Abranet HD on a Rotex?

[w802h]

I've used Abranet HD on my Rotex 150 and I like it for coarse work since it is very fast at removal and long-lasting.  That said, it's better for going backwards than a base coat for new finish.  It can leave deep, enduring scratches that take awhile to sand out, climbing out of lower grits.  I bought a 40,60,80 grit combo pack.  I think 80 Abranet HD would be like 60 Cristal or coarser. 

 

[Holmz]

I have only used abraifenet with the 1/2 sheet sander, which has a bit bigger footprint. I am not a huge sanding freak and a sander is not my 'go to' tool.

If the grain is folded over, then some time sharpening. a hand plane seems worthwhile. It sounds like the surface has been bludgeoned by the cutter rather than shaved cleanly? I am envisioning crop circles where the grass is folded over the alien cutter?

 

[Wuffles]

I've used Abranet HD on my Rotex 150 and I like it for coarse work since it is very fast at removal and long-lasting.  That said, it's better for going backwards than a base coat for new finish.  It can leave deep, enduring scratches that take awhile to sand out, climbing out of lower grits.  I bought a 40,60,80 grit combo pack.  I think 80 Abranet HD would be like 60 Cristal or coarser.

Yes, I am positive that the Abranet is coarser for the same numbering but hadn't tried the HD stuff. Perhaps I'll start off with 80 and run backwards if I have to do it all again, good real-world info thanks. Did you modify the sheets with holes? Someone else mentioned a modification for use on his Rotex.

I have only used abraifenet with the 1/2 sheet sander, which has a bit bigger footprint. I am not a huge sanding freak and a sander is not my 'go to' tool.

If the grain is folded over, then some time sharpening. a hand plane seems worthwhile. It sounds like the surface has been bludgeoned by the cutter rather than shaved cleanly? I am envisioning crop circles where the grass is folded over the alien cutter?

Yes the cutter needed sharpening for sure, just couldn't see at the time, too much mess. It worked out ok the time before though so maybe I got lucky then.

 

[w802h]

The holes line up well enough for good dust extraction, although there are times that the rate of removal seems faster than extraction at lower grits.  Possibly another hole or two would help.  I haven't studied this, but there is room for improvement. 

 

[Brent Taylor]

I have used the HD quite a bit with good results for rough in work, I do modify the disk to maximize the dust pick up.  The  backing doesn't hold up as well in rotex mode.

Modify as in put some extra holes in it? But good to hear. They look pretty substantial compared to the normal Abranet, is that about right?

Yes , I punch holes to aid the dust extraction. I use the 125 mm sizes with my work, the holes may line up better in the 150 mm size. The backing on the HD is a bit different than other pads and I have found it wears faster than the normal Abranet.   

 

[CrazyLarry]

I've got an Axcalibur one I use normally, think it's about 36 odd mm, and a shiny new CMT one that I probably should have used. It was a spur of the moment quick fix thing that's going to add up into a pain in the bottom  [smile]

That Trend looks like it might turn the Earth on its axis in the wrong hands!

True I was a little apprehensive the first time! But built a new tramell with aluminium rails for it, adjustable laminated stops and running plates and I have to say the wider bit means you can get more overlap on passes without feeling like you're not making progress.

I'll route a mil off again and start over, carefully, as there's not much of it left to play with now.

I think that's the wisest choice, a new bit is bound to give a better finish with less work, how wide is the CMT bit?

Had a look at the other thread that's quite a nice little bit of wood ))

All the suggestions + your comments got me wondering what the actual problem is though... Maybe you need to forget about the epoxy / varnish for now, get the wood itself to a fully smooth almost polished state THEN fill all the voids with clear epoxy, let it cure and sand it all off again before 'polishing' once more and only then touch any of it with a top finish of what ever type you choose.

Probably a slow approach but I think will give you ultimately a better finish?

 

[Wuffles]

I've got an Axcalibur one I use normally, think it's about 36 odd mm, and a shiny new CMT one that I probably should have used. It was a spur of the moment quick fix thing that's going to add up into a pain in the bottom  [smile]

That Trend looks like it might turn the Earth on its axis in the wrong hands!

