Jimhart said:
I need to sand the nosing of stair treads that are 5/4. The 2 LS130 radiused sanding pads are 18mm or 25mm, 3/4" and 1". I'm reading this as a 3/4" radius equals 1 1/2" diameter, 1" equals 2".
I have the 25mm radius pad in front of me, and can confirm that it would be suitable for round stock that has a diameter of 50mm, (ie a diameter of about 2").
In the pictures on the website, they don't look that big, but it's very hard to tell.
The pictures on the Festool USA website are misleading as the one used to illustrate the Sanding Pad, Radius 25 Concave, Product No. 490165, is identical to the one used to illustrate the Sanding Pad, Radius 18 Concave Product No. 490164. They both refer you to the following image:
The URL of that image is...
Code:
http://www.festoolusa.com/images/400/se_r18kv_490164_z_01a.jpg
...and is therefore of the smaller 18mm radius pad, 490164.
The 25mm radius pad I have in front of me looks like this picture from the Festool Germany website.
I'm thinking the 18mm is the ticket. Right?
The 18mm diameter pad would give a semi-circular edge to stock that was 36mm thick. Your stock is a bit thinner, at about about 32mm thick, so you won't get the full semi-circular rounding effect.
If you wanted a pad to match the nosing precisely, you could follow Nick's advice and order the
Do-It-Yourself Kit, $44.00, Product No. 490780.
For details of how to use it, see
Llap Goch's post from last year:
If you have a non-standard profile or shape to sand then this kit is worth its weight in gold.
The kit consists of a bare foam sanding block, a rough abrasive sheet, a hook and loop sheet and some adhesive.
Select the profile/shape you wish to copy and stick the abrasive sheet directly on to it, making sure that you press it firmly into the profile. Then, with the bare foam pad mounted onto the LS130, 'sand' the abrasive that you have fixed onto the profile. The linear action sands the foam pad down to the profile shape. Once you are satisfied that the fit is good and the foam pad replicates the profile, stick the hook and loop sheet onto the foam pad. Wait for the adhesive to dry and you then have a sanding pad ready to take the normal size LS130 sanding sheets.
It is simple to do and really works. The LS130 is probably my favourite Festool....after the big K!
Forrest
