Wood Magazine Sanding Blocks

They look great and should make your sanding projects more enjoyable.

I like useful projects.

-- Brad, Texas, https://www.youtube.com/user/tonkatoytruck/feed

I try to balance building shop tools with the stuff my wife wants me to build. This was the result of my turn :-)

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Did you put anything on the bottom like leather or felt or something soft? I noticed a difference on the one I made that does not have a soft sole. It seems to clog the sandpaper much quicker. I’m not sure if that’s just the way I use it or if it’s normal behavior.

-- Brian in Wantagh, NY

Brian, I put cork on the bottom of mine. You can see it in picture 3.

I used the kind with a peel and stick adhesive backing which can come off if I decide to replace it or change over to felt.

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Hey thanks. I didn’t think I was crazy, but you never know. LOL

-- Brian in Wantagh, NY

no problem Brian. Hope it helps you out.

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Matt,

Do you recall which issue these were blocks were in?

One more question. I see you wrapped the sandpaper side to side instead of end to end. Do you think this will have any negative affect on pushing the block front to back? I made my first one that way and didn’t like it. The paper rips on the edges a bit more. The second one I made wrapped the paper over the ends and I haven’t had any issues except for the premature clogging I mentioned before. Of course it could have been the way it was wrapped or something else due to poor design. Here’s the one I made. Not as pretty as yours. Just plain old tubafore Douglas fir. I should make a few more to have different papers on them like you did. Good idea.

-- Brian in Wantagh, NY

DW, I think someone said that it came from a 2011 issue, but I went to the website and paid $2 for the downloadable plan.

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Brian,

I havent had an issue yet, but I just made them so I should use them more first. I can say however that all the sanding blocks I’ve seen people use on youtube (including this model) have been side-loading paper, not front/back loading.

I think how much damage is done to the paper may have to do with how rough the surface is. Maybe the 80 grit paper is more bound to tear than the 320 grit just based on how much pressure you use and how rough the surface is.

Good question.

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nice pictures of your sanding block, by the way.

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@Matt in Franklin

Those look nice, saw the plans recently… Seeing those makes me want to make a couple. Nice work

@DW833

I do not know about plans in a 2011 issue but they look like the ones labeled as “Collector’s Edition – Sanding Block” in the Dec, 1986 (aka Issue 14, pg 70). Saw them while looking for something else. Also think I saw them somewhere else, but cannot remember where….

thanks mdb. You’re probably right about the plan. Its probably been recycled a couple times over the years.

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I did mine side to side as well, though I hadn’t put the soft piece on the bottom.

I’ve got some adhesive-backed rubber padding that I use for my pushbricks that might actually go quite nicely there!

Your blocks look great, and I agree – the red oak and the walnut make a nice look.

-- Making scrap with zen-like precision - Woodbutchery

Nice sanding blocks. Cork looks like a good thing to put on the bottom. I have a bunch of old mouspads and if I were to build some, thatʻs what I would try on the bottom.

As far as the direction of the sandpaper, I would say that wrapping in the direction it will be used. If the opened ends are in the direction of sanding, I would think it would get caught and tear easier.

-- Tyvekboy -- Marietta, GA ………….. one can never be too organized