Got to be a better way

[texaswoodworker]

Does anyone know of a way to sand inside fretwork faster than doing it by hand?

PS. Do you sand the insides to a fine finish or is it ok to leave it a little rough (smooth but with a few blade marks here and there).

[wood-n-things]

I try and get them smooth...I use hand files, they come in a variety of shapes. I also use an emory board which can be attached and used like a scroll saw blade.
I use dental burrs I get from my dentist, dremel with attachments, rolled up sandpaper, sandpaper on a dowel, dental floss dipped in glue and then dipped in sand and let dry...

[texaswoodworker]

Thanks for the help.

[Cashmere Scroller]

This may sound a little sick and twisted, but I find sanding the inner frets relaxing. I can, or could go out on the porch and sit in my comfy chair with my green tea (no sawdust, thank You ) and just take my time. Then of coarse I'm not on a time limit either. I give my stuff to friends and neighbors. So to me the time is well spent.

Ron C.

[texaswoodworker]

I can't relax when I sand fretwork. I'm always worrying about pieces breaking off. I can relax when I sand simpler and less fragile projects.

[Bill Wilson]

When you talk about sanding fretwork, do you mean to smooth the occasional bump where you may have veered off the line a bit or are you getting lots of saw marks on your cuts?

If it's correcting the occasional bumps, I generally use an emery board and/or small files. The goal is to minimize this as much as possible. As for saw marks, to me that means that the blade is too coarse. I rarely go larger than a #7 reverse tooth blade on any fretwork and often use much smaller sizes. The cuts are as smooth as can be and the only sanding required is to correct operator error.

[Forester21]

I rarely if ever sand inside the frets. If I have to fix something by sanding I will use an emery board.
T

[Ocelot]

I usually only have a bit of touch up inside frets and most of that is the fuzzies. I think part of it is a combination of blade type, wood type and cutting speed. Since I switched to the good FD blades, and especially the Ultra Reverse, I've had very smooth cuts.
In fact, in hard wood like maple, the cuts often have a nice smooth sheen on them and no need for sanding.

Ray

[Mick Walker]

Aaron, with the blades I use no sanding is required. I used to make my own sanding strips. Use emory cloth cut in 5" strips. For 1/4" sanding strip cut it 1/2" wide. Fold in half lengthwise, clamp in saw and sand.

[texaswoodworker]

Thanks for the suggestions.