Help, Help, & Help

[Ed Hardin]

OK fellas, I'm not a turner and do not have a lathe. So what am I doing here?
Well, I'm doing some carving and have carved a small platter. Now, How and what with do I sand and/or polish the thing up with. I have a BIG Jet buffer sander. What do I put on it to buff and sand etc. thanks for the help.

[John Hart]

Well Ed, I've seen some pretty awesome looking whittled dinnerware, so I think that's pretty cool, but it's hard to speculate on a finishing method without knowing the wood type or seeing a pic or two. I usually decide on a finish depending on the piece. Can you elaborate a bit? :)

[Dennis Peacock]

Howdy Ed,

As John stated, we need a wee bit more info....but I'll give it a shot anyway.
Carved pieces can be from any kind of wood, but most are from Basswood, Birch, Mahogany, Teak, Poplar, and etc. I'm guessing that your platter is not of a very soft wood but one that is firm enough to handle being a platter. So-o-o-o-o-o....I'd sand all I could with a ROS, then hand sand the rest by going through the grits up to your final chosen sanding grit. The finish? Sheesh, how's this platter going to be used? Personally? I'd put a hand-rubbed shellac finish on it or maybe even a BLO, Tung Oil, Mineral spirits mix and then hand buff after about 5 days of dying in a warm house.

Sorry, but without more specifics, I'd only be taking more wild guesses. :rolleyes: :D

[Ed Hardin]

Thanks fellas for doing your best. I have done some reading over the weekend. My problem is that I have some sharp curves where the edge meets the bottom. I think I need a bowl sander to take out the cuts made by the arbortech. In that I have never done this type of work before, I had never been confronted with smoothing out rounded corners or steep sides.

Given that information, what do you guys use for smoothing out corners and sides. I have severe arthritis which limits my hand sanding. This is a small red oak platter used for practice. Now that I am into the thing I want to make it as useful, flat, etc as practical.

[John Hart]

Hi Ed,
Sounds to me like you need some sort of a detail sanding aid. I really don't see how you can reduce the amount of sanding....but you can reduce the amount of stress on your joints with specialized handles. Like, take for instance a small file...It works great for rounding corners, but the handles are generally small. A larger handle, allowing for a more open grip may do the trick....Also, your sandpaper can be attached to the file as well using rubber cement.

On the oak.....And this is just me of course....I don't care for the deep ingrain of oak, so I try to fill it in. Generally, I'll sand smooth (150-200 grit), then put some oil down and sand a little more...going to a finer grit...(this fills in the ingrain with the natural color)...then I add a finish. I like an Amber Wipe-on Poly for oak.

[Loy Hawes]

Ed, here is a link that may help you out. This guy does great work and explains his process pretty well.

http://www.xmission.com/~burlturn/rottedpiece/theprocess.htm

[Ed Hardin]

thanks again folks. The most amazing thing about woodworking is that when one turns another page to try something new one finds a whole new woodworking world with its own vocabulary. One never stops learning. The best thing is that the people here go out of their way to be helpful and educate the neophite without making them feel truly dumb.