For some reason, I felt kind of funny while making this project – like I was building something way more complex than is really needed. Now that it’s finished and I have had a chance to use it, I can appreciate the convenience of it.

How many times have I needed to quarter a sheet of sandpaper to use in my sanding block, or for some hand sanding, and either spent way too much time looking for something to cut the paper, or ruined the sheet trying to tear it by hand? Those days are over now, thanks to this handy gadget that only took about an hour to make.

I made a video showing how I made it:

I keep this in a drawer in my sanding station, where it can easily be found.

UPDATE: Six years later and I’ve used this cutter many, many times, but there are two problems with it that have bothered me. First is how small the gap is between the guide bar and the base, making it difficult to slide thicker or curled paper in. The second was that the cutter wheel itself was still in the way when sliding a sheet in, even when all the way over to one side.

So I took the time to build a new version that corrected these issues, and show that in this video:

Another update is that my sanding station is long gone, replaced by a new cart for my spindle sander, and that’s where I keep it now.

If you are interested in building one for yourself, you can download the free SketchUp model for this project here:

SANDPAPER CUTTER