Introduction: Sanding Mop

  • This is a really quick and easy project and if you hate sanding, especially in tight locations, this project is for you!
  • I needed a new sanding mop to sand some really tight areas on the pictured piece of redwood burl. The one I have is worn out and couldn't get into the crevices so it was time to build one.
  • The materials needed are pretty simple:
  • A roll of 100 or 120 grit emery paper 64 inches long.
  • A 1/4"x 20 - 3 to 4 inch carriage bolt, a couple washers, and two 1/4"x20 nuts.
  • A couple pieces of duct tape
  • Tools required: drywall knife, tape measure, square, marking pen, metal file, drill

Step 1: Layout of the Emery Paper

  • I started by stretching out the emery paper, abrasive side down, and duct taped each end to keep it stable while prepping it.
  • The next step was to measure out 8" strips on the back of the paper and mark them with a Sharpie Marker - these will be the cutting locations. You could easily add more strips - just use more emery paper.
  • I made the strips 8" long (4" long on each side of the shaft) so they could get into some tight areas. I don't know how much longer the strips could be made and still work correctly.
  • Once the cutting locations were marked, I marked the center for each 8" strip and cut a small X on each center with the utility knife. This is the location where the future sanding mop shaft (the carriage bolt) will be inserted through.
  • I then cut 1" long slits on each side of the 8" cut marks - 2" cuts in total length spaced 1/4" apart using the utility knife.
  • When all the minor cuts were made, the length of emery paper was cut at the 8" marks giving me eight (8) pieces of emery paper with the ends slit.

Step 2: Finishing Up

  • The underside of the head of the carriage bolt was square and the washer I was using wouldn't fit over the square portion of the head so I popped the carriage bolt into the vice, filed the square portion of the head until the washer slipped on correctly.
  • The emery paper was then pushed onto the new "shaft" - the fiber sides were placed back to back to make 4 pair (photo 4 above).
  • A second washer was placed on the shaft after everything was in place.
  • The first nut was threaded down the shaft and tightened followed by a second nut which was torqued against the first nut to keep the new sanding mop head from getting loose (last photo).
  • Mounted the the sanding mop shaft in the drill, tightened the chuck, and voila' - a new sanding mop in about 20 minutes, made out of materials laying around the wood shop.

I hope you like this really simple Instrucable.