Official Luthiers Forum!

Last night as I was sanding (and sanding and sanding and sanding) a body for final prep before finishing I was thinking.... For all those hard to reach places where your fingers won't fit, and it is inconvenient to build a sanding block....

what if you had a product that was about the consistency of a gum eraser, but it had an abrasive suspended in it. As you use it it balls up like an eraser, but also can be used as a sanding stick. It would shape easy to reach into weird places, come in a variety of grits, and be cheap enough as to be disposable.

This isn't for shaping as much as removing scratches in those imposssible to reach areas.

... does anything like this exist? It seems like an obvious product so maybe someone has already tried it.

thoughts?

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

Brock

What about abrasive pads? Can't you do all of that with those?

Shane

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Canada

Brock, you might look for a product called Cratex. Mold polishers use it. It's a rubber stick with abrasive distributed throughout it.
You might try www.gesswein.com

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Jim Watts
http://jameswattsguitars.com

Cool Jim. That is almost exactly like what I was thinking.

Thanks!

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Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

micro surfaces has padded files 3/4 x 5 in their MX series from the equivlent of 320p-1500p

I think Micro Mesh also has one. I believe S.M. Sells them can't remember...they are white, pink and grey on one stick similar to the one Michael displays above. The grits are very very fine as well.

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Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

That is Micromesh or I should say the company that makes and markets Micromesh is Micro-Surface or Micro-surface.com The MX series is medium to fine cut wood or metal, equal to 320p-1500p and the ones Dave speaks of are the regular series or MM series goes from the equivalent of 400p thru ultra fine polish.

MichaelP39013.7518634259

Micro-Surface also offers what looks like Q-tips with sanding pads on the ends

Brock, I like your idea. What if you took a gum eraser (or whatever is
similar), and pressed it into a pile of silicone carbide powder, mashing the
powder throughout?

Japanwoodworker.com has some of the powder

Mike

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Mike

"The Dude abides. I don't know about you but I take comfort in that. It's good knowin' he's out there. The Dude. Takin' 'er easy for all us sinners. Shoosh." The Stranger

    Cratex has a bunch of different grits, but my experience with them tells me they are less than stellar. The rubber is real hard for hand use.

    You might try Freeman's for some urethane rubber to the shore hardness that is more appropriate for wood and hand use, and mix abrasive to your liking.

   I mean, try Cratex and see how it goes, it's not very expensive, but there's alternatives.

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Billy Dean Thomas
Covina, CA

"Multi famam, conscientiam, pauci verentur."
(Many fear their reputation, few their conscience)

Fiberglass pens work pretty well for some of the hard to reach places.

I just use a rubber eraser and some of the 3M adhesive backed papers. The adhesive starts to fail just around the point the paper stops cutting efficiently.

I think that sounds like a cool idea because you have the small size and flexible surface that is firmer than a sanding sponge and thus easier to really scrub with. It kind of reminds me of a lava soap type abrasive product only in an eraser. I would definitely get it. Garnet impregnated erasers. Would also speed removal of pencil marks I'd reckon. I like it better than big q-tips or emery boards. I can't see scrubing corners with those too well. Adhesive sand paper on an eraser's not too bad either it sounds, but I always mess up the paper too soon with stuff like that. I'd Like to just have a piece of gritty rubber instead. As you wear it down it gets smaller for really tight places. Maybe I should go to the patent office. How about diamond impregnated erasers? Any such beast?

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"Preoccupation with an effect gives it power and enhances the error"
from "Your Owner's Manual" by Burt Hotchkiss.