[lilredweldingrod]

I'm refinishing a baby/youth bed and I need to sand the finish off the contoured parts of the rails. Can you give me an idea if a sanding mop is what i really need (they are a lot of money) to get this miserable job done.

Thanks in advance, Rand

 

[lilredweldingrod]

@Roger, the uprights are what I'm working on.

 

[lilredweldingrod]

I think I'll knock them apart and reglue everything. Most of the turnings are loose anyway, but the pine is the softest I have ever seem. You just look at it and it dents and the sanding is very aggressive even with 120 grit.

Yeah and that is the utility knife I dropped on my ankle. lol I thought I had it hid. lol

 

[lilredweldingrod]

We tried the Citrus Eco friendly crap and it would not touch this stuff. Then we tried the nasty stuff with the same result. The last stripper only turned it milky on the surface.

This bed was "heche en Mexico". I wish I knew what the finish is.

 

[lilredweldingrod]

Joe,
We have been trying that and a three corner file. It is just slow going.

Dusty, maybe that explains why my eyes are glowing red, and I can't stop sneezing. lol

 

[lilredweldingrod]

gfadvm, Thanks for the heads up. I checked out Houtje's shop made one and I think I have everything I need to save a ton of money.

I only have one question; did he use sanding belts or sand paper?

 

[lilredweldingrod]

@Robert, that is the reason I suckered into this in the first place. lol

@Lee, I never thought about a heat gun and I have one too. I made a sanding mop of sorts last night and it worked for about 6 of the uprights. I need something better that will hang on to the sand longer. Emery cloth just doesn't quite do it.

 

[lilredweldingrod]

Joe, he is talking about a charcoal filtered mask as the right mask vs a particle mask. I have two of these and a case of replacement filters.

 

[lilredweldingrod]

Joe, there are particle masks that are for welding that are designed to remove everything except the harmful fumes paints emit. I used them for years.

When the VA mistakenly diagnosed me with COPD I bought these masks and a case of refills. After all this time I finally get to use them. lol

 

[lilredweldingrod]

Hey Andy,
When I was researching the LJ version last night, I never did fine out what they made them out of. I tried a roll of
1 1/2" wide 120 grit emery cloth. It worked good a t first, but the abrasives came off and the straight cloth does nothing. I have a neighbor with a drum sander. I'll check with him and see if he has some used belt laying around.
I know he has 80 and 120 grit for sure.

As far as this bed goes, I am ready to burn the damn thing. I am low on the skill totem pole, but I know I can do a better job than this thing. I have a bunch of poplar and I think I'll use that and paint it with something less formidable for in the future if I have to change the color for another daughter. lol

How's the beaver hunting going? lol I'll trade you some llama meat for some beaver. lol

 

[lilredweldingrod]

I had two males and one female. I butchered the young one and the old male got mean and horny. When he tried to cross breed species, I found him a new home. It was so bad that no women could go in the backyard. He now has a harem in Santa Clara, CA and more that my little acre to chase them in.
The meat is delicious and virtually fat free. Very low cholesterol. I put the taste between the best beef and lamb.

 

[lilredweldingrod]

Sarit,
I have warped plywood from China I would rather work with. lol I think Dust56 hit the nail on the head when he called it "the nuclear finish".

I have some used belts from a drum sander coming over this morning. Hopefully I can make a usable sanding mop.
The more time I spend trying to save the soft pine under this nuclear finish the less I care about this cheap piece of crap bed. I have some poplar that would be a pleasure to work with.

I think I will see what poplar looks like with some Danish oil. But then can I have Danish oil around a baby, especially when he is teething.Any one have ny ideas on what is safe around baby furniture?

 

[lilredweldingrod]

No, at least not yet.We tried two and they did nothing.

 

[lilredweldingrod]

Dennis,
Like I told Lee, I have a new heat gun I'm dying to try out. It is a fire pit in the backyard. lol

I talked it over with my wife and daughter and I'm going to make a whole new bed and chest of drawers. I can't stand this soft, soft pine. Besides, everything I have done so far, still looks like cheap crap. Pine is pine. You can't make a silk purse out of a pigs ear. At least I can't or won't.

I've decided that it is time to kick my skill level up a notch. I've been practicing my joinery from my new book by Yeung Chan and I am anxious to make his jigs for this project and incorporate several types of joinery.

 

[lilredweldingrod]

Save your money if you are thinking of using emery cloth. It doesn't last 5 min.

So I am collecting used 80 grit drum sander belts. I understand that 3m drywall sanding pads are supposed to work. They are some what cheap, so I will try them and report back.

 

[lilredweldingrod]

Dennis,
Momma brought home two of them last night. 4×36 in 120 and 80 grit. I plan on trying several mediums to ascertain the best for my shop

 

[lilredweldingrod]

@Sarit, I am going new material. I'm using red oak and plywood. I checked the MSDS and I think I will use Minwax poly as it is child safe.

@Rance I love you bead blast. But at the moment I only have 12 gauge with no choke, and 00 buck, affectionately referred to as a tactical load. I seem to be fresh out of bird shot. lol Personally, I think maybe you have been sniffing a bit too much of your finishing products. lol Be careful or you will be making an unscheduled appointment with Al. lol

And Mike, my neighbor, dropped off some 60 grit sanding belt from his drum sander. I made a sanding mop with it and MAN is it aggressive. I tried a piece of scrap pine and found out just how much fine dust pine can be. lol This one will be good for removing rust from the car bumper and the chrome too. About the only wood that can stand up to this mop is the lignon vitae.

I bought some sanding belts, 120 grit x 4×36. I'll try them next. I found that the rubber gaskets for water hoses work great for spacers, and very cheap. I used a 3/8×4 carriage bolt and two body washers for the arbor.

Well, back to the proving grounds…...

 

[lilredweldingrod]

@Dennis, I'll start with you as my apprentice. lol This will be the blind leading the blind. lol

 

[lilredweldingrod]

Although I have decided NOT to work with this nuclear finished cheap pine, I am intrigued with this sanding mop. I made one with the 60 grit belt Mike dropped off. Whoa Nellie. Very aggressive.

And you can see what it does to a scrap pine piece that is harder than the baby bed pine.

A

And this is hard maple that was smooth cut before.

I'm going to try the 120 grit belts next and I hope this gets sanding mops out of my system for a while. lol