Sanding inside of vases

[Isaac Litster]

I have made a couple pots, not quite hollow forms, and I need to sand the inside. One specifically is a cottonwood Burl, so it is soft and not straight grain so there are some fibers and tear out. I would’ve been fine without having to post this, I made the opening a little too large to obscure the insides and there is a void so you can see through to the inside. Unfortunately, while the opening is a little too large for my taste, I can’t fit my hand inside to sand does anybody have any ideas for how I could sand the inside, one possible idea that I have is to use a flapper wheel on a Dremel and sand the inside while it spins. Does anybody else sand the insides of their vases and if so, how do they do it if they can’t fit their hands inside?

 

[Richard Coers]

If you use a flapper wheel in an interrupted surface, the edges of the open space will be severely rounded over. Also a flapper wheel is not meant to take away rough and ridged cuts, it's for polishing.

 

[Ted Pelfrey]

I use large hemostats .

 

[Randy Anderson]

I posted info on a jig I made, and still regularly use, for sanding inside hollow forms. Not sure from your picture the size or scope of what you have to sand but it might be a help for a part of it. It's in the tips and tutorial section here. I think this link will take you there

Sanding inside hollow forms rig

In doing larger hollow forms the opening is large enough to see a good bit into the form. I need to do more cleanup and sanding to make it look nicer, to a point. I made this little tool recently and so far working well. It's a DeWalt 90 deg drill adapter, a 10" flex drill extender and a piece...

www.aawforum.org

 

[John Walls]

I use a dowel rod, 1" diameter, end rounded over and a slit cut in the end. I fold over used orbital sander sandpaper in slit and stick that in, held in my hands, no drill used. Does ok for me.

 

[Steve Tiedman]

I use large hemostats .

So do I, and they work great to hold a small folded-over piece of sandpaper (try a 2x2 in. square, folded over once). Here's a nice set of 6 at Amazon for cheap. 3 lengths, 3 curved, 3 straight.
https://www.amazon.com/Ultimate-Hem...id=1712893134&sprefix=hemostat,aps,134&sr=8-5

Do not, Do Not, DO NOT have your fingers in the holes when you have the sandpaper inserted in the spinning wood. If something goes wrong, they could twist hard and fast and cause serious injury to fingers. I just grasp them out around the finger holes.

 

[john lucas]

I use large dowels or broomsticks with velcro. Cut 4 slots in a 3" disc and it wraps around the dowel..

 

[Peter Jacobson]

Perhaps something like this scuff and buff ball:

2" Scuff & Buff Ball Kit Green 180 Grit

Klingspor's Woodworking Shop is full line distributor of woodworking tools and supplies from respected companies like Klingspor Abrasives.

www.woodworkingshop.com

 

[Kevin Jenness]

A club member had a machine shop make up an aluminum mandrel for sanding inside hollow forms with a pneumatic drill. I think he uses a wooden donut around the shaft to guide it. You can get or make a drill-driven split mandrel which is just a rod with a kerf in the end for a sandpaper strip.

The key is to not need much sanding- I should know. I would imagine cottonwood is a tough wood to cut or scrape cleanly. What sort of tool are you using on the inside of your vase? Have you tried any kind of hook tool or carbide cup cutter?

 

[Isaac Litster]

A club member had a machine shop make up an aluminum mandrel for sanding inside hollow forms with a pneumatic drill. I think he uses a wooden donut around the shaft to guide it. You can get or make a drill-driven split mandrel which is just a rod with a kerf in the end for a sandpaper strip.

The key is to not need much sanding- I should know. I would imagine cottonwood is a tough wood to cut or scrape cleanly. What sort of tool are you using on the inside of your vase? Have you tried any kind of hook tool or carbide cup cutter?

I am still in high school, and I don't have a job, so I don't have a hook tool, however, I will get a carbide tool in a couple of months maybe. I used a homemade deep hollowing tool out of a steel round bar and a 3/16 hss insert from Harbor Freight, and it probably wasn't sharp. I will keep these in mind for later, I tried the Dremel with a flex shaft and it did great, but that won't work for some shapes and sizes.

 

[Isaac Litster]

Perhaps something like this scuff and buff ball:

2" Scuff & Buff Ball Kit Green 180 Grit

Klingspor's Woodworking Shop is full line distributor of woodworking tools and supplies from respected companies like Klingspor Abrasives.

www.woodworkingshop.com

This looks like it would work for some applications, I have a similar polishing bit, however, I would be concerned that it would not be aggressive enough, or durable enough for intensive sanding. I used a 1 inch flapper wheel on a Dremel flex shaft and it did well, even for an old bit.

 

[Bill Blasic]

Isaac a cheap way to make something for your problem is dowel rod and wooden balls. Drill a hole in the ball the size of your dowel and glue in the dowel, you can then put adhesive sand paper on it and you can also grind the wooden balls to different shapes to fit the project. Another is to put hook and loop base on the ball and use hook and loop sanding pads. My general rule is to keep the hole so small prying fingers cannot tell that it is not sanded inside but when a bigger hole happens I then use the dowel and ball method

 

[Darryn Achall]

I use sanding wheels similar to these. They come in sizes that fit into any hole greater than 7/8". Sanding wheels. Made a 14" extension with a steel rod and 1/4" motor coupler. Works great in any drill. I mostly use 120, 180, and 240 grit of a different brand.