Building without sandpaper

Sven

Well-known member
Joined
Dec 4, 2008
Messages
1,398
Reaction score
5
Location
Stockholm, Sweden
I go on and on about hand tools and planes, and I know I must bore some of of you with it. But the last couple of days I've been working on two new cherry piccolos that I'll make without using sandpaper.

It started out when I wanted to reduce some very uneven plates before sending them through my drum sander, I went at it with a hand plane and then just kept going with other planes.

NB: I'm not saying this will improve the appearance of the finished ukes in any way but I've been thinking about this for a while without following through. But I've practiced hand planing and now I'm able to get to 1.6 - 1.7 mm even thickness and beautifully smooth surfaces so I just might pull it off.

The necks will be harder. I carve my necks but usually finish them with sandpaper to ease out any carving marks.

It's great fun and since I do this as a hobby it won't cost me money in a slower production. I have an ache in my back from planing for two hours, but it's a good ache - I feel as if I worked out last night.

See the pics (and read this info again) at
http://argapa.blogspot.se/2014/02/hard-core-building.html

This is seemingly low tech but you really need a decent technique, fairly good planes and wood that isn't too difficult. I couldn't have done this a while back so I still recommend those starting out that they build, buy or borrow a drum sander for thicknessing. If you want to use hand planes you shouldn't work on small plates either, clamping them down and then working around the clamps was quite hard.

Sven
 
Why? Seems like you are not using resources that will ease the pain in your back. Nothing wrong with sand paper. You can always use scrapers to finish when you are done with the paper.
 
It's actually quite a 'clean' and much faster way of working when using hand tools. It's actually less pain! Scraper is much faster than going through the grits.You are also never covered in clouds of dust. I don't really see the point of using a scraper after using sandpaper. There just shouldn't be the need. Seems to me that it's a perfectly valid way of making instruments if you don't want to go down the noisier power tool path. A few years ago I made a Terz guitar that was completely finished by using scrapers (I cheated on the back of the Neck and used an abrasive). It was finished in the same manner that the good Violin makers employ. So you don't end up with a super smooth, very flat finish. You are left with a bit of texture showing through the wood. Not 'rough' or unskilled (actually it requires more skill). I suppose the more common term would be 'organic'. Which is exactly how I would describe it. You just have to get over the idea that a fine finish equates to something that looks like a billiard ball.
 
Thanks for the replies. I started on the sides yesterday and it's quite fast. I can reach final thickness with the first tool and have a perfect surface without any marks from grit. I find it cumbersome to change grits at the right time, when I reach final thickness in the sander I often have marks from coarse paper because I used it for one pass too many.

Because it's fun, innit! I only build for fun.
 
I only use one grit on the drum sander 80G .....Hand sanding I sometimes go as fine as 120 G ....Mrs Timbuck does the rest. :)
 
120 G produces some pretty deep, visible scratches. Shellac will fill them. A thin Oil varnish will magnify them by a factor of 100.
 
I too build for fun. Keep at it the way that gives you most enjoyment. Some of the wood I use with crazy curly grain does not like being planed at all and presents many problems.
 
I planed and bent the sides today. Usually I aim to build one at the time, but with piccolos it's so easy I'm alright with two. (Once I made a batch of five and never again, went on for ever. Stringing and tuning was horrible.)

http://www.argapa.blogspot.se/2014/02/hand-planed-sides.html

Thats the bit I don't like Svenie....Dressing frets (boring), Fitting tuner pegs , Filing nut slots (hope I don't go to far), setting the saddle hight , fitting new strings that take forever to stretch into tune...But I do like that moment when the uke produces it's first sound...It's Like the Doc smacking a newborn on the butt and hearing that first cry :D.
 
What we consider sanding really wasn't even available 30 years ago. In the sense of: Durability and cut quality of the paper; cost of the paper; ROS; cheap drum sanders; extraction. When I got into this stuff 35 years ago, I remember visiting a pro boat builder's shop who was cold molding canoes. He was over the top with his new General planer. 2K. 40 years ago you could buy half a volvo for that, or half a Buick Skylark. Today for the cost of a one month trainpass you can buy a planer or a drum sander.

As to say, it was ever thus. All this stuff was done by hand for years. And today the hand tools; sharpening gear; and in many ways the wood; is all better. AAA soundboards, are to planing, what a trip to the alps is to skiing. Why would you want to miss out on that. Some other wood isn't so much fun, but that is what they made curved blades and toothing blades for. As Frank Klausz says (with great energy in his tone): "Hand work IS production!"
 
Last edited:
The subject on how to shape a neck has been covered pretty thoroughly here, and Ken's recent development in jig mastery is hard to top, as is the speed of huge belt sanders. My labour intensive and very time consuming quest for making these ukes as simple as possible continued over the weekend with carving the necks. I always shape my necks with knives, a contour plane and chisels, but this time I won't resort to sandpaper to eliminate any mistakes or even out any irregularities left from carving. So it has to be right from the start, meaning carving with extremely sharp knives.

No doubt some marks will be visible, but they will be good marks as opposed to gouge marks, torn splinters and other nastiness. I was lucky with the grain direction and cherry is very easy and compliant.

Link to blog post:
http://www.argapa.blogspot.se/2014/03/carving-necks-for-zero-sanding-ukes.html

Sven
 
I love my scrapers, although im quite new to them. I also have the stew mac one which is a nice addition.
scrapers.jpg
 
Fanx guys, I already have that Carruth scraper. I chose the small one. A hassle to sharpen if you need to adjust the hollow ground edge, but they can be sort of revived by lapping the sides on a whetstone.
 
I got a set from woodcraft, I loved them for neck shaping,,, until they got dull. I know the "process" of sharpening them, but I haven't been able to actually achive anything close to how sharp they were at first. may sound silly ,, but a large Bowie type knife can suffice as a scraper, not as good but workable
 
Here's a pic from this morning. I'm about half way through the french polishing and it's looking quite good. There are a couple of spots that reveal the no sanding rule, mainly on the back of the necks. But hey, if it wasn't visible anywhere I'd have a hard time explaining it!

Yesterday I sanded a set of rosewood for back and sides for an upcoming build, but chose to plane the spruce top. And man, that spruce came alive. It's hard, smooth and shiny (insert joke here) already. With my experience from these cherry ukes I think I'll keep to planing soundboards from now on. If it's not extra curly or anything that is.

You can see all posts on these concept builds if you click this link here:

http://www.argapa.blogspot.se/search/label/Zero sanding

blogger-image--2009275629.jpg
 
Top Bottom