Help With Sanding Column Flutes

[N Hurst]

I finished the shaping portion of some fluted columns last night and ran into a problem when it same time to sand out the char marks my router bit left in the wood.

I was routing the flutes in 8' 1x4 red oak, and while my long runs were pretty good (only 4-5 char marks over 14 7 foot flutes), I still charred up about half of the beginning and end of the flutes. The magazine I got the fluting jig out of said to shape a section of hack saw blade to the flute and scrape the charred wood out.

Well, I tried that and it worked decently where the burn marks were in the middle of a run, but at the cupped beginning and ends, it was horrible. I scraped and scraped and got nowhere. I eventually wound up putting a 1/4" sanding disc from my dremel kit into my drill and carefully sanding them until the charred wood was sanded away.

Now I know the best way to take care of this is to not let it happen in the first place, but is there a better way to sand those areas? I thought about taking the router to it and just barely tapping the bottom, but I didn't want to risk messing up the whole thing in an attempt to take care of a little charred wood.

Thanks, Nathan

[Tom Watson]

When I make fluted columns or pilasters I make the material at least six inches longer than the finished length so that I can trim off the entry and exit scars.

If I have to take out chatter or a burn mark I plane a block to the thickness that matches the diameter of the flute and use it as a sanding block.

I find that the sticky back paper that comes in rolls works best for this.

I own a Fein but find the hand method to be superior.

Regards, Tom.

Thos. J. Watson - Cabinetmaker

[Tom Watson]

Sorry. I forgot to add that I form a radius on the edge of the sanding block that matches the flute.

Regards, Tom.

Thos. J. Watson - Cabinetmaker

[N Hurst]

If I'd been the one calling the shots, the flutes would have been the length of the boards, but SWMBO wanted them to stop about 6" from each end of the board. The starting and stopping points are where I'm having the most difficulty.

Thanks for that tip, though. I'll keep it in mind next time I do something like this. I tried using a dowel, but it was too fat with the paper on, and at 11pm, I just wanted to see some progress. :-)

-Nathan

[dadiOH]

Use the router bit as a hand scraper. It is just the right size :)