Official Luthiers Forum!

Hi

Little question, when sanding for example a saddle on sandpaper on a flat surface do you allow the dust build to act as a lubricant or do you tend to move it on fresh areas for quicker sanding ?

Like I said not important but wondered if I'm missing a tip

Regardless of what I am sanding, I always brush or vacuum the sanding dust off. If you don't clean it off, you are just re-sanding the sawdust into finer dust, and packing the sandpaper with it. The reason it feels like it is acting like a lubricant is that the saddle isn't coming in contact with the sandpaper like it should.

Alex

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

I keep the paper and the piece as dust-free as possible, mainly because I find that doing so makes it easier for me to see what it is that I'm doing.

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George :-)

Keep it clean, abrasive cuts better.
Use a Abrasive Belt & Disc Cleaner (or a rubber/eraser) to lift the dust out - cuts better for longer

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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.

They are building dust collection into a lot of sanders these days. It is done for more than just dust control. Sand paper often clogs up before it is really worn out. I have even washed some (mylar backed) sanding discs and reused them. With some discs costing $4 apiece extending their life where possible helps keep costs down.