Sanding thin, small pieces??

[Ray Dunakin]

Anyone have some suggestions for easy ways to sand thin, small pieces, so as to make them thinner? So far I've been just pressing these styrene bits down against an emery board with my thumb or finger, trying to keep the pressure just right so I can slide it back and forth without losing my grip. This works, eventually, but it's darn slow and tedious!

Is there a better way??

[marc_reusser]

I do pretty much the same thing with some slight variation.

I make sanding plates to have broad flat and firm surfaces to sand on. These are made by laminating various grades of sandpaper to sheets of 1/4" -3/8" tempered glass. The glass sheets are roughly 12 x 18 and each side has two grades of sandpaper on it.

For some pieces (depending on material and such) I will double stick tape the piece (often with flanking scrap 'leveling pieces' so I don't wear/sand unevenly) to a flat steel machinists block (or any sim perfectly flat item)....this makes it easier to hold.....one has to be careful with this approach as it is easy to not sand level/evenly if not careful......but of course this can be mitigated a bit by using the sanding rule of  sanding in a 'figure-8'.


Marc

[Ray Dunakin]

Ah, double-sided tape! Good idea, thanks!

[Hector Bell]

Try scraping with a very sharp blade or even using cabinet scraper technology, which is an edge with a sharp fine burr put on it with a "steel" which actually does the cutting.
I always scrape plastics to a finish. Less risk of rounding the edge.

Martin

[RichD]

Depending on how serious you are.. there is a miniature thickness sanding machine at this site:

http://www.byrnesmodelmachines.com/index.html

He has other miniature tools as well.  I believe he is in the ship building hobby.

Rich D

[chester]

Marc's double sided tape is certainly the best answer to holding the pieces. To sand evenly, I never use just sandpaper but glue my sandpaper to wooden blocks so I can sand flat without rounding over edges. It's simply easier to hold the sandpaper as well. One can shape the wooden blocks before gluing the sandpaper to them to sand objects that have contours, angles etc. And Hector's suggestion of burnishing with a scraper will give the finest of finishes.

[JohnP]

I use single edge razor blades for scraping small parts thinner. The blades are cheap and plentiful.  This works for tapering also by starting at points increasingly closer to the thinnest end.  If it is a strip you need thinner, don't cut it to length so you can use the extra area to hold it.

If you need to scrape an inside 90 deg corner of an assembly so it is square and clean, the razor blade is great. First though I file the aluminum "handle" part so it is flush with the stainless blade. That gives a true 90 deg corner right to where the material meets.

John

[sd80mac]

Hi Ray,

I use this same technique, though I add water to the sanding surface. It helps keep the sand paper from clogging with sanded particles, and also as a psuedo lubricant to aid the piece in sliding easier over the sanding surface.

Donnell