I tried some wave discs some years back and didn't think much about
them. I gather that you are power sanding. If they hold when you are
sanding turning, then they should hold when you sand your sculptures.
Not all pads and discs are compatable. The only thing I can think of
is if you are sanding at a higher speed on your sculptures, than you
are on your turnings. Higher rpms means more heat, and this can cause
the disc backing and the hook backing to come off. I started sanding
at lower speeds (I have a 1/4 inch piece of cork under the trigger on
my drill, so speed is at 600 or so) and found I get a bit longer life
from my discs. Also, there is no noticable time increase in completing
the project. The heat can also melt the hooks on some pads. If the
disc comes off and you keep sanding, the hooks are ruined. Had one
batch of 150 grit discs where the backing came off almost every disc.
Eventually the hooks will wear out and you need a new pad. I do put
pads on the mandril as it is cheaper to replace the pads than it is to
replace the mandril. If you are using firm pads, they will generate
more heat than the softer ones, but make 120 grit cut like 80. My
favorite discs come from VincesWoodNWonders. Blue discs on a plastic
film. They are cut over sized (3 3/8 inch), and are slightly over 20
cents a piece, but you have to buy 50 of each grit at a time. They
last longer than any others I have used. I haven't tried the 3M purple
sanding discs that Mike Mahoney uses, but he says they are the best,
and he goes through about $200 worth of abrasives a month. They are
psa only, no hook and loop. I have some of the micro mesh and the
green ceramic ones to try out next week to see how they compare. The
Power lock discs are about 70 cents per disc, and I am too cheap for
that. I have used a similar red aluminum oxide disc, and it was okay,
but not great.
robo hippy

On Mar 2, 12:56*pm, "George" wrote:
"Gerald Ross" wrote in message

...



I had a batch of New wave discs like that a couple of years back. Had to
be careful, because if you don't see the disc fly off you ruin the pad in
a few seconds. I think their velcro was not nappy enough on those. Is that
a bad word?

Only if you're Imus.

Pete, try some of the Power-Lock type disks that don't rely on velcro to
hold the cloth to the pad and glue to hold the cloth to the paper. *They are
extremely aggressive and long-lasting, so I would recommend the fully-backed
only when sanding with the lathe on, though the flex edge can be used lathe
off. *I had the same problem with the gold-color velcros from Packard,
though the green ones are excellent.