Put it on the scales to avoid scratching the scales while filing
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Oh ok, I see now.
Even better than sandpaper for the courser grits are EDM stones ( i like them up to 400). They come in all different shapes and porosity and can be easily shaped for the piece or area you are working on. An hour with sand paper is fifteen minutes with these stones. I like sandpaper for the finer grits for the finish but for removing pitting and such these stones work so much better. A quick Google search will find many stones for a few buck each. Good luck.
Definitely gloves while sanding! Just tried my first restoration a few days ago.. Will get back to it once this deeep gash on my thumb heals lol with gloves this time of course!
Ive got at least 10 permanent scars on my hands from this hobby over the years. A customer of mine brought me like 20 pairs of kevlar gloves a few months ago id forgotten about, then it just hit me one day how well they might work, ive tried cutting them, only the latex coating cuts and even it is pretty durable.
I drove a drill bit almost half way through a finger today while trying to drill a pin out, guess a drill press would be kinda handy. (Wasnt wearing gloves)
Yeah lol the sad part is I was wearing welding gloves while using the bench grinder then took them off to hand sand..
I'm more alarmed you were using a bench grinder
Well bench buffer/grinder and was just using the buffing wheel
Well after hearing all of the stories, I will be ordering some gloves today at some point!
To prevent cuts when hand sanding just get a 8X11 piece of 4mm craft foam, couple of buck at Wally Mart.
I cut it into 3 in strips so as not to hog up valuable bench top real estate. As you apply pressure to the razor onto the foam the blade edge is buried into the foam, holds steady and cannot cut you. You can sand/polish right up to the edge without any danger of cutting yourself.
If I am degreasing or de-rusting, I place a paper towel over the foam, hose down with WD40 and cut off the rust with a single edge razor blade. The towel will absorb the oil, rust and grit. Or just keep a couple foam pads on the bench for cleaning, one for polishing and not worry about grit scratches. They clean up with Simple Green or 409.
Also work well on the drill press to hold a razor or scales steady without moving or scratching.
Gloves are a PIA and can be dangerous with some power tools. If you need grip, finger covers are a great solution, if snagged they slip right off, available from Smokey Mountain Woodcarvers as are some other interesting items. Nice folks too.