Sanding Down a Spruce Top by Hand

sequoia

sequoia

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I just built a tenor uke kit that turned great and sounds fabulous. However, I want to customize my next build with a sitka spruce top instead of mahogany. I have obtained a jointed top with a thickness of 0.188 (3/16). I would like to take this down to around .070 by hand sanding(!). Is this doable and when during the process should I cut a rosette channel and install?

Thanks for any advice you can offer.
 
Sanding by hand is totally doable. Do you have access to a random orbital sander? Pretty simple and easy to use a random orbital just be carful about maintaining your desired thickness. You'll want to install your rosette at this stage as well. I like to install the rosette before I have achieved my optimal thickness.
 
For the rosette channel, I'd install in the top at the start. You take note of the depth you install. After install, level the top face, then all remaining material is removed from the back.

I suppose it's possible to hand sand a top, but never in a million years would I attempt it. Far better to use a very sharp and well tuned plane or card scraper. Card scrapers work a treat on hard woods. On very soft woods they are less effective. For instance, I have used them on really hard and stiff spruce, but they are almost totally useless on western red cedar.
 
A hand plane will give you a much cleaner and more predictable result. Of course, you have to sharpen your plane iron (and feather off the corners) and then set the plane up really well. And do try to gain your experience on similar wood but not on the actual soundboard.

I recommend Paul Seller's youtube vids about sharpening and setting up, but there are loads and loads of good information online.

I made a couple of ukes earlier this year without using sandpaper at all, but that was just for the fun of it. The flat surfaces got so good though that I tend to use hand planes a lot more now on other and less dogmatic builds. I still send curly woods through the drum sander but spruce, cherry, walnut and others I plane, and scrape if needed.

Good luck!
 
Funny you should mention that Tarhead because just up the road from me is a friend who is a world renowned cabinet maker who makes nothing but doors for super rich people. He has a drum sander about the size of a small boat. He would do the job free of charge and a six pack of Meyers Hard Lemonade, but you know, I already get all his scrap for ,my kindling for my wood stove and it just doesn't seem right. You know how it is. I've got to do this myself. The hard way.
 
Littleriveruke, Make a batch of brownies for your cabinet maker friend. That way you will still be doing it yourself, but the tasty way.
 
Littleriveruke said:
Funny you should mention that Tarhead because just up the road from me is a friend who is a world renowned cabinet maker who makes nothing but doors for super rich people. He has a drum sander about the size of a small boat. He would do the job free of charge and a six pack of Meyers Hard Lemonade, but you know, I already get all his scrap for ,my kindling for my wood stove and it just doesn't seem right. You know how it is. I've got to do this myself. The hard way.
Click to expand...

Take advantage of the drum sander you will be glad you did. Hand sanding down to the desired thickness is a pain. Or do as Pete mentioned but that means having a vacuum chuck, its hard to hold a piece down that thin. Plus it gives you a moment to hang out in a cabinet shop for 5 minutes.
 
If you don't have a plane, then chisel your way through most of it (across the grain). Then scrape/sand the last bit. I use that method on backs sometimes when I need to tear through a lot of thickness in a hurry. Also on African blackwood, because it eats planes for breakfast.

But make sure you do your thinning from the back side, incase you end up with any small divots left over from the chisel that would result in having to over-thin to get a clean show face. Small divots on the inside won't hurt anything.
 
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