Sanding Question

So where's the question?

Re: So where's the question?

Kevin French

Is in the middle of the post

Which is where my question fits in. When the wood drys I hand sand, with 80 again or move up to 120 grit?

Too much sanding

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

I must admit I got lost in your sanding schedule. Which surely means it is way more complicated than it needs to be.

While the rule of thumb is skip every other grit size I find I can not skip 80 to 120 and be rid of the assault from the rocks in 80 grit.

What are you accomplishing with 60 that requires such a coarse grit? (I have never examines an oak stave in detail. )

Sanding beyond 120 to 150 on this project is probably over sanding to no detectable benefit.

I think you are wetting way too early in the sanding/finishing schedule. Wetting is to raise the grain from sanding. It makes no sense to wet followed by sanding that will result in a need to grain raise some more.

I would try- sand 120, wet, sand 120, stain, lightly sand with something finer if needed.

Re: Too much sanding

Kevin French

The 60 grit is needed to remove all the stain and rust by the barrel hoops.

Re: Too much sanding

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

Wow, that must make a mess. I think I would be doing this task with a belt sander. The scratches would be parallel to the length and any sanding defect not so obvious as circular swirls.

What does a finished lamp look like? I was presuming something rustic given the raw material, buy maybe not.

I would be coming up with a dye stain that achieved the desired look and ditch the water and its grain raising issues and steps.

Re: Too much sanding

Dick Coers

I agree with Bill. 60 grit on a random orbit scratches must be miserable to remove. 80 grit on a belt sander will be much quicker. I don't go backwards with grits after whispering, but then again I don't use those coarse grits.

Re: Sanding Question

Mark Hennebury

Run it though a thickness planer and finish with 120 grit.

Re: Sanding Question

Don Stephan

If you are comfortable with hand planes, you might find that a few minutes with a block or slightly longer hand plane will remove the top bit of wood and the stains faster than the sanding schedule.

One sentence caught my attention - you are sanding the long edges to "straighten them out?" Not sure how straight a ROS, especially with coarse grits, will leave a long edge. A long sanding block or hand plane should leave a straighter edge if you will be joining the staves together.

Re: Too much sanding

Kevin French

I've tried a BS but you really have to be careful or you screw up the crown of the stave, it's not a flat or square piece of stock every dimension is curved, cut on an angle or both. I don't have a problem with the ROS swirls when I raise the grain between sanding.

I like the look of the vinegar solution it gives them a dark weather gray look that a lot of people like. Also a quick hit with the 320 after the staining drys makes it baby smooth.

The one I'm building now will be like the color of the dark one, with the disk placement of the flute, but will have 1 1/4" black tubing instead of an instrument.

Re: Sanding Question

Kevin French

No, you'd ruin the characteristics of the stave.

Re: Sanding Question

Kevin French

I'm hand sanding this long edges to remove the facets that a powered sander leaves when rounding over the edge.

Re: Too much sanding

Kevin French

And you're also not sanding almost rough lumber.

The extra time with the ROS is worth the effort over the flat spots I got with the BS.

Re: Sanding Question

Barry Irby

Might be a job for a spokeshave.

I would like to see a picture of the end product.

Re: Sanding Question

Kevin French

I will post a pic when its finished, the center tube is painted and the wood has its first coat of oil, so it will be Monday or Tuesday before I get to wire it.

So let me simplify the question

Kevin French

If one was to raise the grain when the wood dried would one move on to the next finer grit?

probably

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

after water treatment, I would move on to the finest grit that would yield the smoothness desired, determined by experiment with material at hand.

I have never grain raised after 80 grit so I have no idea what it would take to smooth at this point. But, I don't know why I would be grain raising at this point. I would grain raise after the grit I intended to use just before staining, which in this case would be 120 or 150. Having never sanded a barrel, if faced with this task and what you have said, I would grind with 60 followed by 80, 100 and 120, grain raise, 120 and stain. that is my best guess from sanding other stuff.

I would try planing these staves. I think the result could be attractive. It is surprisingly easy to hand plane a convex surface. I have done it on curved drawer fronts and other products using a #5 plane. It takes but a couple of minutes to plane the band saw marks away after sawing a curved drawer front. Leaving some planing facets on the stave could reflect light in an attractive way. Water based dying will not raise grain on a hand planed surface .

Re: probably

Kevin French

I'll put the #5 to a practice stave, the only problem I see is your draw is convex in only one direction and a stave is convex in two.

Thanks

Re: probably

Bruce, a MN Galoot

Try the #5 or a #4. It’s easier and more effective than you think. A good block plane would work, too.

Re: Sanding Question

Leo Cuellar

Try sanding at the coarser grits while the wood is still damp. You will go through more discs, but you will also be able to remove wood much quicker. Apply more water to the problem areas. This method really only works well with a ROS, or a BS with cloth belts.

You can do this with every grit, but, you want to let the wood completely dry before the last grit.

Re: Sanding Question *LINK*

John McGaw

I think that, if I were engaged in a lot of similar work with similar materials, I would invest in a decent sanding brush of suitable width and grit to mount in my lathe for at least the first cleanup pass.


Sanding Brush

Re: Sanding Question

Barry Irby

Good Idea. I just made a sanding mop out of some 80 grit cloth backed sandpaper I had an abundance of. Used it to round off and "Pillow" some blocks of scrap. I bet it would do a number on those barrel staves.

Was there supposed to be a picture?

Re: Sanding Question

Kevin French

It looks like it would if a. I had a lathe and b. if I had room in my 11x11 shop for a lathe.

Flat spots with a belt sander

Dick Coers

That's a technique issue with the operator, no the machine. With practice it would be a great time saver for you.