If you’re on the job and you need a sanding block, you could struggle with a sheet of sandpaper wrapped around a hunk of wood, but there’s a better way.
Spencer Dobrovolny from Marin County, Calif., has figured out a way to use the belt from his belt sander and a bit of 2×4 to make the perfect sanding block. Here’s the guts of it: a 9-in. piece of 2×4 that has been ripped to 2-15/16-in. wide. And notice that I’ve ripped the eased edge off of both sides of the block to get good support for the edge of the sandpaper on both sides. I’ve also eased the edges on the 90-degree end cuts so that my sanding belt can make the little radius that it needs to in order to fit properly. And this is a snug fit, folks–this is really tight.
The block fits in your hand perfectly and it’s backed up along the edges.
That’s a great tip, Spencer. Thanks so much for sending it to us.
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Been doing the same thing for 25-30 years since my neighbor, who worked in a cabinet shop, gave me my first one. We use plywood, riped to width and cut just short of the length of a flatened belt. Then you us a rasp to radius the block to allow a tight fit.