Official Luthiers Forum!

Owned and operated by Lance Kragenbrink
It is currently Thu Mar 28, 2024 9:05 am


All times are UTC - 5 hours


Forum rules


Be nice, no cussin and enjoy!




Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 11 posts ] 
Author Message
PostPosted: Tue Aug 14, 2018 3:54 pm 
Offline
Mahogany
Mahogany

Joined: Thu Mar 03, 2011 12:55 pm
Posts: 69
Location: Ottawa, Ontario
First name: Alain
Last Name: Gagnon
City: Ottawa
State: ON
Country: Canada
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
Hello I’m looking for some tips on how to sand a softwood surface with a hardwood inlay such as a top with a rosette or the end wedge area. How can I sand these areas so the surface is even and flat without a raised hardwood inlay?

_________________
Alain
_______


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Aug 14, 2018 4:07 pm 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member
User avatar

Joined: Fri Jul 10, 2009 4:44 am
Posts: 5398
First name: colin
Last Name: north
Country: Scotland.
Focus: Build
Status: Semi-pro
If you don't have much to take off, back up your sandpaper with a hard level block, say MDF.
Clear the dust often to prevent grinding it into the softwood.
If there's more, then plane it first to very nearly level (careful for tear out) then sand with the block.

_________________
The name catgut is confusing. There are two explanations for the mix up.

Catgut is an abbreviation of the word cattle gut. Gut strings are made from sheep or goat intestines, in the past even from horse, mule or donkey intestines.

Otherwise it could be from the word kitgut or kitstring. Kit meant fiddle, not kitten.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Aug 14, 2018 4:17 pm 
Offline
Koa
Koa
User avatar

Joined: Sat May 02, 2009 2:59 pm
Posts: 559
First name: Marcus
Last Name: Bailie
City: Kirkland
State: WA
Focus: Build
This is the very reason I bought a drum sander.

It's a pain to do it well by hand, but what Colin said is your best strategy.

_________________
-Marcus
http://www.bailieguitars.com
Instagram | YouTube


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Aug 14, 2018 4:35 pm 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member

Joined: Fri Jun 22, 2012 11:12 am
Posts: 1170
First name: Rodger
Last Name: Knox
City: Baltimore
State: MD
Zip/Postal Code: 21234
Country: USA
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
The Carruth scraper works really nicely for this, it even works with shell.

_________________
A man hears what he wants to hear, and disreguards the rest. Paul Simon



These users thanked the author Rodger Knox for the post: Pmaj7 (Tue Aug 14, 2018 5:59 pm)
Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Tue Aug 14, 2018 5:40 pm 
Offline
Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Sun Mar 30, 2008 8:20 am
Posts: 5924
I use an old block plane body and psa sandpaper. As you move to finer grits the dust discoloration becomes less problematic.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 6:30 pm 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member
User avatar

Joined: Fri May 14, 2010 11:43 am
Posts: 668
First name: Aaron
Last Name: Craig
City: Kansas City
State: Missouri
Focus: Build
Status: Semi-pro
Make a sanding disc for your drill press from two or three pieces of MDF (cut with a fly cutter or circle router jig), countersink the bottom to accommodate a 3/8 to 1/2 in bolt and washer, cut the bolt head off with a hacksaw, look at the photos below for further detail, add some adhesive sandpaper, and go to town. This is a very handy little jig that can thickness all kinds of parts to close tolerances. Adjust the drill stop to your desired thickness and sand away in a fashion similar to a Safe-T-Planer.

Image
Image


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

_________________
Aaron Craig


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Wed Aug 15, 2018 8:19 pm 
Offline
Contributing Member
Contributing Member

Joined: Tue Dec 17, 2013 10:52 pm
Posts: 2953
First name: Don
Last Name: Parker
City: Charleston
State: West Virginia
Zip/Postal Code: 25314
Country: USA
Focus: Build
Status: Amateur
If working by hand, the unifying theme is to have an unyielding backer for the sandpaper. A cushy backer will conform around the harder material and sand the softer material faster, making flattening harder to achieve.



These users thanked the author doncaparker for the post: SteveCourtright (Fri Aug 17, 2018 4:46 pm)
Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 2:40 am 
Offline
Cocobolo
Cocobolo

Joined: Mon Apr 14, 2008 3:20 am
Posts: 376
Location: Kapolei HI
First name: Aaron
Focus: Build
Status: Semi-pro
+1 Drum sander for tops/rosettes.
+1 Scraper for end grafts, but not sure why those are an issue - basically hardwood all around, yes?
+1 Hardwood (Milo) sanding blocks.

All of the above I guess, situation dependent.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 7:37 am 
Offline
Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood
User avatar

Joined: Thu Jan 06, 2011 6:08 pm
Posts: 2712
First name: ernest
Last Name: kleinman
City: lee's summit
State: mo
Zip/Postal Code: 64081
Country: usa
Focus: Build
Status: Professional
I use low angle L/N vlnmakers plane , scraper, and then a sanding block with 180 , 220, and 320 grit.


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 7:49 am 
Offline
Koa
Koa
User avatar

Joined: Sat Jan 19, 2013 7:33 am
Posts: 1831
First name: Willard
Last Name: Guthrie
City: Cumberland
State: Maryland 21502
Zip/Postal Code: 21502
Country: United State
Focus: Repair
Status: Semi-pro
We plane off what can be removed on rosettes and end grafts, then block sand with a ply block with 1/16" firm cork facing (rubberized gasket material is best, but the drawer lining peel and stick material from the big box stores works OK) and well radiused edges. With the CA we use on shell work and bindings, we often use a firm pad on a random orbit sander to level through the CA and any shell - we have several Dynabrade ROS with vacuum dust collection for the job, but most portable electric ROS will have a firm pad available. Also note that spruce may be sanded cross-grain where necessary with just a bit of along-grain sanding for cleanup. Finally, a 12" mill bastard file does a nice job of leveling where a scraper will hop around a bit and a block is overkill, like cleaning up that last bit of top binding near the tail graft or neck socket.

_________________
We have become a civilization that elevates idiots, prostitutes, and clowns. Am I still to defend it? Yes, for its principles. Yes, for what it was. Yes, for what it still may be.

-Mark Helprin, The Oceans and the Stars: A Sea Story, A War Story, A Love Story (A Novel)


Top
 Profile  
 
PostPosted: Thu Aug 16, 2018 10:14 am 
Offline
Brazilian Rosewood
Brazilian Rosewood

Joined: Sun Mar 30, 2008 8:20 am
Posts: 5924
" we often use a firm pad on a random orbit sander to level through the CA and any shell - we have several Dynabrade ROS with vacuum dust collection for the job"

If you only have one R.O. sander and you don't want to keep changing pads, something I have done to make a hard pad, is cut a circle of Formica and spray glue a used hook and loop sanding disc to the unfinished face. I then "hook" it to the sander and stick a PSA disc to the smooth face. The "hard pad" can then be removed like a typical H&L disc.



These users thanked the author Clay S. for the post (total 3): Terence Kennedy (Fri Aug 17, 2018 7:47 am) • TimAllen (Thu Aug 16, 2018 12:28 pm) • Pmaj7 (Thu Aug 16, 2018 10:32 am)
Top
 Profile  
 
Display posts from previous:  Sort by  
Post new topic Reply to topic  [ 11 posts ] 

All times are UTC - 5 hours


Who is online

Users browsing this forum: Ken Nagy and 52 guests


You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot post attachments in this forum

Jump to:  
Powered by phpBB® Forum Software © phpBB Group
phpBB customization services by 2by2host.com