Sanding Disc Erasers

[Wamsutta]

Do they actually work? What kind of material do they remove from the sanding disc? Sawdust?

I use my sanding discs on a right angle grinder with a backing pad to sand metal. I get black stuff stuck to the sanding disc on occasion. I have no idea what it is but I suspect it's mill scale. I try to make sure all the mill scale is off before I switch to the sanding disc. Whatever the black stuff is that's getting on there, it ruins the disc for doing any further sanding.

 

[danielbuck]

powertec website says they are made of "natural rubber". I suppose if you wanted to try out before buying some, find an old piece of rubber (shoe, tire, whatever?) and see how well it works for whatever is clogging your discs. I suspect these are mostly used for wood though.

 

[The Cobbler]

guy next door to the volunteer warehouse makes p-lam counter tops. he uses them to clean his belt sander belts from contact glue and build up of particle board . it works really good .

 

[Old tool guy]

They work well. Will remove almost everything except the most burned on stuff.

 

[RTM]

They are crepe rubber, and were relatively cheap, now $9.50, but they last a while. I use mine to clean sawdust and metal out of the various sanders.

Does not seem to work well on the highest grit (1200x) on my power sharpener, gets a weird texture afterward. But the 80-320x clean up great, restores the performance.

In the past, some paint did not clean out well, better to scrape it first.

 

[Nutria]

Does not seem to work well on the highest grit (1200x) on my power sharpener, gets a weird texture afterward. But the 80-320x clean up great, restores the performance.

My experience exactly. Highly recommend these erasers.

 

[Firebrick43]

I imagine if you are sanding mill scale your disc are worn out by the time they are loaded.

The work well to remove glue and sawdust from belts but I never use them on a belt that is used for metal work as the grit is fractured off by that point.

 

[Beerhippie]

These are like a file card for sanding. I use them on any power sanding medium and they extend the life of the disks and belts by about twice.

Considering how long they last, $10 is a bargain. They'll save you far more than that by keeping your sanding mediums working faster and longer.

 

[RMERR]

They do work great, I have multiple sanders and at least 3-4 of the crepe rubber blocks spread around. I use them on wood and metal sanding discs/belts. Sometimes I follow it with a stiff nylon brush to remove any little rubber bits that stick.

 

[shoot summ]

I've had one of these sitting around for years, finally started using it recently. Works really well on the 80-220 that I've used it on, discs and belts. Makes the belts look new, which I understand may be a problem. They are actually worn out, but look great.

 

[niget2002]

I bought one. It's extended the life on my disk sander. I use it right before I turn off the sander each time out of habit now.

 

[nadogail]

I have had one for years, it’s paid for itself many times.

 

[Steve_P]

I also have one that I use on my belt sanders when I use it for wood. They definitely work and remove much of the wood residue, but not 100%. Still, they last a long time and for the price are a no brainer for what they do.

I don't think I get much buildup? when sanding metal and instead just wear out the grit- but I guess I'll try it there also.

 

[seber]

It works for hand sanding as well.

 

[Beerhippie]

On hard metals--steel, iron, etc, the eraser will not do much or anything , as these don't tend to clog the media. Soft metals like aluminum, copper, brass, etc. do clog the media and the eraser makes a big difference.

Some types of abrasive media don't benefit from the eraser. Flap disks and wheels come to mind, as they're ablative and self-renewing. Cut-off wheels would be another.

 

[RTM]

On hard metals--steel, iron, etc, the eraser will not do much or anything , as these don't tend to clog the media. Soft metals like aluminum, copper, brass, etc. do clog the media and the eraser makes a big difference.

I use my horizontal sanding disk to sharpen plane irons and WW chisels. These are pretty hard.

The eraser does make a difference on that, running blue at 80 grit, forget what the rest are. See post above for grits.

 

[Beerhippie]

I use my horizontal sanding disk to sharpen plane irons and WW chisels. These are pretty hard.

The eraser does make a difference on that, running blue at 80 grit, forget what the rest are. See post above for grits.

I don't have a disk sander, so that's new to me. Good to know.

I just cut some copper pipe with a 4 1/2" cut-off wheel in an angle grinder. It left a lot of copper in the wheel, so I tried the eraser for that. I was rewarded with molten rubber spraying all over me and the shop and it made no noticeable difference.

 

[johnre]

They work well on both belts and drums for the 80-220 range that I use, and pay for themselves by extending the change intervals. In fact, I usually change them out only when the glued seams start to come apart, meaning the abrasive medium has outlasted the paper backing.