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Hi all,
I am on box #4 and basically ready to sand for the finish work. The top and back seem to give me no problems but the sides I never get quite like I would like to. I use 150 the 220 5" Ryobi ROS on the Top and back
The side I have done mostly by hand?

My thought this time was to use the 5" ROS on the larger areas of the sides and my Grizzly 2 1/4 pneumatic drum sander in the waist but I am really worried about screwing up the maple binding.

Any thought or recommendations?

Thanks
Richard

The sides aren't very thick, be careful with any powered sander. (don't ask me how I know)

I block sand the sides, starting with 220, then finer. I use a plywood block wrapped in sandpaper for the flat areas and a 1 1/2" dowel wrapped in sandpaper for curved areas. It takes longer than it does with electricity or air, but the end results are great. I spend an hour or so sanding the sides after scrapeing. That's alot longer than 5 minutes with a powered sander, but it's really not that long.

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I didn't mean to say it, but I meant what I said.
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I do pretty much what Woody does. I also use my cabinet scraper a lot on the sides. They should be as flat as possible and have a smooth curve before you rout for the bindings so there shouldn't be too much work (at least for flattening) after. Hand sanding is fine. My method for flattening before routing is to feel for any un smooth curves and flatten them (120 or 80 on a block) and then pencil across the grain and pull the scraper along the side. You can see where there is any buckling by the pencil marks that are left and I go around those with 120 on a flat block until I have a flat side. Check often with a straightedge. I use the dowel method for the waist also when I am sanding. After binding I scrape the bindings flush and sand to 220 with a block and a dowel. I have not had any luck with a ROS on the sides but I have seen people use the 1/4 or 1/2 sheet style of sander there.

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Burton
http://www.legeytinstruments.com
Brookline, MA.

At this point it should be just getting what is left of sanding marks.

Lumps and bumps come out when close box and getting ready for binding. I do is several ways as taught. for this part. I use the belt sander fisrt, then scraper and block with very hard rubber or wood block to make sure right.

Once the thing has binding and all clean and I know ready for finish, it is just getting out old sanding marks or other small marks with 220 using various hand blocks. That said, I have used ORS for this particularly on top and back, but waist of sides mostly blocks as noted

This is my modified Ros for waist sanding.
Cheap sander, section of "pool snake" glued on to the faceplate.

I scrape my bindings flush and then finish by hand sand my sides now. I use a cork lined maple block and a large diameter cork lined round rubber block for the waist. It goes very quickly.

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Randy Muth
RS Muth Guitars Website
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Also, make sure you finish up using light pressure. It is easy to put way more pressure on the sandpaper when hand sanding as opposed to power sanding.

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Randy Muth
RS Muth Guitars Website
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I like the pneumatic drum but only use it to smooth out the sides before routing for binding. Once the binding is on, it stays in the cabinet and I either hand-sand or scrape the bindings flush.

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The member formerly known as erikbojerik....

Hi All,

Whatever happened to good old fashion sanding by hand? Gives a superior finish and it's just my opinion, but we're caught up with machines, jigs, and fixtures. Some are good and I use them, others are a waste of $. Taking any sander to a completed box is asking for trouble. I know, because I've done it (more than once) . It all boils down to our impatience. Sorry guys, brutal truth. Not many on this forum are building guitars for a living and have to use all these "fast" tools. It's the world we live in, it's in everything we do all day long.
So the moral of the story is a sore arm the next day is a welcome reward for a close to perfect surface ready for finishing. Of course, just my .02.

Dave

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God, Family, Carreer

As always thanks for all the input

Richard

How about investing in some PSA backed sandpaper (pressure sensitive adhesive) and applying the paper to various diameters of pvc pipe for hand sanding of inside curves? Also available are some thin rubber pads with one side PSA meant as an interface between paper and handheld sanding pad for higher grits when flat sanding that might be better than the hard pvc for the curves. The rigid core of the pipe will help prevent rounding over to the top and bottom panels.

Hope this is helpful!

A good idea is to do much of the fine sanding up front before the wood is processed into a guitar. I thickness sand the sides and plates and often while they are flat bring out the RO and sand the top, back and sides both inside and out. After you have bent and braced the parts, you will appreciate the work you did up front as sanding goes much quicker. Sometimes I even pore fill the back before bracing it. Much easier while it is flat and much quicker when you do the final pore fill on the box after it's built.

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.