Grit Stash: Sandpaper Storage

Sandpaper is one of those things that can be a challenge to store. Bunches of random loose sheets thrown in a box or drawer, rubbing together and losing their grit, or inside cardboard sleeves obfuscating how many sheets you have left, or worse, mysterious partial sheets with no grit numbers on the back.

Having a simple way to store every grit in its own place makes it a lot easier. This sandpaper flat file has enough drawers for all the grits I keep on hand, from 60 up to 400, a couple of drawers for the super high grits from 1000–2000, plus a drawer for sanding sticks and blocks, and one for lightly used pieces that still have a bit of life in them. And lastly a hidden bonus: the narrowest drawer is actually a straightedge tearing board for quickly making half sheets.

You can build this file in a day or two, for your own workshop or makerspace, or as a gift for anyone who does wood, fiberglass, resin, or other fabrication and finish work.

I use a jointer and planer to dimension the maple wood for the drawer fronts to exactly 5/8″ thick. But if you don’t have access to these tools, you can work with off-the-shelf ¾” wood instead. Select the straightest piece(s) you can, and rip them to size on the table saw. To accommodate the extra thickness, you’ll just cut the carcass, front rabbet, and drawer bottoms a bit deeper:

• Add 1/8″ to the carcass pieces, making them 131/8″ deep
• Change the front rabbet from 21/32″ to ¾” wide
• Make the drawer bottoms 1/8″ deeper, from 13½” to 135/8″

Dados and Rabbets?

Yes, this project uses dados and rabbets. Here’s a breakdown of the terms:

• A kerf is the space left by a saw blade when it cuts, the part that turns into sawdust.
• A dado is a wide kerf going across the grain.
• A groove is a wide kerf going with the grain (though these are often used interchangeably).
• A rabbet is a two-sided groove (instead of three) cut along the edge of a board.