Spindle Dispare

[James Combs]

I have a small four chair Maple dinette set that I am repair/refinishing for a brother-in-law. All repairs(a split seat and some broken spindles) are complete and now I am in the process of refinishing. Does anyone have or know of a simple sanding technique for spindles that are already installed. I normally knock furniture apart including spindles when I refinish and sand the spindles on my lathe but these were too well glued in so I need an "easy" method to lightly sand the spindles in place. I have shoulder pain issues and hand sanding is doing me in. Going to try some 1" wide long cloth backed strips of sanding strips and see how that works but looking for any other suggestions.

[Wayne Lomman]

The simple technique is using your lathe... I save old sandpaper for spindles. 320-400 that is worn till it is like a piece of rag is good for finishing. You could also try scotch pads. They will scuff the finish but won't remove nibs so much. Cheers

[Jim Morgan]

Look for Mitchell Abrasives tapes and cords. Not cheap, but they allow you to get into spaces and places that you could not sand otherwise.