Keeping bevel transitions sharp when hand sanding?

JG Custom Metal Works

JG Custom Metal Works

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Nov 27, 2013
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So I'm trying to get better at maintaining the sharpness of the transitions when hand sanding. What I do a lot of the time is do the hand sand the main bevel and then do the flats with the surface grinder(belts, not wheel). The issue I'm having now for instance is when I try and touch up one of the surfaces, or remove a mark/scratch, the sandpaper will end up touching the other surface across the transition(which a lot of times is going in a different direction). I use a flattened out piece of 1084 as my sandpaper holder. I don't wrap the paper around it multiple times. The paper is just the single layer against the 1084, with both the ends coming up from the front a rear, and being pinched together at the top. When doing clips or swedges I use my grinder, but I'd like to sand them by hand too.

Any of you guys have any tips or advice? I'd appreciate any help.

Oh, and I've watched Nick Wheeler's hand sanding videos many times. I have a decent grasp of hand sanding, I'm just kind of stuck.
 
if your sandpaper isnt really tight on the sanding backer it can bunch up and wash out your grind lines, if you radius one edge of the sanding backer you can pull the sandpaper on a lot tighter. i like to think grind lines are the same as an edge bevel, if you wash it out its dull and you have to sharpen it again.
 
Maybe you can try using double sided tape to tape the sand paper flat to your sanding backer. What I use is a piece of precision ground O1 tool steel, not heat treated. It's a bit of a pain to change the sand paper but It's just time and that isn't so bad since it's a hobby for me.
 
Cut your sandpaper to the size of your sanding stick. Spray glue it to the stick. Then it doesn't move and bunch up ruining your crisp lines.
 
Treewizard- that's a good idea on the radiused edge on the backer. I'm gonna try that here in a few minutes.

Shaker- so you use double sided tape? What kind? Does it come off easy?

Frank- I'm not quite sure I understand you. I believe my blade is straight, other than when I do a tapered tang.

Nick- is that what you do? Is there a specific spray glue you use? Any advice on how to remove it and get the surface underneath smooth and free of residue?

Thanks a bunch guys, I really appreciate it.
 
Just to say that I too am interested in the answers for this as I have the same problem. When I asked the question I was directed to the Nick Wheeler video which I had already studied


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Yeah I do that if I'm keeping a line crisp. I use the cheapo stuff from Walmart. It isn't super sticky but I noticed I can spray my sanding bar once and get thru an entire grit without having to spray it again. When I need to clean it off I wipe it down with acetone. Radiusing the front edge of your bar also helps you see what ur sanding better and gives you a tighter pull with the pinch grip mentioned above.
 
The was I was taught to keep crisp lines on clips and swedges was to when you are grinding at an angle on the main bevel so all of the scratches are going one way. Then when you move to the clip or the flat make it so the scratches meet at the transition like below.

the lines on the knife idicate the scratches from hand sanding.

BJ5P8wx.png
 
I use the spray adhesive, a few company's make it but 3M is most common. I spray it on the sand paper and let it set. I then gently heat my steel sanding bar and the paper sticks easly to the steel. I then rip it of using the steel as the straight edge.
 
J. Piontek said:
The was I was taught to keep crisp lines on clips and swedges was to when you are grinding at an angle on the main bevel so all of the scratches are going one way. Then when you move to the clip or the flat make it so the scratches meet at the transition like below.

the lines on the knife idicate the scratches from hand sanding.

BJ5P8wx.png
Click to expand...

How does that keep the transitions straight? Not sure if you're understanding me. What I mean is, when hand sanding a bevel sometimes the sandpaper touches the flats, causing little scratches and washing out the transition. I'm try to get things so I can sand just one area and keep the transition line real crisp
 
JG Custom Metal Works said:
How does that keep the transitions straight? Not sure if you're understanding me. What I mean is, when hand sanding a bevel sometimes the sandpaper touches the flats, causing little scratches and washing out the transition. I'm try to get things so I can sand just one area and keep the transition line real crisp
Click to expand...

Ah I get what you are saying now. Tightening the sand paper should help with this. I have been using using psa sand paper from car body shops you can buy it by the roll. Its sticky on the back side. Just cut it and stick it on your sanding stick.
 
Shaker- so you use double sided tape? What kind? Does it come off easy?
Just whatever they have at Wallmart. I thinks its for carpets double sided carpet tape. Depending on the width of your block you may need to trim it. I have a 1 inch wide piece of precision ground 01 then i just cut off 1 inch wide strips of sandpaper from a sheet . The carpet tape is 1 inch wide so that works out good. .whatever you use just trim it so nothing is hanging over the edge of your sanding block and you should be good.
 
Use golf tape it works best for this sort of stuff. Your sanding stick has a lot to do with it. I used to use my surface grinder to do flats but it won't match the handrub. I hollow grind so all my sanding blocks are radiused and I still struggle sometimes not to washout lines. It's all about pressure and patience.
 
On nicks video at one point he uses I think he called it PSA paper. Anyway it's self adhering. Just cut, peel, stick, repeat.
 
I wonder if feathering adhesive would work. The stuff used to fixed sandpaper to disks, and removes easy.

Also, I wonder if EDM stones mightbe a good option? I know that they probably wear down in certain spots when you use them, but I imagine there's a method for straightening them. Hell, I could glue a little piece of sheet metal to one side and then stick it onto the magnetic table on my surface grinder, and buzz it flat. Just an idea...

I tried rounding the front and rear of my sand paper backer to allow the paper to lay flatter on the backer. Still no dice. This is really a pretty frustrating thing to get down. It's basically impossible for me to be able to hand sand and area without compromising an adjoining flat/bevel with an opposing scratching pattern. As I said, VERY frustrating.

If anyone has any more ideas they could share, they'd be greatly appreciated.
 
One of the tricks I learned from Nick's video is to secure the blade so that no part of it will move regardless of how much pressure you apply. I don't just mean lateral (side to side) movement, but also the up and down movement as you move the sanding stick from ricasso to point. Nick had a special jig he used, and I used less sophisticated (and less effective) methods, but the point remains. For sharp lines the blade must be rock solid stationary while hand sanding.
 
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