Woodworking Noob, Small Reshaping Project. Which type of sander?

[KayXero]

Hey All,

I am going to try my hand at reshaping a bass that has more of a slab body. Thought this was the right forum for it. The goal is to round over the edges to get a more modern look and feel.

That said, I have been messing around in photoshop and may even get more aggressive on the shape changes. In which case I may need to invest

If I am just rounding edges...I have an orbital sander, but wonder if its the right tool. For a newbie who's not done this before...am I on the right path? How about a 1/4 palm sander? Or perhaps some sort of oscillating sander?

Thanks for any input.

 

[Beej]

Using an RO sander will work if that's what you have. Depending on what kind of wood it's made of, I'd probably start with 60 grit for some aggressive shaping and then go up from there. I'd recommend sanding any flat surfaces with a block so that you can get them flat again after using the RO on them.

 

[Jeff Siddall]

Yes, I agree with @Beej, you can absolutely make a bass body rounded over with an orbital sander (or even just sandpaper)! But if you want a heavy roundover (are you thinking Ibanez type roundover?) then you will get there faster and more consistently with a router and a roundover bit. However, if you have never done anything like that there is a learning curve. I would definitely recommend starting on a piece of scrap wood and learning about traditional and climb cutting, and how to choose the right direction of cut based on the wood grain.

 

[Slidlow]

Wood rasps. Good place to start and you can go slow. Sanding last to smooth everything out. They are available at most any hardware store.

 

[dwizum]

It can be easy to get lumpy results doing this kind of work by hand. Make sure you're taking long sweeping passes along the bass's natural curves and paying attention to holding the tool in a consistent way, at the same angle, as you work.

One trick to help keep things smooth is to lightly sketch some guide lines in pencil along the curves to give yourself a target to follow as you work.

 

[buldog5151bass]

I would use the orbital sander. Rasps are better when you have more experience, but the larger surface of the sander makes it easier to keep the edge profile even.

 

[themickster]

Have a good dust mask on. Wood dust has been found to be as bad as asbestos. The mask will need to filter microscopic dusts.

 

[T_Bone_TL]

Flap wheel on an angle grinder! Go loaded for bear! (or, y'know, perhaps not for your first whack at it, but dang they will reshape things pronto.)

 

[TomB]

Flap wheel on an angle grinder! Go loaded for bear! (or, y'know, perhaps not for your first whack at it, but dang they will reshape things pronto.)

Jeez, Mon, you could have nothing but a pile of sawdust in no time with that baby

 

[bherman]

Orbital is fine, just be careful not to get aggressive. They can remove material quickly. Practice on a 2x4.

 

[Reedt2000]

I just used a small palm sander, starting w 60 grit, to do an arm bevel on the Peavey parts project.

I clamped a strip of scrap across the area where the bevel starts as a guide and worked from the side in to it, then did some hand blending into the body lines. I second the mask recommendation for dust, there will be a ton of it.

 

[Tommy Sparks]

Another vote for the orbital sander.
You can remove a lot of material fast with an 80 or 100 grit disk. I haven’t pulled out my belt sander in years and don’t recommend trying one.

 

[fhm555]

If this is an occasional thing or one time situation, do it by hand. It will take a minute but it will give you greater appreciation for the result. It will also be much harder to mess it up without power tools.

 

[Honkey tonk]

Belt sander clamped to a bench

 

[DiabolusInMusic]

Have a good dust mask on. Wood dust has been found to be as bad as asbestos. The mask will need to filter microscopic dusts.

This, especially depending on what kind of wood you're using.

I also would have went with a rasp but I am far from a pro here. Like, real far.

 

[james condino]

Start with a hair dryer to see if you can heat up and scrape off the majority of that old finish first. Then move to sanding.

 

[tr4252]

I also think a router would be best, if you had one and have had any experience with them. You'd get a much more consistant radius. fhm, themickster, and dwizum have made good points; use hand rools to avoid overly agressive stock removal, draw your edge limits, do your roughing with rasps (fine ones, not the sort blacksmiths use), etc.

I would like to add; Make yourself a radius gauge to constantly check your accuracy as you progress. It could be made of cardboard (not corrugated, but the stuff they make cereal boxes out of), plastic, or wood, etc. It would look like a capital letter L with your chosen radius in the inside corner. Also, for smoothing and fine coutouring, a sanding block (or several) is very useful. For work of this type I generally use a "block" of about 1/8" - 1/4" x 2" x 10" - 12", and handle it like I would a file. By the time you get to that point 150 - 220 grit paper would be appropriate. Use good quality sandpaper; garnet or silicon carbide; the cheap stuff will only frustrate you. I curve the surface on one or two of these file shaped blocks to contour inner curves.

This is an easy job, not really requiring power tools, though a router would be quicker and more precise. If you decide to use sanding blocks/sticks as I suggested, a quick google search will turn up enough tutorials on how to get the most out of files. Take it slow;you can't put material back on once it's removed.

Good luck.

Tom

 

[themickster]

This, especially depending on what kind of wood you're using.

I also would have went with a rasp but I am far from a pro here. Like, real far.

Start the biggest carving with the rasp and sand when you get near to the shape you want

 

[Slidlow]

Seriously this heel was made with a carving knife, half round wood rasp and finished off with some small metal files and sandpaper. Take a scrap piece of wood and try it out. You can mark lines to guide yourself. Slow and easy and less dramatic then power tools.

 

[M0ses]

Buying a power tool for a one-off job like this is not the way to go IMHO. You will get more predictable results with a slow and steady approach with rasp, file, and hand-applied sandpaper.