An idea for sanding guitar bodies

[Phil]

Came across this little tip on the Stewmac website. This might be an old idea for some of you but its the first time I've come across it and thought I'd share it here. I plan to try it out on my next build.

http://www.stewmac.com/tsarchive/ts0205 ... ign=ts0205

[bftobin]

Thanks, Phil. A great idea.

Brent

[edbanas]

Phil - Do you have any suggestions as to where I can get spring steel pieces like the ones you use? - Ed

[Phil]

I haven't actually tried this method out yet, although I plane to after seeing it. I haven't gotten around to finding some myself.

[mnmusic]

McMaster-Carr carries it.

http://www.mcmaster.com/#blue-spring-steel/=tpwvhv

If the link doesn't take you to the spring steel page, just do a search on "blue spring steel" on their web site. You want the 1095 blue spring steel.

Here's another place that carries it: http://03508e2.netsolstores.com/BlueTem ... Stock.aspx

Hope this helps.

Ed

[edbanas]

Thanks

[Gibsonman]

I am sure there are other things that work just as well. Anybody??

[ruby@magpage.com]

This is a common method of fairing boat hulls. I have used an array of 5 foot long pieces of plywood - 1/4, 3/8, 1/2 and 3/4" with floor sanding paper along the bottom and 4 handles. Always pick the sanding batten the wants to follow the curve you are working on without being floppy. Two guys can work it and get high spots down in a hurry. I have also used the technique on several pieces of furniture that have round parts.

For guitars, a piece of spring steel or a piece of flexible plastic seem about right. You could kerf a piece of 3 mm plywood about 1/2 way and that might work. Anything that goes around the curve but is not floppy will serve

Ed

[saltytri]

Start with this listing for .008" on Amazon:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B001V ... UTF8&psc=1

From there you can easily get to listings for other thicknesses. You're looking for the hardest temper because that will have the most spring.

I cut the width down using a metal shear that looks like a giant pair of scissors. If you don't have these, a local sheet metal shop has the tools to make short work of the job.

I bought this and some .012" and find it well suited for sanding sides. It's a good idea, as the video suggested, to get the thinner material for the waist and the thicker for the rest.

My local Ace Hardware sold me some self-adhesive rubber non-skid that is 4" wide. That's the grey stuff that is sometimes put on steps to improve traction. This is put on the top surface of the sheet metal and works well to give you the traction needed to push the sanding strips along the side.

This method really does work well and it's worth the small investment.