Sanding those tight corners

[Magpie]

I'm doing a palm tree intarsia and it's going pretty well, I think, except the leaves have really sharp corners that are difficult to get into to round down the piece the way I want to. Right now I'm using sandpaper taped to a flat file ;p Any suggestions?

I do have a Dremel, but it doesn't seem to have any useful ends in the box, and I can't get to the borg right now to see what else they may have. The intarsia stuff is going really well--I'd just like to cut down on my hand sanding if I can, it's painful. You all have turned me into a serious sawdust addict, though--I even dream at night about what patterns to do next!

[Mick Walker]

Magpie, Right now I'm using sandpaper taped to a flat file. Just curious, what is the matter with the file?
I have never tried intarsia, mostly scrolled portraits and scenic cuttings.

[Tor]

I have not done intarsia, only a closely related art, marquetry, which is done all in the flat, so I haven't run into that myself. I would expect Jeff or Janette to be able to help you.

Tor

[Magpie]

I want the leaves really rounded, and the file is sllooowwww, especially since I don't have much hand strength. It works OK, though, I just thought there might be something better. I'm mechanically inadequate so I don't know much about tools, lol, but I love design and wood, so I must learn! I'm too broke to buy a lot more books, but on this board... I have always depended on the kindness of strangers

[thecopperfish]

I do intarsia and there is a tool that might help you. Here is a link to it. http://www.homedepot.com/webapp/wcs/...cStoreNum=8125
On these type sanders the plate that stands up behind the narrow belt usually is removable and you can slide the belt inbetween a couple of pieces that are close together.
I found another one of the same style at Harbor Freight and it is a lot cheaper, here is the link to it http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/cta...temnumber=2485
I don't know if this will help or not, I hope so.
Chris

[Wood Dog]

Magpie have you thought of putting sandpaper instead of a ss blade in your saw. Check out this video with Steve Good. Just a thought.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=itRhXfyk-v8&sdig=1

[lucky788scroller]

If buying the tool Chris suggested is not an option, buy a couple of the one inch wide sanding belts. Clamp your piece to the table, and holding that sanding belt in both hands like a long stretched out loop, work it like a saw in those tight V areas . By moving your hands at different angles to the wood as you sand (use long strokes) you can achieve any profile you wish. Using a pretty coarse one first to rough out your shape, followed by a finer grit, you should have just the look your striving for. With hand pain though, this method may not be healthy for you. There also is a 'bow saw' marketed online that would work for you as well, but it does require using your hands too. Hopefully your hand strength will come back, and hopefully you'll find something that works out for you. Dale

[Magpie]

Well, it's good to be lucky I was reading all of your posts at work, and my friend who drew my name for Christmas was reading over my shoulder, and handed me a credit card and said, "Get that sander, Merry Christmas!" So, as usual, thanks for all your great advice. I actually will ending up using all these methods, I expect, because there's always that one piece that just won't go...

thanks again!

[lucky788scroller]

See.... there IS a Santa Claus!!! Congrats, you must have been on his good list! Dale

[workin for wood]

Just so you know, I use carving chisels. The v chisels get into the tightest v's you can possible make, then there's flat chisels and gouges that are round for inside and for outside round edges. Seems silly in theory, but with a descent set of sharp chisels I can remove more material at a much faster rate and with better control that you can with a sander or even a rotary tool with a huge roughing burr on it. It does not require much in the way of physical effort either as long as the chisels are properly taken care of. A good set of chisels will outlast any power tool you can ever buy, so that is an investment.

See my avatar...it's tough to see the details in such a small picture, but it's all chisel work. I'm think she's in the scroller galleries too, if you want to see the details better to see why chisels are what you need to ask santa for. Lucky us, we have a carving site here provided by ssw where you can learn to use and maintain chisels, which would eventually become your best friend.

have fun, be safe.