hold everything in place.

Clean your workspace before you start sanding

Switching from fine sandpaper to coarse sandpaper? Clean your surface before you start even if you are using the same thing again. The best way to do this is to start with a damp cloth to clean your workstation.

After that, you’ll want to ensure that everything has dried properly before you get to sanding. If you don’t want to wait, you can use a vacuum cleaner to suck the dust-up. Vacuum cleaners come in handy, especially when you are working with wood.

Know when to stop sanding

The biggest challenge people often face when they use sanding bands is knowing the right time to stop. The time to stop sanding relies on the finish you want to achieve and your client’s requirements.

Regardless of your end goal, you should still keep some general guidelines in mind. For example, with stained wood, the surface should be totally smooth and match the nearby areas.

How Do You Change a Sanding Band?

Loosen the screw

Use a wrench to loosen a screw and turn it counterclockwise. The rubber on the mandrel of the sanding machine will contract, releasing tension and further loosening the screw.

Get rid of the worn-out pieces

Remove the previous worn-out sanding band. If you find it hard to remove the worn-out piece, wiggle the band while removing and it will come off easily.

Insert the new sanding band

When adding the new one in place, make sure that it is the right size. The new band might not fit easily in the beginning. To solve that, turn the band 180 degrees and put it on.

Tighten the screw

Lastly, when you are nearly finished you’ll want to tighten the screw. You can use a wrench to accomplish this. Try to tighten the screw as much as you can, so the sanding band remains in its place.