Guys, if you post a "Tip of the day" be sure to put those words in the text as well as the title for easy search.

This one is a tool tip that is so easy, so valuable yet so cheap it should be illegal.

Many years ago I needed a rubber block for an area that only a one inch wide block would do. I simply took a rubber sanding block, clamped it in the vice and cut it in "half" with a hack saw. Not perfectly in half, but cutting about one third off. This left me with two super usable blocks. One is about an inch and the other about two inches.

Using a roll of sand paper (I HIGHLY recommend you buy the rolls instead of sheets) you just tear off what you need and then put the paper on the block and fold up the sides. This provides you with a block that you can run up against the edge of a body line or what ever, VERY useful.

I have made many more over the years, lost them, made more, made them for co-workers. I use them often.

Brian

Bonus tip: Buy a QUALITY block. I have seen some cheapie "value line" blocks that are just trash, you might as well use a rock. They weren't flat!

Bonus tip II: Put a piece of stick it 180 paper on a nice flat surface and true your sanding block on it! Even a good one isn't going to be flawlessly flat, make it so.

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Great idea, why cant i ever think of those.

I have a large piece of conveyer belt edging about 4"x3/4" thick. I cut it up and make sanding blocks of all sizes.....Same idea, I guess.

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Home Handyman Forum I Shade Tree Mechanic Forum

Excellent excellent, here's one that those who buy quality
longboard strips of sandpaper will understand.

The average bodyshop tech will simply throw the 61/2 inch piece of paper thats left over after fitting a longboard piece to his middle size hand block on the floor or into the scrap sandpaper box. It's because it won't fit on the next hand board size down(the dinky one). It may not seem like much of a waste unless your the one attempting to streamline production, in essence minimize costs and increase revenues.

Here's what to do to that little odd size block...
Drill out the rivets, peel back the leather pad, cut about 1/8 off each side. Part of the paper clamps themselves will also need to be modified and shortened. Now reverse the process glue, trim. drill, and rivit and there is a board that can make use of that last bit of paper..

nothing beats pictures...

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Thats a good tip on cutting blocks. I have done that. You can do the same with plastic filler spreaders to get into tight areas. Another good one for body lines and peaks on hoods or doors is to take a contour guage and set it on an undamaged area to get the contour. Then trace the contour onto a plastic spreader and trim out the shape on the spreader. Then you can spread your filler and final glaze in the shape of the peak and you will need minimal sanding and shaping. I came up with this when working on a 55 chevy hood and i was having a real hard time recreating that peak that runs down the hood.

Shoddy, THAT is a GREAT idea! The freaky thing is as I was reading it I was thinking about a 55ish GM hood in my head!

I have a profile guage, works great for matching profiles from one side of the car to the other.

Milo, you need to re-think your saving money. Look at the BIG picture Milo. The sand paper costs are only a few percent of your overall material bill, five or six as I remember. HOWEVER, your use of the paper (sanding) is effecting about 30% of your labor costs! Saving a dime here and there is costing you a dollar in labor.

Now, if you were using PSA paper (Pressure Sensitive Adhesive) paper you take the remainder from your med size block and stick it on your regular 5" rubber block! Or just use the rolls and you tear off JUST what you need. No waste at all.
You are needing to come up with something special because you are using the outdated clip on paper. Move on up to the 21 century guy!

Brian

Two great ideas in one thread!

I've used the cut-down block one myself and they do come in very handy, as do cut-down spreaders, but cutting a profile into one is genius!

So simple, but I can imagine very effective. As all the best ideas are really.

I'm not to old school but some of the new school gimmicks just sit in the tool box. I'm kinda middle school and very used to the 3M green nonstick..
I know some papers have sticky stuff on them,,but there is still demand for the nonstick thank God..

Then there are adjustable contour block sanders, line/edge sanders , that should have stayed on the tool truck.

For the benifit of anyone new ,,Threads with tips like these from seasoned autobody champions weren't around when we were starting out old or new... So take what you like or can use and leave the rest..

Here's a pic of some of my favorite sanders of all time. If you ever get a chance to let females help ,,you'll find them very effective and detailed indeed ,,True they talk but are able to move their hands at the same time. The fellas always seem to stop sanding when they have someting to say..

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Milo, you are right on the money, anyone who has never done this work can REALLY benifit from the knowledge gained on here. My God, when I think of what I had to learn the hard way!

On the extra long blocks and all the little gimmicks, I think you are right. I have bought a few over the years and hardly if ever use them. However, Durablock makes a number of odd shaped hard foam blocks that ARE really good. I have a 1" round one and another that is about the size of a 3M foam pad but a little thicker and harder. It works like a charm using the side as a 1/2" by 5" block. They have a number of other shapes, I plan on getting a couple more.

However, besides "newbes" how about us old timers, using the profile gauge to make a pattern for triming a plastic bondo spreader! Holy moly what an amazing idea. I will be using that TOMORROW and nearly every day after that.

Another one for you guys, how about spreading polyester putty with an "acid brush" in high detail areas like a door jamb. These are those little throw away metal tubing handled brushes you find in the soldering isle at the hardware store for applying flux before soldering.

The polyester putty is just viscous enough to continue flowing a little after you spread it out. It works AMAZINGLY well. I was "taught" this by looking over another guys shoulder at work. I saw him doing this and thought what a marroon. Then later on I was walking by and took a look at what it looked like after it had cured. The darn thing was smooth as heck. I have been doing it ever since.

Brian

Thats because men only think with only one side of the brain, so aren't very good at multitasking, but I don't think most men yap as much as women either. I've made my own sanding blocks of different sizes but never tried cutting one down. I have cut down spreaders and changed the contour or shape for spreading certain areas. Another thing that comes in handy sometimes is to use a rubber hose as a block and wrap sandpaper around it for sanding some concave areas.

Yeah, cutting up the spreaders is a great way to get contours just right. In fact, thats exactly how I did it on the jambs of my chevelle whre tehe quarters were put on, worked like a charm.

Ok, one more tip on cutting sheet sandpaper. Most people will fold them and use a knife or whatever else is sharp to slice it, or tear it in most cases. To fix that...Take a hacksaw blade and screw it down with the saws edge just barely overhanging the table edge. It won't cut you if you bump it, but it will cut sandpaper sheets with a clean edge. Works just like to foil boxes in the kitchen.

Yep, I did the hacksaw blade trick years ago, it does work very well.

Brian

A couple guys were looking for these and all I remember is getting them off a Mac Tool truck a few years back. They are actualy 2 different profile sander kits/gimmicks. The one says Pulse and the other simply Body Shaper.

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We're hopeing someone out there has seen them and knows where to get them

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