Firstly I don't like hand sanding, that's what motors are made for, but these plastic velcro disc holders seem to do a decent job of holding sandpaper. They're made of lightweight plastic with good ergonomics, so they're not as tiring as the old heavy hard rubber blocks. However, I bought these spacers to keep the steel wool in place. It's hard to believe but I've looked everywhere and even at a major woodworking machine supplier for a steel wool washer holder. Maybe they are somewhere and there, but I have not found. I'm old school and when it comes to clear surfaces I can't think of a better way to achieve a glassy finish than using a steel wool for the final smoothing. Rather than put even more strain on my old hands, I wanted a flat pad to hold the steel wool, and these pad holders did the job. Yes if the pads were custom made it would be better if wool pads matched the pads but I let them work as is and did the job.