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I need some advice.
I am making an end table out of boa and Rosewood with legs that are shaped like and “I” with both top and bottom of the “I” curling back around on its self in a spiral. I have cut these legs using a scroll saw and they look very nice so far.
The problem I’m having is getting the surface of the legs sanded smooth. They have wobbles, bumps, high points, low points etc from the scroll saw and the more I sand the worse they seem to get. How do I sand these surfaces – do I sand? do I use an edge trimmer and how do I make sure that my cut would be straight if I did… really don’t want to screw this up.
Any advice much appreciated.
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Hi Alison, When I have had this kind of sanding problem I have used a stiff backing behind my sandpaper to sand the high spots. You didn't give any specific dimensions of the legs your working with so I'll just take a stab at suggesting you use a peice of wood measuring 1" thick, 4" long and 2" wide. This can vary of course depending upon what feels good in your hand and what angles you need to sand. Sand with the grain and if you run into tight spots there are other things to experiment with out there, such as nail filing boards that I've found at the drug store. Imagine a tongue depressor with sand paper attached. Or, small diam. doweling that you attach your own paper too. Hope this helps, Good luck.
*Bill thanks...I'm still not sure that what you've suggested will help me avoid sanding to the existing profile. Perhaps if I get a longer/wider sanding block? That way maybe I can take the high points off without sanding the valleys?The legs are 2" thick x 27" long x 8" - 3" wide.
*Your dimensions are 2x27x8"-3"? Or is that 2x27x3"-8"? If your dimensions are that large, then I can understand your (or my) confusion, maybe you would need a larger sanding block as a backing for that paper as you mention. Such as a 2x4? I understand that your legs curve, so on the inner curve(s) you'll have to experiment with the right length to find which length will hit the highs and leave the lows alone. Inside the spiral(s), would a Dremel tool be of any use? I have seen small drum sanding papers that fit onto a rubber knob on the end of a long shaft, but those were in Germany made by Proxxon. I can't think of another way to do this by hand, electrically - ? I would have to experiment myself. Got any pics of the leg(s) or the project? They might help for some more diagnosis. Hope this helps.
*Alison, It would help to know which of the woods you are using on the legs. If it is the Rosewood it has a tendency to have very hard ridges in the grain with softer sections between and the only help i could offer is to use a hardwood sanding block that has been jointed flat as to have the flatest sanding edge possible. On the inner curves try wraping the sandpaper around a hardwood dowel of the largest diameter possible as to get the most contact of the surface area possible. Good luck. Chris
*A similar frustration greeted me when I tried to smooth curves. I had the best luck lining a piece of the offcut (matching curve) and using that as my sanding block.
*Here's a photo of the table with the problem legs...I've been working diligently on them, and bit by bit they are getting better. It has taken an awful lot of work however!
*I see exactly what your problem is; all the legs are different shapes and notchy. You might be able to rescue it if you own a router and a pattern cutting bit, the type of bit with the bearing at the top. Cut the curly shape you need in some 9 mm or 12 mm MDF, and get the edges thus cut smooth with spokeshaves, rasps, sandpaper etc. MDF edges are easy to work with handtools and if you screw up, toss it away and cut another piece. Once you've got this right, ensuring that this pattern when laid on each of your cherry legs leaves a bit of timber exposed on both edges of it, use your router and pattern cutting bit to even it all out by skimming a bo'hair or so off the cherry. The technique is to cramp the pattern to a leg and rout as much as you can between the cramps using the base of the router on the flat face of the MDF. Then attach cramps in places where you've already routed, and remove your original cramps, and rout these newly exposed areas. You may need to make three or four patterns that allow you get into all those curly bits so as to work your way all around the shape, but I suspect you'll be able to rescue the job,....well, I hope so anyway. The technique I've just described is essentially the same as the spindle moulding pattern cutting job pictured below, which is no more than an upside down version of the job with a wrinkle or two of its own. Sliante, RJ.PS. This by the way is the finishing forum. Your question might have been better placed in either the joinery forum or the general forum. It can be tricky to find the right spot I know.
*Thanks Sgian....I see now that once again my inexperience has caught up with me ::grins:: I always bite off more than I can chew, or perhaps I should say route. Looking at the photo, I realize that I should have made such a pattern piece at the start - I used a paper pattern and a scroll saw - good in theory, but not in practice. However, given that the legs are 1 3/4" thick could you still use the method you've described?I've made some pretty good progress through careful sanding and some very careful recutting. The legs pretty much curve, roll and are flat in the right places now and to a non-critical eye look great (obviously I'm going to grouse about them forever).Are there any articles that could have helped me with duplicating patterns? I searched prior to starting but maybe was just using the wrong criteria.As to posting here, versus the Joinery board - the question I was asking seemed more related to prep'ing a surface for finishing, but your suggestion is duly noted :)asi
*Amana sell a bit that will cut 1-3/4" deep with a diameter of 3/4" with a 1/2" shank, catalogue no. 45465 Click for Amana which is in irritatingly slo-o-o-o-w m-o-o-o-h PDF format unfortunately,.......... and currently doesn't seem to work at all, so I'll look and post a link to something you can see,..........hopefully. b (10 mins later. The above link is pretty hopeless really!!!)Here's a link to Rockler's router cutting section showing a similar bit. Click, Rockler pattern cutting bit never used used their router bits, so I've no idea if they're any good, but this is the pattern. The bit may not fit between all your curly bits, I'm not sure. You can use your pattern/jig to start the cut, and after that use the cut edge you've formed to run the bearing against to plunge even deeper, so hopefully achieving the depth you need.Articles? US? Woodwork, April 2001, issue 68, P 40 and on.British? Furniture & Cabinetmaking issue 40 page 58 onwards, and issue 41, page 55 onwards.There is much more information out there, but I know those two articles touch upon the subject. Sliante, RJ.
*There have been several articles in FWW that mention the use of pattern routing but usually only in describing how a piece was made. Recently re-read an article by Pat Warner in an earlier FWW, somewhere around No. 70, on making matching pattern routing templates. Sorry that I couldn't pull up your picture (made the mistake of upgrading to Netscape 6 a couple months ago).
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