Abrasive Accessories - Types & Uses

Abrasive accessories are products that help with the abrading process in some way, without being absolutely essential, like equipment and parts. Accessories can include replacement flanges, nuts, adapters to hold abrasives pads in place, mandrels that allow them to be used with different types of tools. This article shows the three main classes of abrasive accessories traded on iAbrasive.com and what they include.

Machine Sanding Accessories

These accessories are used primarily with power tools. They help to preserve the abrasive used, prolong the life of a tool, use a different tool, or in some cases produce a better end product.

• Backup pads - Fits between sanding disc and abrasive to provide a soft or firm surface and help keep the spinning disc from heating up with friction.

• Dressing and truing tools - When abrasive particles stick in a grinding wheel, it throws it off balance. Single and multi-point diamond and other types of dressing tools are used to dislodge these abrasive bits, so the wheel spins true again.

• Graphite rolls - Used to reduce friction and heat from the underside of sanding belts.

• Grease stick - Assists with belt polishing of metal, plastic, and glass.

• Mandrels - Technically a part, not an accessory, mandrels are shafts that hold a cartridge roll or sanding drum in place while it spins. Some mandrels allow a drum to be used with other tools, like a power drill.

• Rubber blocks & cleaning sticks - Used to periodically clean dust, pitch, and glue from belt abrasives to extend their life.

• Rubber expanding drums - Replaces the regular sanding wheel and is used with no-lap abrasive belts to make sure they fit tight to the wheel. The rubber expands slightly when it spins to hold the belt in place.

Abrasive Accessories for Blasting

These accessories are used with blasting cabinets to increase the use of the abrasives media, e.g. glass, garnet, stainless steel, alumina, ceramic, corn cob, etc. 

• Abrasive shaker - Little motor that shakes a blasting cabinet just enough to keep powdered abrasives flowing down to the nozzle, instead of sticking to the inside walls.

• Blasting nozzles - Nozzles come singly or in kits of ten or more interchangeable sizes and shapes. They provide options for the "tunnel" through which the selected abrasive media is blasted out to its target.

• Protective clothing & gloves - Special clothing protects the skin from toxic abrasives and accidental cuts when abrading targeted objects or cleaning up afterward. 

• Sifter screen - For reusing blasting abrasives. It filters out any material too big to fit through the blasting nozzle.

Abrasive Accessories for Hand Sanding

• Hand blocks - These are rubber or foam blocks with a flat edge for sandpaper to wrap around. The block grips the sandpaper with teeth or a clamp. The curved edge is contoured to fit a person's hand.

• Hand pad - Used with self-adhesive circular sanding discs, this is a columnar rubber hand pad with one firm end for sanding defects, and the other soft end for fine finishing.

• Hook 'n loop pad holder - For larger applications, this holder has a threaded insert that fits a broom handle.

• Interface pad conversion band - An elasticized band that transforms a power tool hook n loop pad to a hand pad. The band fastens onto the velour side of the pad and the users hand is inserted between the band and pad.

Most, if not all of these accessories are available for bulk purchase on the B2B abrasives portal, iAbrasive.com. Abrasives suppliers and buyers of all types utilize this portal for trading all things abrasive - powders, pads, tools, machines, accessories, and more.

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