True I was a little apprehensive the first time! But built a new tramell with aluminium rails for it, adjustable laminated stops and running plates and I have to say the wider bit means you can get more overlap on passes without feeling like you're not making progress.

I'll route a mil off again and start over, carefully, as there's not much of it left to play with now.

I think that's the wisest choice, a new bit is bound to give a better finish with less work, how wide is the CMT bit?

Had a look at the other thread that's quite a nice little bit of wood ))

All the suggestions + your comments got me wondering what the actual problem is though... Maybe you need to forget about the epoxy / varnish for now, get the wood itself to a fully smooth almost polished state THEN fill all the voids with clear epoxy, let it cure and sand it all off again before 'polishing' once more and only then touch any of it with a top finish of what ever type you choose.

Probably a slow approach but I think will give you ultimately a better finish?

That's what I thought I did, then kind of realised on closer inspection I'd maybe not managed to fill all the voids, you're right, should have gone and done the same thing again. The problem is getting the resin into the smaller holes, it has a tendency to crated up around them so you are just sanding off the crater and the void remains. Probably something to do with the viscosity of the resin.

I've got a few slabs like it and was planning on doing a few more, just other things keep getting in the way.

 

[Holmz]

The holes line up well enough for good dust extraction, although there are times that the rate of removal seems faster than extraction at lower grits.  Possibly another hole or two would help.  I haven't studied this, but there is room for improvement.

There holes every 3-mm or so with the screen. It hardly needs more.

 

[CrazyLarry]

That's what I thought I did, then kind of realised on closer inspection I'd maybe not managed to fill all the voids, you're right, should have gone and done the same thing again. The problem is getting the resin into the smaller holes, it has a tendency to crated up around them so you are just sanding off the crater and the void remains. Probably something to do with the viscosity of the resin.

I've got a few slabs like it and was planning on doing a few more, just other things keep getting in the way.

Oh ok I suffered that kind of problem till I stumbled on the sage advice of a chap who restores church window sills with epoxy: strips of perspex and in your case a few clamps I expect... You slightly overfill the voids with epoxy then lay the perspex over and gradually clamp down, if you need to put a series of strips of perspex down side by side. Strips let the air out so you don't get bubbles >>> voids again!

Probably not explained that too well!

Once it's cured you just peel off all the strips (for re-use) and sand down the surface again as per usual but you should have a lot less voids.

 

[Wuffles]

That's what I thought I did, then kind of realised on closer inspection I'd maybe not managed to fill all the voids, you're right, should have gone and done the same thing again. The problem is getting the resin into the smaller holes, it has a tendency to crated up around them so you are just sanding off the crater and the void remains. Probably something to do with the viscosity of the resin.

I've got a few slabs like it and was planning on doing a few more, just other things keep getting in the way.

Oh ok I suffered that kind of problem till I stumbled on the sage advice of a chap who restores church window sills with epoxy: strips of perspex and in your case a few clamps I expect... You slightly overfill the voids with epoxy then lay the perspex over and gradually clamp down, if you need to put a series of strips of perspex down side by side. Strips let the air out so you don't get bubbles >>> voids again!

Probably not explained that too well!

Once it's cured you just peel off all the strips (for re-use) and sand down the surface again as per usual but you should have a lot less voids.

I will bear that in mind. Cheers.

 

[sancho57]

Try  40 Grit Rubin with the hard pad.

 

[CrazyLarry]

Try  40 Grit Rubin with the hard pad.

Good point! Forgot to mention that ... makes a big difference, especially for those of us with gorilla tendancies

 

[Wuffles]

Try  40 Grit Rubin with the hard pad.

Good point! Forgot to mention that ... makes a big difference, especially for those of us with gorilla tendancies

I think I used the hard pad, perhaps the first time I did and not the second? Either way (take on board what you say about the Rubin) there's some Abranet HD P60 coming my way via a chap on eBay flogging them cheap. This is for next time anyway, this time I will have to cleverly knock about half a mm off with a router on my non-sophisticated milling jig.

