Reuse Old Sanding Pads

by ShaunM11

5.8K439

Intro: Reuse Old Sanding Pads

I'm incredibly tight fisted when it comes to my woodworking, and as such, I am reluctant to throw anything away! When my detail sander pads get too tattered around the edges, I use this little trick to turn them into usable hand sanders!

STEP 1: Trace Your Pads

I traced the shape of my sanding pads onto a scrap piece of MDF.

STEP 2: Cut Out the Shape However You Want

I cut the shape out using my jigsaw mounted in a jigsaw table, but you could do it using whatever saws you have!

STEP 3: Secure the Sandpaper

I secured the sandpaper using CA glue, applying it around the edges and in the center.

STEP 4: The Block

Finally, I used CA glue to attach a scrap of pine 2*4 to the back for a handle. I wrote the grit of sandpaper on it to make it easier to see what I'm grabbing.

Thanks for reading!

-Shaun

9 Comments

Ben DangerH 7 years ago

2 hacks in 1 sort of. Ive been after a band saw for a while but have no room to store it. The jigsaw table is the answer, ive never seen one before. Plus my sand pads get more life as well. Its a win win

MattyS1 7 years ago

What I do is keep the old sandpaper attached to the sander. It is not cheap and it has a velcro back, whereas normal sandpaper does not. When the sandpaper is getting poked I hot glue a new sheet over the old one, straight onto the sander.

ShaunM11 7 years ago

Nice idea! I'll have to try that sometime!

gilbequick 7 years ago

Do you keep layering the sandpaper on top of each other as you use the previous piece up?

ShaunM11 7 years ago

I have a lot of that scrap MDF so I usually just make a new pad :) an improvement to this could be to attach velcro to the MDF so that the pads are removable :)

gm280 7 years ago

I can understand salvaging old sandpaper for new uses. I use a lot od 3M 2" rol-lock disks, and when they get worn our around the edges, I cut them down to 1" disks for reuse.

Temo Vryce 7 years ago

Great instructable. But let me say this. Sandpaper is cheap and I'm willing to bet that by the time that you have frayed the edges of detail pads they are so loaded with fine wood particles they are closer to a polishing pad than sandpaper. I do like your idea though.

ShaunM11 7 years ago

Thanks a lot! :) These particular ones actually have anti clog elements, so that's less of an issue here, but you're right, this could be a problem with other pads!