It’s time for another round of Shop Tip Tuesday! I learned this tip from my friend Scott of Cutthroat Woodworks in Montana. I only wish I had learned it before I replaced the parts (insert face palm emoji).
For those that have a spindle or belt sander, sometimes you find that the sandpaper can get gummed up before the sandpaper loses its sanding life. Before I knew better, I thought you just had to replace it. There is this thing that exists that changes ALL of that! A sandpaper eraser! I know it sounds like I’m making that up but trust…it’s real.
I found mine on Amazon here (affiliate). If you can’t find one by searching for a sandpaper eraser, you can try using abrasive cleaning stick as your search term. Now that you have your magic cleaning eraser, let’s get to work!
Here’s the before of my worst looking spindle sanding sleeves.
I thought they were done for and needed replaced. I saw Scott using the eraser in a video he posted on Instagram and knew I had to try it.
Using the eraser couldn’t be easier. All you have to do is hold it up to the sandpaper like you are sanding a piece of wood.
Seriously. That’s all it takes. Make sure you move the eraser up and down the sandpaper to get it all.
This is after I worked on the first one a bit.
It’s not perfect but it is a lot better. If you use the eraser regularly for maintenance, you can extend the life of your sandpaper sleeves much longer.
Here’s the before and after of all three.
I have uploaded a video of the process to my YouTube channel if you want to check it out. I’ll go ahead and let you know that you do want to check it out. There are a few filming bloopers at the end.
Did you already know about a sandpaper eraser? What are some of you favorite quick shop hacks?
