Sanding Diamond Willow

Tools that will do the job: Scrapers, chisels, knives (no folding blades though--it's too hard to see what you're doing through the blood) and of course, sandpaper. All sharp tools must be used in such a manner and direction that the hand not holding the tool is out of danger.

Procedure: Remove the bark from the diamonds. This can be done most effectively with a rounded blade such as a gouge chisel or a knife. Whatever the tool, do not cut too deeply into the diamond area. Traces of bark in the deepest recesses enhance the final appearance. If you prefer to remove all traces of bark, you must take care not to cut to a depth that exceeds the diamond's special coloration.

Next, smooth the overall surface to whatever degree practical using a scraper, rasp, block plane, broken glass (an old Boy Scout trick) or other tool that lends itself to the purpose.

Sanding follows and this is the most important element in creating a good-looking finish.

Sandpaper Recommended: You will need standard Aluminum Oxide Production Paper. Grits needed are 100, 120, 220 & 320. The paper should be tri-folded for easy gripping during use. 90% of the sanding has to be done with the 100 grit paper, so resist the temptation to go to the other grits until you have smoothed the wood to the greatest degree possible with the 100-grit.

Coating: This can be done with whatever finish you prefer except that polyurethane is not recommended. Tung oil finish works very well for everyone.

Submitted by Holace Nelson of Holly Industries

Sandpaper Grits

Sandpaper grit size refers to the size of the particles of abrading materials embedded in the sandpaper. There are a number of different standards that have been established for grit size. These standards establish not only the average grit size, but also the allowable variation from the average. The two most common are the United States CAMI (Coated Abrasive Manufacturers Institute, now part of the Unified Abrasives Manufacturers' Association) and the European FEPA (Federation of European Producers of Abrasives) "P" grade. The FEPA system is the same as the ISO 6344 standard. An additional measuring system used in sandpaper grits is micron grade (generally used for very fine grits). Also, cheaper sandpapers sometimes are sold with nomenclature such as "Coarse", "Medium" and "Fine", but it is never clear to what standards these names refer.

FEPA Grading: The majority of coated abrasives manufactured today use the FEPA standard (Federation of European Producers of Abrasives), otherwise known in the industry as “P” grading. Abrasives in the P scale are graded to higher tolerances than CAMI graded abrasives.

CAMI Grading: This grading standard is used exclusively by US manufacturers of coated abrasives, and is overseen by the Coated Abrasive Manufacturer’s Institute and the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The CAMI-scale tolerates a wider range of grain sizes within the definition of the grit.

Micron Grading: This refers to an abrasive particle’s actual diameter in micrometers, rather than the total number of abrasive grains that can pass through a linear inch in a screen or mesh (as the FEPA and CAMI grading system use). Micron grading has the tightest tolerances for grain size and in abrasives are typically used only in fine grits, when a stray scratch from an outsized grain would make a substantial difference to the finish.

If you have additional questions about sandpaper grits and how they compare to one another, please give Abrasive Resource a call at 800-814-7358 and be sure to download our grit comparsion chart at abrasiveresource.com

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