Replies

1. 
   forestgirl | Nov 12, 2003 05:44am | #1

   No links, probably nothing to be construed as "advice" but a couple thoughts.  In my neck of the woods (the Great Northwest) humidity is the biggest problem with respect to sandpaper.  The paper tends to curl when left around.  So, storing it with a full-sized weight on top helps (a thin piece of plywood the same size as the paper works). 

   You didn't mention what type of sandpaper you're building for.  Full sheets?  Random orbit paper?   I found that my RO paper stores quite well in a CD storage case sold in the computer section of the office products store.

   My .02 to date!  PS:  ShopNotes is probably the best place to look for plans.

   forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl   ;-)

1. 
   jako17 | Nov 12, 2003 05:50am | #2

   Some people in the UK build a box with a light bulb in it and keep a weight on the paper as well.The slight warmth keeps the humidity down.

1. 
   TomFerreira | Nov 12, 2003 06:01am | #4

   Now thats just bad science. Warm air has the capacity to carry more moisture. Now what makes sense is that changing temperature is bad in that if the air heated and cooled quickly you could draw moisture in when heated and condense it when the temperature cooled.

   TDF

1. 
   JohnWW | Nov 12, 2003 07:16pm | #7

   Tom,

   No, that is good science, the warmer air can hold more moisture, so the air in the cabinet is relatively drier than the cooler air outside of the cabinet.  The relatively drier air inside of the cabinet keeps the sand paper drier, which prevents curling.

   John W. 

1. 
   Elcoholic | Nov 12, 2003 11:57pm | #8

   For H&L disks I made a BB Ply wood file box with a hinged lid.  Each grit is separated by an 1/8" BB Ply divider with a tab like on a manilla folder.  The box also holds rolls of 3M Trimite, 3 grits for the Fein Multimaster and a pkg of 4/0 steel wool that takes up the slack and keeps the disks flat.  I screwed the perforator for the PC 1/4 sheet sander on the lid so it's always handy.  I keep lenghtwise 1/4 sheets and full sheets sandwiched between plywood held with big rubberbands.John O'Connell - JKO Handcrafted Woodworking

   Life is tough.  It's tougher if you're stupid - John Wayne

2. 
   SgianDubh | Nov 13, 2003 03:54am | #9

   Not really bad science, Tom. If you have a tool cabinet with metal tools inside, such as planes, chisels and the like, and you keep your cabinets closed when you're not using the tools-- and additionally you have a small light bulb running continuously, then you warm the air inside the cabinet, and it will carry more moisture-- relative moisture content and all that sort of thing .

   You also warm the metal that forms the tools, and the carcase of the cabinet, so if cooler air enters the cabinets it's less likely to reach saturation point which would cause moisture to condense out of the air onto cold steel. Using the same pricipal, cool air-- less able to carry moisture than warm air-- won't condense onto warmer paper, so the abrasive sheets are somewhat protected.

   Anyway, I've been running low wattage bulbs permanently in my tool cabinets, abrasives storage boxes, etc., for close on twenty years now in both the UK-- cool and damp, and in Houston--  hot and damp, and now back again in the UK, and all my chisels, planes, abrasives, etc., seem to remain remarkably rust free, and the papers uncurled, ha, ha. Slainte.Website

1. 
   TomFerreira | Nov 13, 2003 04:51am | #10

   Sgain/John,

   The key to your arguments is temperature control. The bulb works because, as you said Richard, the temperature is not allowed to go below the dew point. Relative humidity only has to do with the humidity measurement relative to temperature for the same grains of moisture/pound of air. Warm is worse in terms of exposure of tools/sandpaper to moisture. In terms of temperature, constant cold is better. If you look at a phycometric chart this tells the whole story.

   TDF

2. 
   PlaneWood | Nov 13, 2003 11:27pm | #11

   keep it in plastic bags.

