Hi Bill , I do pretty much the same, sometimes I just CA glue sandpaper to different wood to shape what I need. I use the double back paper on metal objects I use for sanding. I haven't bought any sanding items in years. Have a great day (on my way to the flying field with my junk) Gary

Bill,
For a light weight sanding bar, the aluminum "T" braces (7/8" x 7/8") that support the translucent panels in overhead fluorescent light fixtures work well.
Got my "lifetime supply" when they trashed a drafting room at an old engineering facility. Various lengths available (2' - 4'), cut to desired length, cut off the end flanges, taper back or round off the vertical legs, contact cement the sandpaper to the base.
Roger V 

I use various sizes of pvc pipe cut in half longways, and use sticky back sandpaper in them.  They work great for rounding stabs, rudders, and flaps edges.
Lee TGD

 Cool idea with the pvc pipe Lee, I will have to poach that idea for future building projects.

 I like to use automotive "speed file" sheets glued to various blocks of hardwood for general shaping and roughing out. 80 and 120 grit.

 They are designed for blending auto "bog" (plastic filler) on to bare metal and therefore stay sharp for years when used to sand balsa. Contact adhesive holds them well and when they get blunt I just tear the paper off, removing the glue residue with gp lacquer thinner. (About $1.60 per sheet)

 I find that 3m 240 grit (wet and dry) used dry does wonders for general cleaning up before finish sanding with 400.
Really cuts down on the amount of dope/paint needed for a nice finish.

 The automotive paper is initially more expensive than generic hardware store sandpaper but it is so far ahead in terms of quality and longevity that it works out much cheaper in the long run.
Also with the file sheets and wet/dry it is really worth spending 10-20 cents more per sheet for the good (3m) stuff as it will stay sharp twice as long as the cheaper brands.

 I usually wait until the big auto chains have a sale for like fathers day or Bathurst weekend and stock up when you get up to 25% off storewide. It works out at a similar cost to buying lower quality stuff from the hardware store and as a bonus I never run out of sandpaper!

 Cheers, Rob.

This is what I was hoping for when I started this... a true "Tips and Techniques" thread!  Lots of great ideas and keep 'em coming!

I generally have several GOOD paintsticks that I use the 2.5 inch PSA adhesive paper on. One stick for each grit. Only used in small areas or touch ups though, I have several LOOOONNGGG ones. your sanding apparatus as a rule should be longer than the surface y ou are sanding plus some. I also have a paintstick that has 4 grits on it for reworking wood props, I think there is 80 (blue Norton open coat mud paper) 120#, 240# and 320#. That way I can rough it and finish it without having to have a bunch of different sticks since I usually do my props in front of the tv. and most times get away with it too...

PermaGrit

Hi Bill,

I agree that that off-brand sandpaper doesn't hold up and is a lousy value.
Automotive sandpaper you mentioned is good for 400+ grit finish for final sanding and paint sanding work but for shaping work I prefer a paper created for woodworking like Klingspor brand paper. Klingspor both outlasts and loads up less than 3M and Norton brand sandpapers by a substantial margin.
My favorite is Klingspor's peel and stick sandpaper rolls in several grits it lasts a looo-ng time and you just peel off the old paper , take the backing off the new paper and stick it on. It is so easy to use, that other papers seem inconvenient, and even though it costs more than regular paper it lasts long enough that is still a good value to me.

In terms of sanding blocks, I use a Tee-bar and I recently bought the "Tadpole" hard rubber blocks used for sanding various rounded surface shapes. I haven't used them a lot yet but they seem handy.

For general sanding, I bought a "3M" sanding block. It has a comfortable knob molded in the black plastic body so it is less tiresome to use than a regular block. One side is rounded and the surface is covered in thin rubber to provide a little cushion for the sandpaper. I like it.

For detail sanding, I cut several lengths of quater-round wood ( used to trim baseboards) and I cover with sand paper. I end up with a flat surface and a curved surface , all in one block, that is useful for detail sanding various parts of the plane.    I use peel and stick paper on all these blocks.

I still have several sizes of "Exacto" brand sanding blocks that I use with regular sandpaper.

I am like everybody else in that sometimes you need a special shaped block and I start looking around the house for something that shape that I can get away with borrowing to use as a special "one-off" limited time sanding block.
On second thought, maybe I am not like everyone else, and , that way no other married guy has to "fess-up" to using household items on the sly.

So Bill, I think that covers the sanding blocks I use the most.

                                                             Till next time,
                                                           Pat Robinson

                                                             

Hey All
 The belt used on electric sander are expensive, but they last forever.
Dave

I haven't seen anyone talk about this one yet - so hear it goes. I take the "T" bars and put some sticky sand paper on the inside angle of the "T". This allows me to sand a good flat perpendicular edge to sheeting, blocks etc for butt joints. It's improved the bonding of sheeting and other edge to edge type of joints tremendously.

I used this so much that I went out and bought an angle iron from Home depot and placed the sticky sand paper on it's inside edge to get longer straight edges.

The final improvement I found in sanding was using the sanding disc on my table top sander to finish sand the out side of wing ribs absolutely smooth and straight - I use it on the whole stack of ribs so they are all uniform