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Thread: How Do You Sand the Edges of Door Parts"

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Ypsilanti, MI
    Posts
    45

    How Do You Sand the Edges of Door Parts"

    My raised panel router bits leave an ogee profile on the edges of both the frame and the panel parts.

    No matter what finish I'm going for these edges have to be sanded. I've been using a selection of rubber blocks with various sized concave/convex curves, and laboriously going thru the grits with them, by hand.

    While this gives good results it's painfully slow and extends the time factor by a significant amount.

    Any other ideas out there to speed this up?
    Larry Prince
    Ridge Custom WoodWorks
    Ypsilanti, MI

    All opinions contained herein belong to Suzy. I had absolutely no input whatsoever.

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Nov 2005
    Location
    International Falls, MN
    Posts
    766
    Larry

    I usually sand the panel before I put the door together. I use a belt sander with a 120 grit belt in it. Then I sand all 4 edges on the panel. I sand with the direction they were run through the bit. So on 2 sides you are sanding against the grain. With 120 you can't see the marks. I only sand the rail and style profile if there is some bad grain or tear on the grain. After the door is together I belt sand both sides again and hit the corners were you have the 2 pieces coming together quick with a RO sander. Then I just knock down the sharp edges a bit and sand the outside profile the way it went through the machine. Thats it.

    Hope that helps.

    Quinn

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Mar 2003
    Location
    SE PA - Central Bucks County
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    65,688
    There are some sanders that have the ability to take custom sanding pads you make to the contour you need. That's about the only way you can do this outside of the hand-sanding methods you are currently using. Festool's LS 130 is an example of such a tool. They have a "custom profiles" pad kit for just what you are talking about.
    --

    The most expensive tool is the one you buy "cheaply" and often...

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Feb 2004
    Location
    Sapulpa, OK
    Posts
    880
    The only part of the rail and stile that I sand is the corner of the groove. I just use a square block with 120 paper and make a couple of swipes at it. It cleans up any small knicks on the edge. I sand the panel before assembly with a ROS. You have to hold it at a slight angle to get the profile, but works well. After assembly, I run them through the drum sander lightly, then run the outside edge detail and sand with the ROS to remove any sanding marks made by drum sander Then hinge and mount.

  5. #5
    Hi Larry, I never have to sand the rail and stile profile. Good quality tooling and a power feeder makes all the differnce here. The panel profile is sanded with the sander Jim refered to with custom pads I shaped to fit the various profiles.

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Jan 2006
    Location
    Mt. Pleasant, MI
    Posts
    2,924
    Make a very fine final cut on the profile and your sanding should be reduced to nothing. It is one of the reason I like to run shaper cutters instead of separate routers for profiles. Nice clean cuts with no sanding.

    You will need to make sure the bits are sharp.

    When I have to sand the stick/cope profile it is a soft pad and a few swipes by hand.

    Joe
    JC Custom WoodWorks

    For best results, try not to do anything stupid.

    "So this is how liberty dies...with thunderous applause." - Padmé Amidala "Star Wars III: The Revenge of the Sith"

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Aug 2005
    Location
    Northern New Jersey
    Posts
    1,958
    I agree with Joe. A very light final pass with the router bit works wonders. However, it may be not be helpful for you now.

    I would probably stay with hand sanding using rubber profiles and soft sanding pads. Unfortunately, it becomes rather boring. But, it is effective and doesn't cost much.

    -Jeff

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Location
    east coast of florida
    Posts
    1,482
    Yes; a very fine final cut will reduce/eliminate sanding. I start out with the fence and make to passes with the second being about 1/32 or less from the bearing and the make a final pass using the bearing. If you have all your pieces ready to cut it doesn't take much longer to do the cuts.

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