Aluminum Oxide, Sanding Sheets - Qty:10

Aluminum Oxide, Sanding Sheets

These are our "LIGHTWEIGHT" sheets. They are manufactured from a unique White Aluminum Oxide, which fractures into new, sharp edges as it wears. Applications include touch-up or finish sanding on non-ferrous metals, but used mostly in woodworking. Produces a soft consistent finish. This material is an excellent substitute for garnet paper, and in most applications will outlast garnet.

Specifications:

• Aluminum Oxide
• Open coat
• D-weight paper (also called FINISHING PAPER)
• Pack of 10

Aluminum Oxide #40;AO#41;

AO is formed by combining bauxite and other materials by firing them in an electric furnace. The resultant mass is then crushed, and the pieces sifted through successively finer screens to assign a grit size (CAMI grading). When crushed, the resulting pieces are naturally pyramidal in shape. Due to the shape and the strength of the materials used in its making, AO is a very durable grain. The grain is worn down during use, sanding finer the longer itrsquo;s used. So theoretically, you can start at 80 grit, and after yoursquo;ve worked the abrasive for a while, yoursquo;ll be sanding more like 100 or 120 grit. Users take advantage of this characteristic by using the belts on more than one machine or application. For instance, if you have two wide belt machines doing intermediate and finish sanding respectively, you may use a 120 belt on the first machine to do your intermediate sanding, and when the cut for that application is no longer as sharp, the belt can be used for 150-grit application. the cut for that application is no longer sufficient. This ensures you get the most production and the full value for the belt you purchased.

AO is very tough and durable, as stated above, and is used on bare wood, most metals (especially the steels), leather and a wide variety of other materials. It is a great general purposes grain and probably the most, common grain seen today.

Paper

Paper backings are available in different weight or thicknesses using the designations A (the lightest wt.) thru F (the heaviest weight). Light weight papers A-C are commonly used for power sanding with sheets or discs or for hand sanding. The heavier weights (D, E & F) may be seen in sheets or discs for power sanding or in the case of the E & F weights for belts. Only the E & F weight products are considered heavy enough to be belt materials. Some parameters that need to be met before considering a paper belt are:

1. Work must be dry. The waterproof papers we have are all A/C weights and therefore unsuitable for belts.
2. Work must be flat. Paper will not follow a contour easily and is more likely to crease, kink or tear on contoured work than cloth.
3. Work should be limited to grits 80 and finer. If you ran coarse grit belts (24-60) in paper, the backing would wear out before the grain was fully utilized. Paper is extremely well-suited for belts in grits 150 finer where it will result in a finer finish per grit than cloth and will cost less.
4. Belts should be at least 6-8 in. in width and over 150 in. long. Short belts like portable belts, belts for edge sanders, back stands or dynafile machines are usually short and narrow and therefore have less cool down time in operation. Heat is the enemy of any abrasive. These shorter belts do not provide time for the heat built up during sanding to dissipate in use and while they may at first glance appear to be less expensive, they are in fact costlier in number of belts per piece worked and downtime for belt change.

Paper can be chemically treated to be waterproof and should be marked as waterproof or with the abbreviation W/D or WP.