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How To: DIY Radiused Sanding Block

tZer

tZer

Mar 9, 2006
6,328
36
58
St. Louis // St. Charles, MO
#1
DIY Radiused Sanding Block
3 5/8" x 15" x 3/4" block w/ 9.5" radius


P1010063.jpg


Recipe:
Take 1 appropriately sized, squared block of wood. Mine came from a scrap of a neck blank after profiling 3 5/8" w by 15" long by 3/4" thick.

Square it, plane it, and mark it with an arc on one end.

Set your router table fence and center on the center line of the block.
I used a 1/16" square bit and gradually routed a channel down the dead center up to the peak of the arc.

Turn the blank around and do it again from the other end.
The first time that is irrelevant, but in subsequent runs that's what give you a symmetrical arc.

Nudge the fence in slightly (about 1/2 a bit width) * - drop the bit a bit to match the arc and run it through up to the arc both directions.

As you nudge and drop, the arc gets carved.

* Thanks to beej for pointing out that I omitted some critical stuff...

Once you rout the center channel, dropping the bit to follow the curve while nudging the fence in small increments to carve shave the channel outward lets you rough out an arc.

Lather, rinse, repeat.

Clean up the stair stepping with a curved scraper. It goes pretty quickly too.

It goes faster than it sounds but taking your time is a good thing and remember, the smaller the increment, the smaller the stair-stepping.

I use 3M spray adhesive to stick on sandpaper. Works like a charm!


IMG_0270.jpg


IMG_0265.jpg
 
#4
tZer said:
DIY Radiused Sanding Block...I used a 1/16" square bit and gradually routed a channel down the dead center up to the peak of the arc.
Click to expand...

Some people may have difficulty sourcing a 1/16" router bit. I found one at my local specialty tool store (*not* at Lowe's or Home Depot), and it is pretty shallow, allowing no more than about 3/16" - 1/4" depth of cut.

Also, and this is speaking directly from experience :eek:, 1/16" bits break SUPER easy, so wear eye protection, use of softer woods would be advised, and taking your time, also... :D
 
#5
SDB Guitars said:
Some people may have difficulty sourcing a 1/16" router bit. I found one at my local specialty tool store (*not* at Lowe's or Home Depot), and it is pretty shallow, allowing no more than about 3/16" - 1/4" depth of cut.

Also, and this is speaking directly from experience :eek:, 1/16" bits break SUPER easy, so wear eye protection, use of softer woods would be advised, and taking your time, also... :D
Click to expand...


Yes - yes - yes - slow and steady - and I worked very gradually. It wasn't hard and yes - you can definitely use much softer wood - and definitely wear protection!!!

All very good suggestions. But you get the concept. It wasn't extraordinary - didn't strain the limits of machine and man ;-) Very doable and very solid results - especially when you consider how useful these are and how long you'll be able to use 'em.
 
#7
Droot said:
Not to throw water on your parade, but I find that attaching the rotor to an arc frame and swinging it side to side works well and would appear to produce the same results with less breakage issues.
Just my two cents,
Droot
Click to expand...

In all honesty, I think tZer's method us more accessible to the average shop user... I, for example, would not want ti try to construct a swinging carriage for my router. Just the thought of that scares the daylights out of me. :ninja:
 
#8
SDB Guitars said:
Also, and this is speaking directly from experience :eek:, 1/16" bits break SUPER easy, so wear eye protection, use of softer woods would be advised, and taking your time, also... :D
Click to expand...

It may help if you use a bigger bit to remove the bulk of the material and then move to the 1/16th bit for the final passes. More time consuming but a lot less wear and tear on your bits.
 
#9
SDB Guitars said:
In all honesty, I think tZer's method us more accessible to the average shop user... I, for example, would not want ti try to construct a swinging carriage for my router. Just the thought of that scares the daylights out of me. :ninja:
Click to expand...

I think most people make far more of this method then it really entails. Without hijacking the thread, consider this picture from a first build.

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although it is slapped together in about 5 min, this "rig" is very simple to build and makes any arc needed. Just a couple of small boards and a table to swing across. The 2x4 sticking up is the sanding block.
Later, Droot
 
#10
That'll do it too, for sure.

I've seen this approach before and considered it but I didn't have a table large enough to accommodate. I have a very small shop with even a smaller space to operate.

But This is definitely equally effective - if not more so. I suppose as long as you end up with a radiused sanding block it's all good, right?
 

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