Best Way To Sand A Tote?

[Derek Arita]

I've been sanding plane totes by hand and my hands are killing me! I'm thinking there must be some kind of 1" belt sander or the like, that is capable of sanding all those curves. Any experience or thoughts?

[John Lanciani]

Look here; http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?231190-quot-Sand-o-Flex-quot-ca-1976&p=2418599&highlight=#post2418599

[glenn bradley]

Your abrasives should be doing the work. If you are working the material like you are kneading the air pockets out of clay, change to fresh paper more often. Your desired end result will drive your method but, if you are stopping around 220, sanding stars or mops may be an option. For Greene & Greene style fingers (which present a large facet of end grain) I use cloth backed abrasives from Klingspor in 120 through 400 or 600 grit 1" wide strips (depending on species) and then (again depending on species) move to a buffer with compounds.

Your totes may be done way before these finer grits but, again, your material and finishing schedule will dictate that to some extent. I am always open to methods that reach the same result with less effort though so I will be watching this thread ;-) A belt sannder like knife makers use (1" x 42" or 2" x 72") run at a lower speed might also be an option.

[Brian W Smith]

"IF" you have a vertical belt sander........

There are two sides to a typical vert sander.Obvious is the platen side....but there is an "offside",or slackbelt side.Take an old belt and riiiiiip about a 3/4 inch wide strip off the edge(belt's edges never get fully used).....put this on the machine and use it on the slackbelt side.

Being lazy......I'll post a pic(one day)of a beautiful 70's,Rockwell 10" BS that we converted to a bandsander.We use epoxy/scarfed joint methods to make custom length,1/2" wide belts.Don't use it too terribly much,but it is an absolute charmer to use.

Sometimes it's easier(safer) to do contour work with a finer grit because it doesn't "waste" edges like a more coarse action would.THEN,when done we'll hand sand,VERY carefully,with whatever grit(like 220) is needed for either,finish or glue.