Abrasives are materials, most often minerals that are used in the smoothing of wood surfaces, usually to finish the piece for an application of paint or other protective coatings. Sometimes rough abrasives are used on wood to help make a cut smoother, so that two pieces of wood that are about to be joined will fit tightly and cleanly.
The Most Commonly Used Abrasives are:
- Garnet — this is most commonly currently used in woodworking
- Emery — often used for abrading or polishing metal.
- Aluminum oxide — has become the most common, and most available in a variety of grits. This abrasive is used on either metal or wood
- Silicon carbide — comes in a range of grits, from extremely coarse to a micro grit used in wet sanding
- Chromium oxide — for extremely fine micron grit papers
Sandpaper, the Woodworking Abrasive
There are a wide variety of sandpaper types. Sandpaper is the most commonly used abrasives in woodworking. Sandpaper grit grades from 36, which is the coarsest, to 400 or 600, which are the finest. Most woodworkers will use 100 grit sandpaper for initial finishing, followed by a finer grit, depending on the need for the surface to be perfectly smooth.
.
Questions of a Do It Yourself nature should be submitted to our
"