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When sanding ebony inlaid with maple, the maple often gets "dirty" due to the ebony dust. How can I avoid this?

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Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

I don't think you can avoid it but a random orbit sander with a good vacuum attachment should help. I've also had success by sanding all the way up to 2000 grit. The finer the scratches the less dust collects - I guess. A final cleaning with compressed air or a strong vacuum also helps.

Bob

I had the same problems with my Sycamore bindings used on East Indian Rosewood back & sides. Stupidly I didn't use compressed air to remove the rest that a tack-cloth didn't get. Although I guess I should have used compressed air first...

I was using tru-oil to finish the build also which can bleed into the spruce. I think I will end up re-finishing my front because of it.

I should have totally finish my back and sides then done my top last.

Perhaps sealing the maple with some shellac or a thin coat of CA before sanding .

I don't have any air compressor at the moment...

I am not sure sealing the maple first with shellac will help since it would be sanded off during the shaping and sanding operation anyways. The thing is even with finer grit sanding, the ebony dust still manages to get into the tiny pores of maple and stain the wood. I can't imagine pairing ebony with an open pore wood such as ash.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com

Don't sand. Scrape using broken glass and then buff.


blessings
Padma

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It seems a lot of people use Super Glue on their guitars in this forum, not that its a bad thing. I only ever use it for gluing dots. Not that Super Glue is a bad thing.

Wouldn't Super Glue stain Sycamore and Maple?

I Like the Idea of sealing the wood somehow first but I like to install my binding so there in only a minuscule amount to scrap down.

Sand blow sand blow sand blow.
Sand into the dark wood too.
One stroke sand, blow, dig?

Yes, a well prepped scraper is the answer, done right it will leave a finish superior to sanding.

Cheers

Kim

I would scrape then seal with z-poxy and sand back to the wood.

Thanks for your advise...

Attached is the finished product. Basically I bought a Japanese style "Inlay Knife" from Dick tools which I will use as an instrument making knife. I wanted to make a handle for it, so when I got back to Taiwan I found a piece of ebony that are somewhat warped and thus useless for bridges. I flattened the piece carefully with sandpaper and routed the necessary recess into the wood, then glued the two pieces together with the blade inside, making it a handle. I then accented the handle with scrap pieces of maple, veneer sheets, and macassar ebony. Then I rounded the entire assembly (with the cap, which was made for safety reason) into an oval shape to make the thing comfortable to hold. After finish sanding the thing (I found that when I used finer sandpaper, the maple part wasn't as dirty anymore) I just rubbed candle wax into the wood with a buffing pad mounted to an electric drill.

_________________
Cat-gut strings are made from kitten guts, stretched out to near breaking point and then hardened with grue saliva. As a result these give a feeling of Pain and anguish whenever played, and often end up playing themselves backwards as part of satanic rituals.

Typhoon Guitars
http://www.typhoon-guitars.com