Raised panel sanding question

[Dave Zellers]

...you may need to make a profiled sanding block.

Wow- I'm just now starting to read this thread, and that was my exact first thought and here it is on the first reply.

Now to read the other replies.

[Dave Zellers]

What do you guys use to better sand that rounded profile on the end grain of the panels? I usually sand with 120 grit and then med scotch pads but that doesn't seem to be enough this time as I'm getting some blotching.

Are you saying these are not traditional 12º or 15º flat profiles but rather a curved profile raised panel? If that's the case, careful hand sanding up to 220, raising the grain and sand some more might be the way to go, all before assembly of course.

I agree that when you are cutting the panels, a final pass with a sharp cutter that takes off the final 32nd of an inch can eliminate a lot of sanding.

[J.R. Rutter]

I demo'd one of those pneumatic profile sanders for a week and couldn't quite get it to work for me. These days, I just use a small orbit 5" with a soft pad (3M). The 3M discs with lots of tiny holes works well. 180 or 220 grit depending on the wood.

[Martin Wasner]

I demo'd one of those pneumatic profile sanders for a week and couldn't quite get it to work for me. These days, I just use a small orbit 5" with a soft pad (3M). The 3M discs with lots of tiny holes works well. 180 or 220 grit depending on the wood.

What about when you've got a bead, or a flat going to a lip at the edge of the profiles? A regular orbital with a soft pad works fine on a scoop, but I wouldn't do well with the other profiles I make. Even the ogee panel raiser would be tough.

[Rick Alexander]

Are you saying these are not traditional 12º or 15º flat profiles but rather a curved profile raised panel? If that's the case, careful hand sanding up to 220, raising the grain and sand some more might be the way to go, all before assembly of course.

I agree that when you are cutting the panels, a final pass with a sharp cutter that takes off the final 32nd of an inch can eliminate a lot of sanding.

It's the standard Freud Ogee profile panel raiser (carbide). Just getting use to my 3HP shaper with the cutter facing down and even though it will do the cut in one pass I'm seeing I'll have to do a second light pass to get better results like you guys mentioned. I've used my ROS before with mixed results but I hate when you can see the crisp profile altered with sanding you get with a ROS. I'd rather sand by hand than that but that also will mess up that crisp transition line at the corners. I'm wondering if maybe I could make that final pass using a router table with the same profile bit but the speed bumped up a little. I think my shaper cutter is a deeper/different cut however even though I have a Freud router bit in the same profile - probably wouldn't work. I know when I use to do this with my router table the results were cleaner/smoother for sure. This is red oak by the way. I'm going to try it anyway on a test piece before I get to the panels step. I also might could slow the feeder down a little - probably not much - as it's pretty slow now - any slower might burn the cut. We'll see.

I have 22 to do so anything to make this easier would be worth looking into - well other than a $400 air tool.

[Mark Bolton]

Assuming you are raising your panels with a feeder? Perhaps try your final pass with a climb cut at your feeders lowest feed speed. You may be able to get away with very little sanding.

[Martin Wasner]

Assuming you are raising your panels with a feeder? Perhaps try your final pass with a climb cut at your feeders lowest feed speed. You may be able to get away with very little sanding.

I used to have to climb cut when I was doing it on a yellow shaper to get the best results. You can pretty much forget about dust collection doing anything though.


22 isn't bad. Even if you do them by hand you shouldn't have more than a couple hours into doing it that way. It'll be unpleasant though.

I prefer running the cutter above the panel. I don't know if there really is any difference other than your panels need to be spot on for thickness to get a consistent tongue when it's below. If I were running them by hand, I'd probably want it below though.

[Mark Bolton]

I used to have to climb cut when I was doing it on a yellow shaper to get the best results. You can pretty much forget about dust collection doing anything though.

I dont climb cut them very often other than in b*tchy materials. I have a separate dust boot on a floor stand that I can move and position anywhere needed to pick up as much of the material thats thrown out of reach of the fence. We do a lot of dimensioning on the shaper so its often times like a TS in that the cutter is slinging chips out the outboard side. It doesnt get 100% but probably 98. Its really handy when your doing fixtured profile work by hand with no fence or dust shoe whatsoever. You can usually set yourself up with it in a position that shoots all the chips right into the boot.

[J.R. Rutter]

What about when you've got a bead, or a flat going to a lip at the edge of the profiles? A regular orbital with a soft pad works fine on a scoop, but I wouldn't do well with the other profiles I make. Even the ogee panel raiser would be tough.

Beads and such just get a quick swipe with 220. I do Ogees with the ROS. Light touch moving in and out from the edge and then light passes on the flatter sections lengthwise. Once you get some practice, the corners stay crisp.

I dont climb cut them very often other than in b*tchy materials. I have a separate dust boot on a floor stand that I can move and position anywhere needed to pick up as much of the material thats thrown out of reach of the fence. We do a lot of dimensioning on the shaper so its often times like a TS in that the cutter is slinging chips out the outboard side. It doesnt get 100% but probably 98. Its really handy when your doing fixtured profile work by hand with no fence or dust shoe whatsoever. You can usually set yourself up with it in a position that shoots all the chips right into the boot.

I do a style of thick drawer faces with a raised panel profile to match the door panels. Since there can't be edge chipping, I climb cut them in one pass and run a second DC hose like you that has a shroud to fit against the fence and the outlet of the feeder. Gets most chips, 98% seems right.

[Max Neu]

I stopped getting real particular on the end grains,just sand them the same as the long grain.Then we seal the end grains with Sealcoat shellac cut with alcohol (4 parts alcohol,1 part shellac),then scuff before assembly. You will need to experiment a little to find the right ratio to get the right stain penetration depending on the stain you use.Our end grains match the long grains perfectly. I think the added step of sealing the end grains far out weighs tedious sanding and inconsistency of staining raw end grains.