 

[Holmz]

How about a belt sander?
Does anyone use them anymore?

 

[Wuffles]

How about a belt sander?
Does anyone use them anymore?

I wouldn't have a hope in hell of keeping it as a flat table top with one of them.

 

[Holmz]

How about a belt sander?
Does anyone use them anymore?

I wouldn't have a hope in heck of keeping it as a flat table top with one of them.

They used to make them with castor/skateboard deal that made the base even longer and wider.
In the same way that the spatial frequency washboard or whooodie-doos, or moguls are created by the wheelbase of a cars, the wheelbase of the motorcycles, and the length of the skis respectively... The flatness of the board is governed by the sander's foot print (wheelbase).
However the RO-90 seems to have a 90-mm footprint.

Looks like the Festool beltsander has the frame that widens and lengthens the footprint, as I recall using on my old Hitachi (I think).
http://www.idealtools.com.au/festool-belt-sander-bs-105-e-set-aus-by-festool?gclid=Cj0KEQjwrdetBRCJg92s44SB77IBEiQAEIWmVXIKwRCLldOXNooC56CQBAvXz-1SxmkmnXrtix8I49QaAvd28P8HAQ

Conceptually this is also similar to the router sled set-up, where it is allowing a small bit to seem to have the low spatial frequency that a large sled base affords.
I am not saying set the depth to max and use 16 grit on it, but set to a light depth with 180 they are not exactly rooster-tailing wood out the back like on a Roadrunner and Coyote cartoon.

 

[Brent Taylor]

How about a belt sander?
Does anyone use them anymore?

I still use my old Makita, mostly for rough flating of tops and edge banding. For the most part I like my  VS 1/2 sheet sander. Belt sanders take practice and finess, but they can do a lot of work quickly. (And screw stuff up quickly, too) 

 

[Wuffles]

And the answer is, very well indeed. Admittedly most of the work was done first using cheapo 40grit sheets I had lying about and brute force with the RO150 to remove the thin coat of resin I'd foolishly put on too early to protect it.

[member=9122]CrazyLarry[/member]

I filed the voids again with resin after getting it back to nice and flat, and I used some strips of simple selotape placed over the holes when the resin was wet after using a blowtorch to remove the air, peeled them off this morning and it looks pretty good.

Cheers everyone for your help.

 

[CrazyLarry]

And the answer is, very well indeed. Admittedly most of the work was done first using cheapo 40grit sheets I had lying about and brute force with the RO150 to remove the thin coat of resin I'd foolishly put on too early to protect it.

[member=9122]CrazyLarry[/member]

I filed the voids again with resin after getting it back to nice and flat, and I used some strips of simple selotape placed over the holes when the resin was wet after using a blowtorch to remove the air, peeled them off this morning and it looks pretty good.

Cheers everyone for your help.

How does the blowtorch thing work then ... (epoxy retardant is seriously flamable!!!) ... visions of a fireball here

 

[Wuffles]

And the answer is, very well indeed. Admittedly most of the work was done first using cheapo 40grit sheets I had lying about and brute force with the RO150 to remove the thin coat of resin I'd foolishly put on too early to protect it.

[member=9122]CrazyLarry[/member]

I filed the voids again with resin after getting it back to nice and flat, and I used some strips of simple selotape placed over the holes when the resin was wet after using a blowtorch to remove the air, peeled them off this morning and it looks pretty good.

Cheers everyone for your help.

How does the blowtorch thing work then ... (epoxy retardant is seriously flamable!!!) ... visions of a fireball here

I'm using a paint stripper heat gun, but it's the same principle. Blow it above the bubbles (not at them, but kind of near them) and they pop without any coaxing by touch.

Everybody's at it. Youtube it, it shows it quite clearly.

Super excited about the idea you passed on though (albeit modified with what I had to hand), worked a charm mate, ta.