Sand Paper - Ever make your own?

[ForumMFG]

I was wondering since you have to buy festools sand paper to work with the RO125 for example, has anyone ever purchased another brand sand paper and punched holes in it to align with the holes in the sanding pad?  I thought you would be able to get a metal stamp or something the same size as the hole and punch them yourself?

This is an idea but has anyone else ever done something different to make other brands of sand paper work on festool sanders?

 

[Bob Marino]

I was wondering since you have to buy festools sand paper to work with the RO125 for example, has anyone ever purchased another brand sand paper and punched holes in it to align with the holes in the sanding pad?  I thought you would be able to get a metal stamp or something the same size as the hole and punch them yourself?

This is an idea but has anyone else ever done something different to make other brands of sand paper work on festool sanders?

Most other sandpapers already have holes in it, but I don't think any would line up with the Festool hole patern and none have the center hole. There are other suppliers (Klingspor comes to mind) that make paper with the Festool hole pattern, but the question is unless you have some huge stash of otherwise useless paper laying around (and even then, I would sell it or give it away) why would you want to use other paper anyhow? Festool paper is designed  for Festool sanders and is priced pretty competatively with other brands.
The exception is the RS 2E 1/2 sheet sander, for which a hole punch is available, because generally paper for the 1/2 sheet sanders don't have any holes, and since that sander has been a favorite in the shops, many had a boatload of "holeless" paper on hand.

Bob

 

[ForumMFG]

Bob,

I agree that most brands already have holes in them and we stock Klingspor sand paper without holes.  Since I buy in large quanties, I get a good price.  Thats why I asked.  If I already have sand paper then it makes no sense in buying more.  Yea, the festool sanders are designed for festool sandpaper and I'm sure there is a difference but I don't think it would be that big of a deal on our projects.  I'm not trying to go around festools back by buying other sand paper, I'm just trying to utilize that materials and products I have readily avaiable and I'm sure others would do the same thing if they had extra sand paper.  I do enjoy the festool sand paper and I will be buying some at some point.

 

[bonesbr549]

It would be easy to do.  You could take your pad off put it down on a wood form and draw the hole pattern drill it out and make two copies, putting dowels sharpened like pencils,  in one and put the paper on one side press together and bingo holes.  But you would have to cut the paper round and you have to figure your time is worth something, so in the end it would probably be cheaper just to buy.  I had some good media for my 5" ROS that I loved.  Its by abranet and lasts forever.  Its almost like a mesh, so there is no need for holes.  The dust just goes through the paper, and its in various grits.  It aint cheap, but boy does it last.  I bought several packs at woodcraft once and have been very pleased.  Here's a link just to check out.  I see they do make a 6"

  https://2sand.com/

 

[ForumMFG]

What grits of the abranet do you use and what for?  We buys lots of Mirka products including the abranet.  We use it for solid surface.

 

[bonesbr549]

What grits of the abranet do you use and what for?  We buys lots of Mirka products including the abranet.  We use it for solid surface.

I bought a pack of 180 grit 5" and used it with my PC ROS.  It was not cheap, 17.99$ for 10 pack.  I will say that it lasts forever better than any other material I've used.  I also liked not having to align and dang holes.    I use it for that itermediate step from rough to finish.  I've also stripped some varnish with it pretty good stuff.  After sanding, I would dip in some mineral spirits and let set and it was almost good as new. 

 

[Neill]

It would be easy to do.  You could take your pad off put it down on a wood form and draw the hole pattern drill it out and make two copies, putting dowels sharpened like pencils,  in one and put the paper on one side press together and bingo holes.  But you would have to cut the paper round and you have to figure your time is worth something, so in the end it would probably be cheaper just to buy.  I had some good media for my 5" ROS that I loved.  Its by abranet and lasts forever.  Its almost like a mesh, so there is no need for holes.  The dust just goes through the paper, and its in various grits.  It aint cheap, but boy does it last.  I bought several packs at woodcraft once and have been very pleased.  Here's a link just to check out.  I see they do make a 6"

 https://2sand.com/

Bones,

I saw something like this on "Ask This Old House" but it was a jig that you set the prepunched paper on, abrasive side down.  You then set the sander on top, lining up the holes.  This will insure that the holes in the paper line up with the holes in the sanding pad.

Neill

 

[bonesbr549]

It would be easy to do.  You could take your pad off put it down on a wood form and draw the hole pattern drill it out and make two copies, putting dowels sharpened like pencils,  in one and put the paper on one side press together and bingo holes.  But you would have to cut the paper round and you have to figure your time is worth something, so in the end it would probably be cheaper just to buy.  I had some good media for my 5" ROS that I loved.  Its by abranet and lasts forever.  Its almost like a mesh, so there is no need for holes.  The dust just goes through the paper, and its in various grits.  It aint cheap, but boy does it last.  I bought several packs at woodcraft once and have been very pleased.  Here's a link just to check out.  I see they do make a 6"
https://2sand.com/

Bones,

I saw something like this on "Ask This Old House" but it was a jig that you set the prepunched paper on, abrasive side down.  You then set the sander on top, lining up the holes.  This will insure that the holes in the paper line up with the holes in the sanding pad.

Neill

Ya know I had an issue with my PC due to the odd number of holes.  Seemed Like I was eyeballing a little bit to get it right.  With the new ets 150/3, I seem to hit one hole and the others line up.  Not much of an issue.  The one gadget I do miss was the sanding buddy that I would put my sander on to let spin down.  Only worked on the 5"    too bad. 

 

[Neill]

Bones,

We keep having to justify to ourselves that Festool makes a superior product, even the little things?

Neill

 

[Dave Ronyak]

I was a major fan and frequent customer of Klingspor before I discovered Festool products, and still think very highly of Klingspor and their products, and they offer some of their disks in hole patterns to fit Festool 125 and 150 mm diameter sanders.  But the Festool brand abrasive supplies perform very well, are durable and competitively priced, so I have had no incentive to try competing products from Klingspor or others, except where they have products that have no direct equivalent in the Festool product line, e.g. some of the Mirka products.   

Dave R.

 

[cosmosr]

For anyone who wants abranet, the company i work for overbought on 5" 100, 150, and 400 grits, and they're looking to unload it all at below cost ($19.50 per box).  there's a few pallets worth. If anyone is interested, email me at brad@jclayton.com. 

 

[JJ Wavra]

It would be easy to do.  You could take your pad off put it down on a wood form and draw the hole pattern drill it out and make two copies, putting dowels sharpened like pencils,  in one and put the paper on one side press together and bingo holes.  But you would have to cut the paper round and you have to figure your time is worth something, so in the end it would probably be cheaper just to buy.  I had some good media for my 5" ROS that I loved.  Its by abranet and lasts forever.  Its almost like a mesh, so there is no need for holes.  The dust just goes through the paper, and its in various grits.  It aint cheap, but boy does it last.  I bought several packs at woodcraft once and have been very pleased.  Here's a link just to check out.  I see they do make a 6"
https://2sand.com/

Bones,

I saw something like this on "Ask This Old House" but it was a jig that you set the prepunched paper on, abrasive side down.  You then set the sander on top, lining up the holes.  This will insure that the holes in the paper line up with the holes in the sanding pad.

Neill

Ya know I had an issue with my PC due to the odd number of holes.  Seemed Like I was eyeballing a little bit to get it right.  With the new ets 150/3, I seem to hit one hole and the others line up.  Not much of an issue.  The one gadget I do miss was the sanding buddy that I would put my sander on to let spin down.  Only worked on the 5"    too bad. 

They make sanding buddies in 6" also.

JJ