Official Luthiers Forum!

So, I just received my variety pack of Abranet 80, 100, 120, 150,180, 220, 320, 400, and 600. As I said previously, I had this stuff once before and never quite figured it out. I have decided to give it a second look based on a reference to it in a thread on this site. I mean, they sand concrete with this stuff, so how is it used on wood? If anyone has a positive experience with using some sequence of these grits on wood during guitar making, I'd really appreciate hearing what you have to say. Thanks, Bob

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“ The meaning of life is to find your gift and the purpose of life is to give it away” Pablo Picasso

I was sold the same variety pack several years ago when buying a pneumatic RO sander. I use the grits the same way I use sandpaper, with the same results. I always finish up by hand-sanding to get rid of swirl marks. Air sanding is fast, but in my experience never final.

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It will probably be alright.

I use Abranet, with the very effective smaller handblock /vacuum system and just use the grits in sequence like sandpaper.
http://www.axminster.co.uk/mirka-sanding-blocks-with-extraction-ax851921
I never go beyond 320 for wood (before finishng)
Lasts really well.

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The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.

I use it and like it (a lot!) but i don´t know much what to say about its use... i use it like sandpaper, never thouhgt much about it to be honest. but here´s what i do, FWIW (am no pro, just an occasional amateur).

forgot to buy 80 grit (silly me), maybe i should since that makes a lot of dust.. i use mostly 120 grit (to get rid of 80 grit drum sander marks and for cleanup work during the build stages). then, after leveling bindings, i use 180 - 240 - 320. before finishing i use the 400, and then go up the grits (if needed) on other papers.

I use it hooked up to a festool vac, which i don´t like to use at full pressure, since the high suction makes the pad grab too much to the work piece, and one ends up using too much force to sand. so vac speed/power around medium and light passes along the grain. I am no expert on sanding but it seems to me that the abranet is more aggressive than 3M flex cut of equivalent grit (am i fooling myself?).

be very careful with the margins of the sheets (which are slightly bigger than the sanding pad) getting curved, thorn or in any way irregular - they can leave scratches on the piece. that´s why i usually cut the corners out with a scissor before sticking the sheets to the pad.

apart from this, i love it. use it for almost everything and should probably buy some 80 grit sheets. sand tops, backs, fingerboards, round binding corners, level sides after scraping, sand off excess pumice goo, etc. the coarser dust gets all trapped in the vac and my nose thanks me a lot for it. the sheets also seem to last quite a bit.

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member of the guild of professional dilettantes

oh, now i see that maybe you were asking about about abranet for ROS? that i don´t know much about, but it seems it would make all the sense.

good luck!

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member of the guild of professional dilettantes

Same here. Abranet on the RO and hand sand with 3M gold or Mirka gold. I've decided over the years that premium sandpaper is worth it.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

Thanks for all the replies. When I tried it some years ago, I seemed to have trouble with it leaving too deep scratches, so I went back to Mirka Gold. I use Dynabrade air RO sanders, and they are very aggressive. I'll give this Abranet another try.--Bob

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“ The meaning of life is to find your gift and the purpose of life is to give it away” Pablo Picasso

I've used some Abranet over the last few years with good results for cabinetry. I recently got some 180G Mirca AutoNet discs, and they work pretty much the same, but at a much better price.

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

I like abranet also. It sands quickly and does last a long time.

But, when it comes to sanding finish you can't beat Super Assilex yellow, orange and now peach. They are really super.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

I do the same with the hand vacuum block and it is virtually dustless

Bob