Plunge help

P

PaMtnBkr

Joined
Dec 31, 2009
Messages
393
Hi folks,
I always end up w/the same issue when I am doing my hand sanding, washed out plunges. I can cut nice clean plunges in before I do my bevels, but when I am hand sanding, I always end up going up and over the ricasso and my plunge looks "muddy"? What is the best way to keep that from happening? A file guide clamped in place or ??? Thanks, Don
 
I use a sanding stick with a point and adhesive paper to stick to it. Start about a half inch from the plunge and push the stick up the side of the plunge and out. I rock the stick on the first two fingers of my off hand to keep the stick from washing out at the ricasso.
here is a sorry pic of what I'm talking about. Hope it helps.

 
That's a great idea Barry.
However, a guide would also assist in preventing the the "overshooting" of the crisp plunge.
 
True a guide would do that but clamping it down with a guide attached and having the blade supported could be an issue. With a little practice this way works like a champ and I don't have to reset the blade before starting to sand the bevel. There are many ways to sand the plunge line and this one works well for me. Jason Knight showed us this way at the ABS intro class a couple years ago.
 
I use a square-edged sanding block to work into my plunges. I tend to work at 45º degrees to the plunge so that when the edge of the block starts riding up the plunge it will slide more to the left or right rather than tipping up over the plunge... For me it's a matter of how much pressure I'm applying and how hold I tight the sanding block that determines whether or not the block rides over.

Shallower plunges are definitely harder to finish, perhaps that's a factor as well? ie: I've found it harder to finish plunges on 1/8" thick blades than 5/32" thick blades. Not a huge difference, but it's definitely there.
 
PT Doc said:
Sweet sanding block. Nice and simple. If you have a mill.
Click to expand...

Yes, probably a little harder to make if you don't have a mill unfortunately. I bet a router or router table could be substituted though! You could probably do the grooves with files too, but it would be a pain...
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top