Post #380699 by Bowana on Fri, May 16, 2008 7:37 AM

On 2008-05-15 10:34, harro wrote:
How do you sand in order to keep the chisel marks but get rid of the imperfections (and horizontal chisel lines that I saw you mention a while back)?

Buen dia, Harro! I was never able to eliminate the horizonal chisel lines I was lamenting about previously.

Each whack of the mallet makes a new one. The only way not to do it is to be able to carve off each chip in a single stroke. This method is much less controlled from what I've discovered. I've had to sacrifice one for the other, and learn to live with the imperfections so I could still have control over every subtle nuance of the carving.

With softer woods like palm it's not so severe, but with harder woods it's much more noticable. I imagine you got your share of it on the Quebracho? I found that after staining and all, the offending lines don't notice so much.

As far as Ali'i is concerned, I spent a lot of time sanding it and took out all of the chisel marks, so it's as smooooooth as ever!

Ali'i the Second here had a minimum of the horizontal chisel lines because it's carved from palm. To get a texture such as this, you have to go over it a lot and make very small cuts as you get closer to the finished look desired. Go very easy and lightly towards the end.

I hope this is helpful. Your drummer is looking great! Buena suerte, amigo!

Bowana