Microplane sanding discs
Source: TOOLS OF THE TRADE Magazine
Publication date: June 4, 2007
By Michael Morris
The older I get, the less tolerant I am of certain things, and sanding wood
tops my list. Choking on sawdust is bad enough, but there's also the tedium
involved. So when a new product comes along that promises to make this work
quicker and easier and less of a pain in the lungs, I'm eager to check it
out. Microplane, a company known for its fast-working wood rasps and even
food graters, recently introduced a line of similarly made stainless steel
sanding discs for random-orbital sanders. I also took a look at the
company's replacement blades for both sizes of Stanley Surform rasp planes.
Perforated-steel sanding tools have been around for years, but unlike the
punched burrs or stamped teeth of some products, Microplane's discs have
teeth refined with a chemical etching process that gives them a much thinner
and sharper edge. The steel discs have a hook-and-loop backing and attach to
your sander just like paper- and cloth-backed sanding discs. They are only
sold in a 5-inch size, but a 6-inch version is being developed.
Working against the manufacturer'
times the life of sandpaper, I found that they did work very well and lasted
far longer than ordinary sanding discs. I also found that a light touch
worked best; too much pressure tended to flatten the perforations and
decrease performance. They come in coarse, medium, and fine; the fine
smooths wood to what 120- or 150-grit sandpaper can achieve.
By far the biggest advantages of the Microplane discs are that they cut
fast, don't clog, and produce virtually no dust. This bears repeating: No
dust! As their name implies, Microplanes cut tiny shavings, ranging from
pepper-sized flakes to a coarse grit, from the wood surface. Ordinary
sandpaper grinds away at wood, creating much finer, lighter-weight particles
that become suspended in the air and are easily inhaled. Another advantage
is that they don't leave abrasive grit embedded in the wood that can affect
successive planing or carving processes.
While Microplane discs mate with both five- and eight-hole sander pads, I
found the small holes hard to line up over the dust-extraction holes. And
the discs grip so tenaciously to hook-and-loop pads that they may bend
easily when removed, so take care if you expect to reuse them.
The Surform replacement blades I also tested are made in 5-1/2- and 10-inch
sizes and vastly increase the performance of these rasp planes. They really
ate up wood—especially on end-grain—and made shaving and shaping hardwoods,
softwoods, and even painted wood far less of a chore.
Verdict
With its stainless steel sanding discs and Surform blades, Microplane offers
much faster, virtually dustless performance compared to ordinary sandpaper
and sanding tools.
–Michael Morris is a contributing editor for Tools of the Trade.
Microplane
two-pack Sanding Disc
Price $10
[assorted three-pack: $14]
Surform blades
Price $9–$11
800-555-2767
www.microplane.