Smoothing and Sanding - Course: Manual woodworking techniques. Trainees' handbook of lessons: 5. Working to Size and Finishing of Curved Surfaces

5. Working to Size and Finishing of Curved Surfaces

Shaping and finishing of faces curved by sawing tools involve the following operations:

- Clamping of the workpiece with the faces to be worked on top, if possible.
- Shaping and finishing.

The selection and use of the tools depend on the shape and size of the curves.

- Slightly curved radii are worked with:

• plane with adjustable face,
• fine-set double plane,
• scraper,
• sanding tools.

- Slightly curved hollow faces are worked with:

• plane with adjustable face,
• plane with fixed, curved face,
• scraper,
• sanding tools and sanding pads with adequate shape.

- Highly curved radii are worked with:

• flat rasps,
• flat files,
• scraper,
• sanding tools.

- Highly curved hollow faces are worked with:

• half round rasps,
• half round files,
• flat round files,
• scraper,
• sanding tools and sanding pads with adequate shape.

Curved faces are worked with rasps and files with

- one hand gripping the handle of the tool,
- the other hand guiding the tool at the blade,
- the tool guided with the wood grain, if possible, or obliquely to the wood grain,
- the tool guided parallel to the curving.

Figure 10 Guiding of rasps and files

1 gripping of the tool at the handle, 2 guiding of the tool at the blade, 3 guiding with and obliquely to the wood grain, 4 guiding parallely to the curving

Checking of the curved faces for:

- working accurate to shape

• with templates placed on the face and compared with the face to the light-gap method.

Figure 11 Checking a curved face with a template

1 workpiece, 2 template

- smoothness by

• sighting
• touching.

Why must the rasps, files and sanding tools be guided preferably with the wood grain or obliquely to the wood grain?
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