sanding rough wood

[rsting]

Hi, I've got some basswood that is rough cut. I don't have a planer, but I do have a hand plane or a sander. If I used the sander to smooth it up, would it leave grit in the wood that would dull or damage carving tools?
Russ

[Old Codger]

Hi Russ! I've often had to sand rough cut basswood prior to marking it for bandsaw/scrollsaw cutting of roughouts and so far haven't had any problems... My knives don't seem to show any effect of the smoothing of the wood even though I use a little palm sander to smooth them off...but I always hone my knive blades prior to any project and several times during the carving process... If I thought they'd be damaged by the sanding process I certainly wouldn't subject my Drake, Hock or other valuable and favorite knives and gouges to damage... Good luck and safe carving to you!
Kenn

[arfer1943]

I always use steel ONLY on wood, then SAND. A tiny piece of grit will give you an hours refinishing of a fine blade.

Why take the risk?

You don't need a good finish on your startup block.

[riverwood-dan]

Hey there Russ,
Not sure what you are going to carve but can't you just carve out the rough? If not then I would use a scrub plane then a nice sharp scraper. If that isn't available then how about a small woodshop? Many will plane your wood for a small fee.
As for sanding then carving I wouldn't do it to my sharp tools. Small bit of grit will do BIG time dulling or worse.
Just my opinion and thirty plus years of sharpening tools. Dan

[Bob K.]

I recently started using a new mesh sandpaper that just came out...works beautifully. I don't know what it's made of but it doesn't leave any grit on the wood. You can get it as rough as 80 grit for rough sanding. I get it from Smoky Mountain Woodcarvers Smoky Mountain Woodcarvers Supply

[DiamondWillow]

I use a lot of screen that they use for smoothing out drywall paste. Works great and should not leave a single thing on the wood. Cuts almost like a plane and nice and smooth also.

Gene

[sashadoc]

I'm doing "in the round" stuff now so I don't sand unless it's too rough to lay out a pattern. Why spend all that time sanding when the first thing I do is cut away most of my sanded areas? Just my two cents.
Tim

[Steve Reed]

Russ, want to echo the above, I never sand a carving. . . .period! For rough smoothing try on e of the micro-plane tools. It's kind of like a rasp.
Happy carving!

[Coker]

All of my basswood carvings are done on rough cut wood. I have never found a need to waste time on sanding first. I mark the wood with a sharpie then cut out the blank with a bandsaw.
Dick

[E George]

Hi Russ,

Thanks for asking this question. This new mesh and also drywall mesh sounds interesting to me. It is the answer to the issue of grit from sand paper dulling carving tools.

I use a Surform plane to smooth one side of rough cut wood just enough to apply the pattern. It is an inexpensive yet roughed tool that I'm not afraid to use hard.

Let us know what approach you choose and how well it worked. Maybe show us a finished piece.

Thanks again for a great question.