LumberJocks Woodworking Forum banner

Good tricks for sanding inside corners?

21K views 10 replies 11 participants last post by  exelectrician 
#1 · (Edited by Moderator)
Does anyone have any good tricks for sanding inside corners (and well)? I already know well enough to pre-sand everything prior to assemble and avoid having to sand them at all, but there are cases where you just can't avoid it, re-finishing etc. In this particular case I have a headboard/footboard with shoulderless tenons going into mortises in the legs. I taped off as close as I could but I could completely tape if off as I'd end up with pieces of tape stuck where I couldn't remove them. Pre-finsihing wasn't an option. So I got a tiny bit of glue squeeze out which I cleaned up with a chisel plane/chisel but now I have some micro scratches from the chisel I need to sand out. I have a Festool Rotex 90 and using the detail sanding head I can get almost up again the corner but the last ~1/16th is a real pain. Sanding paper on a putty knife helps a little but the scratches are more visible v/s the areas I use the random orbit on. I'm thinking of trying a higher grit, going from 220 to 400, for just that area. I'm probably the only person that will notice but I want this thing perfect.
 
#4 ·
Scraping tight corners is much better than sanding.

Sanding is just a mechanical process developed to allow un-skilled workers to produce pseudo finished goods for mass market consumption by customers who don't know any better or couldn't afford true hand finished goods due to the huge labor expense that would be required.
 
#7 ·
You can make your own custom block by putting some plastic wrap in the corner or what area you are going to sand then apply bondo to the topic the wrap. 5 minutes and you have a custom block. I had to use this method on my front door to remove paint. But scraping is better.
 
#8 · (Edited by Moderator)
I use a v chisel (pfeil - sharp enough to circumsize an ant) for those times I have squeeze out inside.

I have made a scraper with a single edge razor blade.
I can take a burnisher or edge of a chisel (hard steel) and roll a hook onto it.

I usually have used the razor blade scraper to remove a drip of finish. I would put a piece of painters tape on either side of the run, then flex the razor like a small card scraper and get that drip, without accidently diggint into the rest of the surface.

Works well for leveling burn in sticks too.

Have also made sanding sticks by gluing paper to a popsicle stick or tongue depressor, then cutting the shape with Harbor Freight Scissors (buck a pair)

As others have said, scraping works better.
 
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top