The manufacture of sanding and shaping tools for use by hobbyists, do-it-yourselfers and others is well known. The manufacture of such tools using tungsten carbide particles or grit has also been done, the tool using tungsten carbide particles usually being sharper, longer lasting and superior in performance to ordinary or regular sandpaper. Solid sheet steel with tungsten carbide particles welded thereto is available in grit grades generally equivalent to sandpaper. Flexible sheet steel with tungsten carbide particles adhered thereto can be cut and shaped into various hand held tools.
The advantage of such material in tools over regular sandpaper include the material being sharper and providing cleaner cutting on a far more diverse range of materials. The life of the tool is longer and the grit particles do not tear loose as they do with regular sandpaper.
Tungsten carbide grit welding to steel, having been used to coat various steel grinding and shaping tools, is a known process, particularly in the auto tire and shoe leather industries. Welding tungsten carbide grit to relatively thin (0.010 inch) solid steel sheeting has provided a sandpaper-like product that can be bent or shaped and is consistent with other tungsten carbide coated tools in that the coated surface remains "sharp" over a relatively long period of time. When painted, the gritted solid steel sheet even resembles the look of regular sandpaper.
However, a drawback of the solid sheet steel with tungsten grit adhered thereto is that it tends to clog when working on softer materials because the material removed during the use of the device tends to form a layer or thin surface between the device and the article being worked on. This layer or thin surface of removed material clogs the grit material necessitating greater pressure between the device and article to continue effective and efficient removal of material and to overcome the detrimental effect caused by the build up of the layer. This is particularly so with "sanding" devices with fine grit particles. Not only is frequent cleaning of the surface of the device required but brushing a layer of fine removed material from the surface of the article may also be required in order to regain some of the efficiency of the working action, whether sanding, filing, grinding or the like.
It would be desirable to produce a sanding-type device or product which reduces the tendency for removed material to form the layer that lessens the cutting action of the grit particles and which reduces the tendency of the grit material to clog so quickly. A device or product which enhances the efficiency of the cutting action and requires less stoppages to clean the device and the surface of the article would be advantageous.