Sanding Question

[harpone]

I just cut out a collapsible basket and need to sand a small curved section of the frame. I have a Ridgid belt/spindle sander. Is it better to use the belt rather than the spindle when sanding an outside curve?

[Mick Walker]

[handibunny]

I always use a belt on an outside curve--works great, just keep the wood moving.

[Stoney]

I don't Know how much material you have to remove but I often use various

grit sanding mops. I would probably start with 120 grit and go up from there.

[Tom Orchanian]

I use a Sand-O-Flex on collapsible baskets. I start with 100 grit to remove a lot of material and get the basic taper. Then 240 and 320 on the SOF finish most of the work. The last step is 600 wet and dry with my oil mix and hand sanding. I use the same process on the inside and out. If the wood is right the appearance can be very smooth, almost seamless.

[shadowfx97]

Cut a 6 inch long by 1/2 inch wide strip of sandpaper of an appropriate grit; fold in half lengthwise (so that have a 6" by 1/4" strip) and clamp it in your blade clamps as if it were a regular blade. You now have a strip sander powered by your scroll saw. If 1/4 inch is too wide, you can try a narrower strip. Also, if you have cloth-backed sandpaper that is strong enough, you could try just a single thickness rather than fold a wider piece in half.

[handibunny]

I think Harpone is just asking about a outside curved section of the frame.

If you use mops of various kinds on an irregular surface, which I assume is what we're dealing with here, you'll get a very smooth irregular surface. You need something like the vertical belt sander to get the contour smooth. Then, you can use the mops, etc. to polish it up to the desired grit.

I've never sanded the interlocking rings on my collapsible baskets. If they're cut at the proper angle, and the cutting is smooth, they should drop nicely. If you sand the rings, you'll create gaps when the basket is closed.

Tom, do you have pictures of what you do? I'm having trouble understanding why you'd sand to get the basic taper, which should have been established when the basket was cut. Thanks.

[Tom Orchanian]

I think Harpone is just asking about a outside curved section of the frame.

If you use mops of various kinds on an irregular surface, which I assume is what we're dealing with here, you'll get a very smooth irregular surface. You need something like the vertical belt sander to get the contour smooth. Then, you can use the mops, etc. to polish it up to the desired grit.

I've never sanded the interlocking rings on my collapsible baskets. If they're cut at the proper angle, and the cutting is smooth, they should drop nicely. If you sand the rings, you'll create gaps when the basket is closed.

Tom, do you have pictures of what you do? I'm having trouble understanding why you'd sand to get the basic taper, which should have been established when the basket was cut. Thanks.

When I cut the baskets at say a 3 or 4 degree angle the basket has a profile that is like stair-steps. I started sanding the steps flat to get a rounded inverted cup profile. I haven't noticed any gaps because the top of the ring is still full width. The taper doesn't seem to cause a problem. I use a belt sander on the top ring only. I think the collapsible part is a bit too fragile. I've got a couple of baskets in progress. I'll try to grap a snap tomorrow of what I'm talking about.

[harpone]

Thanks to all for the advice. Because the sanding (small wheel of a penny/farthing bicycle) and the area were small, I just used a sanding block and it turned out well. I will use the vertical belt sander on the Ridgid if I run into larger outside curves on future projects that need sanding.

[daniel1987]

Thanks to all for the advice. Because the sanding (small wheel of a penny/farthing bicycle) and the area were small, I just used a sanding block and it turned out well. I will use the vertical belt sander on the Ridgid if I run into larger outside curves on future projects that need sanding.

I've used the same methods and it's worked out well so it will hopefully be fine for you.