   PlaneWood by Mike_in_Katy (maker of fine sawdust!)PlaneWood

3. 
   SgianDubh | Nov 14, 2003 03:53am | #13

   Tom, I agree that keeping things including the air inside something like a toolbox is the key. Mirrors and tiles in cool bathrooms get steamed up when people take a shower-- car windscreens are covered in condensation in the mornings, etc., but if we could keep those glass, etc., items warm enough condensation wouldn't occurr, and heated mirrors are on the market.

   We see essentially the same effect when fast drying polishes are applied to furniture in 'humid' conditions, i.e., air close to its moisture carrying limit (grains) chilled by solvent evaporation which results in condensation of water  out of the air into the polish causing white blush or bloom. SlainteWebsite

4. 
   john | Nov 14, 2003 05:09pm | #14

   I would say that anyone whose workshop is damp enough to cause a problem with sandpaper perhaps ought to be considering protecting the whole workshop from airborne moisture rather than just the sandpaper. Dehumidifiers are really cheap now, in the UK a decent one can be got for £130. One of those and some attention to preventing moisture ingress in the the first place would seem to be the way to go

   John

2. 
   SawdustSteve | Nov 12, 2003 05:56am | #3

   I keep my sandpaper in an acordion type file folder that I purchased at the local stationary supplier.  Each section has room for at least 25 sheets.  All I have to do is to remember to put the smaller pieces to the front of the 'pile'.  If you are going to purchase large quantities of sandpaper, make your own cabinet with each shelf slightly larger than the package the sandpaper comes in.  Keep the sandpaper FLAT on the shelf rather than standing it on edge.  As Forestgirl said, if moisture is a problem, lay a piece of plywood on top of each stack of sandpaper or place each package in a plastic bag.

   SawdustSteve    

3. 
   4DThinker | Nov 12, 2003 06:05am | #5

   In our university shop, we keep each grit of paper in a seperate drawer.  We buy it in boxes, so in each drawer will be one or more unopened boxes, with loose sheets underneath.  No complaints about curled sheets yet, but that could be thanks to the fast rate of consumption.

   4DThinker

4. 
   RANGERP75R | Nov 12, 2003 06:28am | #6

   LIMEYZEN

      For full sheets, I bought a little sandpaper cabinet with slide out drawers on a special sale at Highland Hardware. It has about 10 or 11 plastic drawers that fit into a plastic case. You could build one from wood.

      I live in Atlanta. Ga. and have not had any problems with moisture and curling in a year since I started using it. Each drawer is labeled with a size. I keep the case inside a closed cabinet under-neath a work-top station. Just open the door to the cabinet and slide the drawer open for the grit I need.

   sarge..jt

5. 
   Steinmetz | Nov 14, 2003 02:41am | #12

   LIMEY, Never have a prob with curling sandpaper, but hate it when it tears prematurly.

   So, I cover the backsides with masking tape to get the most use for my money.

    Also, if you fold a full sheet into 4 sections and slit one fold open at the top down to the center, then fold the four sections over so no abrasive rubs another, the stuff lasts and lasts Just like those little batteries. Stein.

6. 
   BertJ | Nov 15, 2003 02:04am | #15

   Lime,

   I made a simple pine box with a couple of drawers. (Made drawer fronts from some red oak I had laying around.) The drawers are just large enough to hold sheets of sandpaper as they are sold in packages. I also store my sanding disks and sponges in one of the drawers. As you can see, I have room for a couple of powered tools as well. And I run a dehumidifier in my shop at all times, and have no problem with curling.

   BJ

   
1. 
   limeyzen | Nov 15, 2003 06:31pm | #16

   Nice job! Thanks it gives me some ideas.  And thanks to all other respondants even if the discussion did wander from my original question<grin>.  So Richard, you returned to god old Blighty (but you're a Scot if I recall correctly so perhaps that honorific is missplaced!).  Hope the move is a good one for you.

1. 
   SgianDubh | Nov 15, 2003 09:13pm | #17

   Yep, limey, I returned to the UK, but I ended up in the sarf of the country, not the north which I expected, and here most of the locals speak wiv sumfink like the bleedin' London  whine, ha, ha, but I'll put up wiv it (sic.) Slainte.Website