Sander on or off the wood before you start

[lablover]

Had a small argument with a fella at work today.  I tend to start the sander before I touch wood...He said it's better to start the sander while the sander is already on the wood.  I was taught start it first to reduce swirls etc.  I was using a pneumatic sander at the time he said this and I'm pretty new to air sanders soooooo...

I saw a post here from way back when and the consensus was either or and folks do it both ways.

Input?  Opinions.

Have a great weekend

Joe

 

[grbmds]

I wouldn't start a Rotex sander in Rotex mode on the surface, but I would with a soft start random orbit sander. I have no experience with pneumatic sanders.

 

[AlexThePalex]

Over 35 years ago I was tought in my father's bodyshop to start the sander on the workpiece or else it would spin up too much and gouge the surface of the car.

But that was before sanders had a pad break which makes sure the sander doesn't spin too fast in free air.

So today I really don't care one way or the other.

 

[#Tee]

doesnt really matter to me long as the finishing grit removes any swirls visible to the eye. sanding its basically all hand feel.

 

[Birdhunter]

I watched a Festool video on using the Rotex sander. I remember the actor starting the sander on the wood and taking it off before cutting power.

 

[semenza]

Flip a coin and then develop your own technique.  [wink]

I generally start it of the surface and remove it from the surface while running. But it is largely due to my personal preference in the control of the sander.

Seth

 

[RDMuller]

Remember that sanding is really not a good name for the process we are doing.  It should be named "scratching" because that is what is going on.

I tend to NOT "land" a hot sander, but rather start while on the wood to avoid gouging.  This depends somewhat on what grit paper in my sequence I am using.  I usually step through 3 grits to move to a finer and finer "scratch".  When using the last (finest) grit, I may want to land a hot sander if I am a good pilot and in control of everything and know I will not gouge the wood.  Thus I avoid the introduction of some sort of uncontrolled scratch while starting cold on the surface.

I always lift off "hot" to avoid the irregular scratch associated with throttling down while on the wood.

Study your scratch pattern by rubbing mineral spirits over your work.  But remember while scratches from less than optimum speed for whatever you are doing are not attractive, gouges from poor landings or takeoffs are uglier.

Yes, I was a pilot in a former life!

 

[Phil Beckley]

Hi
Personal preference for the best result.....i start off the material and land 'flat', keep it running and take off the material.
Rg
Phil

 

[Naildrivingman]

I have seen several videos that stress starting the tool when it is in contact with the work and removing it from the work while it is still running.  I think "correct" technique comes down to consideration of several factors:

1. What is the hardness of the material you are removing
2. What grit are you using
3. What mode is the tool in
4. Is the tool equipped with a hard or soft pad
5. Personal experience handling the tool

I don't think I ever start my sander on the workpiece and I do my best to land flat.  I think a lot of times, these advisories are aimed at the novice.

 

[mrFinpgh]

I always start on the workpiece.  Usually in rotary mode and usually with the hard pad, although lately I've been finding the medium pad is helping with plywood that may not be so flat.

I think that with the RO150, one of the big challenges is finding the 'sweet spot' in terms of balance, so that the sander can be guided with a minimum of muscle power.  The more muscle is taking over for gravity, the less consistent my results tend to be. 

Starting off the piece would seem to only make that equation more complicated. 

Best,
Adam

 

[ArtisanWoodworksAndDesign]

I always start sanding on the surface, because if you start a sander and then put it onto a surface, you can cause gouging of various degrees.  It doesn't matter if the sander causes scratches from starting it up from a dead stop, on your work, because you'll be sanding that area anyway along with the rest of the surface.  There's also the possibility of shorter sanding pad and sandpaper life from hitting the surface with an already running sander, depending on how you engage the surface.

 

[bags]

I generally start off the wood because when I use a drum sander it is running before the board hits it,,, so a palm sander could be started then applied

 

[peter halle]

I had always started off the work until I attended some training classes here in the US.  At those classes it was recommended to start on the work.

Things change over time and the trainers might be recommending things differently.  My class attendance was more than a half decade ago.

Peter

 

[bkharman]

In addition to some of the above comments, it also depends on the sander for me. My ets 125 or 150...I will happily start the sander on the workpiece. RO 90 or my LS 130?  Not a chance in Phoenix!!

I think like most things you start with what you know, adapt it to make it work better based on trial and error.  Then you watch some YouTube vids or some info on a forum and start second guessing your methods, but sometimes you pick up some tricks!

Cheers. Bryan.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[Holmz]

For a sander with a rotating random orbital pad (ETS/EC, DEROS, etc) I start with them on-wood as they would spin up off the wood.

A half sheet I start on the wood.

A rotating sander or grinder or belt sander I start off the wood.

Personal preference I think, but it makes sense to me.

 

[McNally Family]

I think this is the video people refer to having seen, when discussing where the sander should be when both starting and stopping the sander itself, either on the wood, or off the wood:

 

[lablover]

Awesome video...thanks so much