A hand-held, manually-operated sanding tool including a base member, a clamping mechanism, and a tab. The clamping mechanism is pivotally mounted to the base member, in alignment with a contact surface thereof such that the clamping mechanism pivots between a closed position and an open position in which a gap is defined between the clamping mechanism and the contact surface. The tab extends at least partially between the contact surface and the clamping mechanism, and establishes a stop surface that positively positions an edge of a sheet of abrasive material relative to an end of the base member as part of a loading operation.