Sandpaper Cutting Jig

The 1-2 method

Here's a simple jig for cutting 9" x 11" sheets of sandpaper into fourths for use with a 1/4 sheet palm sander. It makes quick work out of a potentially tedious task thanks to two spacer blocks: one for cutting the sandpaper in half and another for cutting the halves in half to form quarter sheets.

Each spacer is made from 1/4" masonite. The first is 5.5" wide for cutting full sheets in half. The second is 4.5" wide for cutting half sheets in half. The base of the jig is made from 1/4" plywood.

Step 1: Cut the sandpaper in half. Butt the short side of the sandpaper sheet against the base of the jig, slide spacer block #1 into position, and cut along the top edge with a utility knife.

Step 2: Cut each half in half. Butt the short side of each half piece of sandpaper against the jig base, slide block #2 into position, and cut along the top edge.

The finished product. In less than 5 minutes, I can produce enough 1/4 sheets to keep me sand-happy for months.

The jig was originally created to cut sandpaper into 1/6 sheets for a Ryobi palm sander. This involved cutting the sheets in half and then cutting each half into thirds using a 1" wide cutting guide.