Box Keeps Sandpaper Organized and at Your Fingertips

How often do you hunt through a drawer or box of sandpaper looking for a specific grit? This small tray will keep up to nine grits of folded sandpaper organized and accessible. I sized the tray and dividers for quarter-sheets of sandpaper (torn width-wise and folded in three) but you can size the box for sanding disks or other paper sizes.

The important part is the pivoting dividers, which are spaced 7⁄8 in. apart but open up to 3-1⁄2 in. for easy access. The sloped ends of the box are the other key. The only critical dimension for good pivoting action is that the tabs are roughly 7⁄16 in. farther apart than the centers of the pivot holes are from the top of the box. Also, note that the tabs at the bottom of the dividers have to be inserted in their pivot holes when you are gluing up the box.

—Larry Poore, Issaquah, Wash.

Fine Woodworking Recommended Products

Diablo ‘SandNet’ Sanding Discs

While Diablo’s SandNet disks perform similarly to conventional paper abrasives in terms of material removal and surface prep (with some exceptions at the lower grits), they make keeping your work surface and work area clean much easier, thanks to the great dust collection possible with them.

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Festool Rotex FEQ-Plus Random Orbital Sander

The Festool Rotex is a top-of-the-line choice. On its coarse setting, it removed stock nearly twice as quickly as the second-fastest model. But that speed doesn’t mean you’ll have to wrestle with it. It’s no huge task to control it with two hands, and its long body gives you plenty of room to find a sweet spot while holding it.

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3M Pro Grade Sandpaper

This sandpaper is clog resistant and has a material on the back that prevents it from slipping. Great for sanding blocks.

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