powersanding and corners

For those who power-sand , how do you approach sharp inside corners, such as at the bottom of a footed bowl? Do you use discs that match the backup pad diameter in order to get closer into the corner, or the larger discs that are typically used inside bowls to avoid digging in, and accept that there will be a wider hand-sanded area? Do you find any problems in finishing between the power and hand sanded parts?

For what it's worth, I use a close quarter drill for most sanding and a Grex random orbit for the final stage where possible. If I stop at 320 with the Grex I hand sand to 400.

I hand sand near any details/sharp edges that I want to keep well defined. power sanding works well for the broad spaces, but if I spent extra care to get the details turned nice and sharp I want them to stay that way. If necessary, scraping with hand scrapers. By the time I get to sanding around the foot a few more minutes of hand work is actually a nice way to end the process.
If its not obvious, I’m not doing production work here...

Yes, of course details need to be hand sanded. I'm curious how people deal with the transition areas when using both power and hand sanding on the same piece.

Power sanding is generally faster than hand sanding. Slow speeds only on the power sanding. I get as close as I can to any detail with the power sanding, and then sand by hand around the detail. Of course, the cleaner your cuts are, the less sanding you do. I am not sure if this is what you are asking or not. If you power sand right up to the detail, you can damage the detail. If you have a disc that is exactly the same size as your interface pad, you may be able to get a bit closer. You never can get the pad exactly centered, so there is always that 'error' to contend with. Also, the edge of the pad can leave 80 grit scratch marks, and so can the abrasive disc. The more flexible discs are not as much of a problem that way than the thicker paper discs I used to use.

robo hippy

I guess what I really was asking is, do you try to get in closer to details by using a disc the same size as the pad rather than the oversize ones? I have been using the "wave" type discs and staying well away from the corners. Now I need to restock and am considering getting some exact size discs as well to work in a little closer. Perhaps the question is academic as it is never worth getting in too close and losing the definition. Thanks for the replies.

I use same size discs to get close to the foot, and save the oversized discs for the inside of the bowl.

For what it is worth, I tried one set of the wave discs years ago and didn't like them, in part because they cost more and didn't cut any better. I have been using the blue discs from Vince Welch/vinceswoodNwonders since he came out how ever many years ago that was. Sizes are 2 3/8 and 3 3/8 diameter. They cut faster and longer than any other abrasive I have used. He does have some pads that are the same size as the discs, but most of his pads are undersized, or maybe I should say standard sized. Again, when sanding close to a detail, you have to watch that edge of the disc and the pad.

robo hippy

IMHO, the way to deal with this issue is not through sanding disks that are over-sized v right-sized v wavy, it's by changing the stiffness of the interface (or is it inner-face?) pad. If I'm sanding up to a sharp detail, like the edge of the concavity on the bottom of a bowl, I use a harder interface pad so the sanding disk doesn't deform and blunt the detail. If I'm trying to blend and smooth, I use a softer pad. All the pads I use are the same diameter as the disks -- I use the blue ones from Vince's also, but I buy the interface pads he sells that have (essentially) the same diameter (usually 2-3/8"). I have the mandrels, pads, and discs for 1" and 3" too, but I find I rarely use them. But the pad size that's best for you depends on the work you do. I spend a lot of time in the 10-13" bowl range, and I like 2-3/8" for that.

Best,

Dave