How Do You Organize Your Abrasives?

ddavelarsen

ddavelarsen

Joined
Dec 7, 2000
Messages
5,179
One big hole in my shop's organization is managing all those sheets and strips of abrasive paper. I have an overflowing box of steel wool, Scotch Brite, torn off pieces of worn out belt, sundry sanding blocks, nice pristine packs of unused paper, smaller pieces whose grit I don't know...

It's a mess. :o

Anybody have a really cool way of dealing with this?

Dave
 
I like to be very organized. I have my larger belts under the bench. Smaller ones on the floor to the right. I keep the sheets under my lathe unless I need something they are on and discs on the table saw (unless I'm sawing). Belts I'm using get looped over the band saw unless I'm using it and my overflow gets stacked on what ever grinder I'm not using. Files wind up on the mill (unless I'm milling).

You know what they say:

A place for everything and everything in it's place!:D
 
I have a room just for my bead blaster
and I keep my belts on the wall numbered for
reordering from my inventory in the putter.
 The flat sheets I keep right by my 2nd granite surface
plate in a horizontal papers holder ,
at the bottom, I have 220 grit  next one up is the
320 so on going up to 2000. grit.

 I have a cabinet with the small drawers this
I keep strips organized in it. 
 with pins and round stock brass, s/s, N/S ecct.
 the belts I'm using at the time I keep just behind me.
  I make a mess all the time and hate to clean up
 so if things start out in the right place it helps.
 
I'm afraid sheets get stacked on any available horizontal surface in my shop. (I was at Lowe's late one night when they had a clearance table and loaded up on 80 to 320 grit sheets, in contractor packs no less, for a $1.00 a pack, they are still stacked wherever I move them to clear a space to work!)

I use and reuse paper way longer than I should and my bench rapidly dissapears under scrips and scraps of various grits and grades of paper, as well as the bits of steel wool you mentioned. Every now and then (like when I know I'm having visitors) I'll just up and throw all the scraps away and I'll feel better because I can actually see the bench top, (well at least a bit of the bench top in places!):D

I'm thinking of installing some drawers on my bench and keeping all of my sheet papers there, as well as some kitchen drawer organizers for some of my files.
 
I purchased cheap plastic containers at Wal-Mart for my sanding sheets. That way I can place each grit into its own container and know exactly what I am working with and it also helps to eliminate grit contamination on the higher grits. The containers stack and are put away neatly under a table.
 
I use filing trays for my 9x11" sheets. You can get them in multiple tray styles. Any office supply store has them. You can get these as wall mounted also.
 
I was in one of the office supply stores and found a accordian file folder made from plastic. It keeps my supply of 9 X 11 neatly and keeps out the moisture.
The rest wind up on any available surface. Once in a while I'll put all the scraps in a box for when I run out and need 'just a little more'.
Saving everything, Lynn
 
I also use filing trays for my sanding sheets, and I hang my belts by grit on pegs run along a board on two separate walls. I hate spending time looking for stuff. When a slot or peg gets low its time to reorder.
 
Man, I'm very glad to hear I'm not the only one with Organizational Deficiency Syndrome!:D A friend stopped by the other day and commented on all the sandpaper scraps on the bathroom floor!:eek:
 
You got hemorrhoid problem don't you,, if you don't you will have
 if your hand sanding on the pot..??:D :D :eek:
 
Hey, thanks for all the ideas. I do have my belts organized it's all the paper and misc stuff that's a big fat mess...but not for long. It's either going to be tupperware or accordian file for me. Richard, what Dan said!!! :D

Dave
 
I organize them randomly on the floor or hang them off my vise lever arm.
 
Hmmm. Some belts are hanging on the back of my bedroom door, the higher grit norax's and trizacts cuz i like them. The coarser belts are strewn all over my bedroom floor. the 1x30 belts are, um...i dunno actually..ill have to look for them again. Sandpaper is, well, everywhere. Beneath the bed, on top of the dresser, down in the basment, etc. But the funny thing is, i know where all the diff grits are! :)
 
Taz, once I tried leaving them on my bed, but when the belts rbbed against each other, some of the abrasive came off, and I found a bunch of little ceramic and aluminum oxide gritty things on the bed. From then on, belts were stored in the garage.
 
:eek:

You're supposed to organize these belts? No wonder I can barely walk in my shop!
 
What I try to do as I use a piece of sandpaper and finish with say 200
grit I put it in the box. Then as I finish with each finer grit I lay them directely on top of the coarser grit. That is if there is some use left in them.
Then you just turn the pile over and are ready to go on the next blade or handle.
Of course if you completely wear out a piece then there will be a blank spot in the pile. This tells you its time to get a new piece.
I plan on doing a turtorial on this some day when I have the time.
Take Care
TJ

ps don't ask how I store the new sheets.
 
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