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 1: cut sandpaper in half
The resulting half sheets shown below. I can generally cut about five pieces of sandpaper at a time.
Half sheets resulting from step 1
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.
Step 2: cut half piece of sandpaper in half
The finished product. In less than 5 minutes, I can produce enough 1/4 sheets to keep me sand-happy for months. I store the sheets in a small metal storage cabinet which has drawers that are 8 inches wide by 4 inches high. Each drawer contains three different grits.
Quarter-sheets of sandpaper ready to use in palm sander
Note: 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. That’s the reason for the extra protrusions on the left side of the jig.