Sanding edges

[Ber Gueda]

I would like to sand the edge of some pieces in order to achieve the result that you can see in the attached pictures (by the way it is from odinparker.com site, if I am right). I know that sanding is the key question, but I don't know what is the best way of doing it. I have a dremel and I tried the sanding drums, but without a satisfactory result. I thought that maybe some kind of carving bit to take off more material and then the sanding drum would do the job, but I am not sure of which carving bit I would have to use. Maybe I am totally wrong and I should use just sanding paper... Anyway, as always your experience and expertise here is paramount and I am sure that it will help me solve the issue. 

Thanks for your replies.

[Ctutor]

you can get sanding wheels for your dremel. They  look like wheels with flappy edges and come in different grits.  You could relive the edges and give a more rounded look. I dont see why whast you have is good and is fine as is though

[Ber Gueda]

Maybe it's not a problem of tools but of skills.

[Ctutor]

the wheels I mentioned can be found on Amazon as abrasive sanding wheels. I mentioned in earlier post I like the RUSTIC look from an artistic perspective. But the wheels would allow you to move towards a realistic rounded shape if you soften the edges.

[Wichman]

This is a chart with all of Dremel's bits on it.

The top of the chart has carving bits, that's where you'll want to start. There are coarse bits to hog away material, less coarse bits to refine a profile and then flap wheels and drums to smooth to your preference.

A word of caution, these bits may slip in the drill chuck acessorry, so use the right size collet. Near the bottom of the chart is a blower acessorry, it works and helps keep the area you're working on clear.

 

https://www.dremel.com/binaries/content/assets/dremel/us/products/rotary-accessory-guide.pdf?srsltid=AfmBOorf_2Ei-ifJ9etEYzPr7f20Wpb1T1YHNVy1MKoP1Fq4TS6u3o3O

[BadBob]

Have you considered Kutzall burrs or rasps?

 

[TAIrving]

I recommend that you check out the intarsia section of this forum.  What you are doing is a form of intarsia.  You might also look into the “Just Intarsia” Facebook group or “Intarsia.com”.  You will find lots of discussion about sanding and shaping including tools and techniques. 
 

Spoiler alert- sanding takes a lot of practice and a lot of work. But when you get it right, it is worth every bit of it. 

[Ber Gueda]

3 hours ago, BadBob said:

Have you considered Kutzall burrs or rasps?

 

I had a look at them, but I am not sure which one would be the most suitable, and bearing in mind that they are not cheap (maybe becasue they have to ship them to Europe), I was not able to make a reasonable decision.

[Ber Gueda]

2 hours ago, TAIrving said:

I recommend that you check out the intarsia section of this forum.  What you are doing is a form of intarsia.  You might also look into the “Just Intarsia” Facebook group or “Intarsia.com”.  You will find lots of discussion about sanding and shaping including tools and techniques. 
 

Spoiler alert- sanding takes a lot of practice and a lot of work. But when you get it right, it is worth every bit of it. 

Thanks for your advice. I always looked at Intarsia as something impossible for me to do, so I did not pay much attention to the techniques, but I will have a look at them. It is true that intarsia is a lot about sanding.

[BadBob]

2 hours ago, Ber Gueda said:

I had a look at them, but I am not sure which one would be the most suitable, and bearing in mind that they are not cheap (maybe becasue they have to ship them to Europe), I was not able to make a reasonable decision.

They also have rasps in both coarse and delicate, which would do what you want. The fine rasp would probably work.

I have a set of Japanese Finger Files that might also work for this.  They are not cheap either. If you want cheap, buy quality sandpaper and make sanding tools.

 

Edited January 4 by BadBob

[jollyred]

To me it looks like the bevels were cut with a knife and then sanded to soften the corners.  I don't think just sanding with power tools was used on these.

Tom

[Dan]

They look pretty small. I would glue sandpaper to popsicle sticks, working from 80 grit to 220 grit. 

[barb.j.enders]

Have you tried sanding discs on the dremel.  Like these https://ohcanadasupply.ca/product/dre413?.  

 

[rash_powder]

A Dremel sanding drum is quite often hard to get good results from due the tiny diameter of the drum and the crazy speed it spins at.  With a lot of practice and maybe slow speeds it can be learned.  My wife trims dog claws with a dremel successfully, but she was also a cosmotologist and has crazy steady hands.  If you choose Dremel, it seems counter intuitive but lower/coarser grits cause less heat build up.

Depending on the size of these statues the options mentioned above will work.  Homemade sanding sticks and rods come to mind first, then needle files.  

Someone mentioned carving the bevels on these.  If you look at the chicken's breast you'll see a series of small grooves that are too coarse and crisp for sand paper.  I think the carving angle may be what was used.  A cheap, readily available way to get setup for carving is utility knives.  At least in the US, they are available nearly everywhere and very cheap when compared to other quality carving tools.  

Good Luck!

[heppnerguy]

What about using a drum sander on a drip press? I do a lot of rounding my pieces on one and I like the control it give me.

Dick

heppnerguy

[Ber Gueda]

Thank you all for your answers and tips. I will defintely try some of the suggestions you made and I will let know right here. I think that it might help other beginners too.