Cabinet Rounding Over Tools

[Jerry Overstreet]

I'm going to be building a steel guitar out of Sapele. I would like to ease, radius or round over the front edge of the deck sort of the way the early Sho~Buds were done. Not too severe probably like 3/16 or so. I'm sure I can do some light work with sandpaper/sanding block, but don't think that would be adequate.

I've been looking at some inexpensive chamfering planes, but many of them do not get good reviews. Some references to wood tear out, splitnering, gouges etc.

I'm not too familiar with the properties of this wood and I sure don't want to do destroy my material with any of that so if anyone has some experience with this or good ideas, I'd be interested in hearing about it.

Obviously, I'm not going to be buying any high dollar equipment to do just this one project. I probably could hire a shop to do this for me, just don't know of a local one offhand. Thanks for any help.

[Randy Schneider]

I am by no means an expert woodworker, but I think they would use a router (with the desired radius flush trim bit) for such a job. I have done similar rounded edges on flooring transitions, etc. But yes, the type of wood can be a little picky - I've tried it with hickory and had trouble with tear-out on that wood. Ended up sanding those down instead. But the pieces I did out of oak were fine with the router.

[Jerry Overstreet]

Thanks for the response Randy. I don't have a router nor any experience using one for jobs like this. Years ago I used a hand held one for construction work but it was just used for hogging out material, no finesse work. I know there is such a thing as a rounding over bit for these but I don't have one or used one.

The deck I'm using is the only one I have and I don't want to damage it beyond repair and I'm in no position to go buying expensive tools just for this job.

I do have a B&D Mouse vibrating sander so I might be able to do a decent ease job with that.

[Doug Earnest]

Hi Jerry,
You might be surprised at how quickly the job would go with a sanding block, a few different grits of sandpaper and some elbow grease. I round over the edges of 1/4" plywood all the time. I absolutely hate to do anything manually but it turns out this is quick and easy. Hit it a little bit with some 220 to start and see what kind of progress you make.

[Glenn Stanfield]

Hi Jerry,

I love Sapele! Can be beautiful wood.

I'll second what Doug just said about using sandpaper. If the grit you start with isn't doing much go to a coarser grit. Personally I'd begin with something like 120 grit for the rough shaping. 3/16" or even 1/4" roundover won't take very long.

A wood plane, in the hands of an experienced craftsman, would make short work of it. However the learning curve of using a handplane effectively would be much, much longer than just simply sanding.

[Jerry Overstreet]

Thank you Doug and Glenn. This is something I'm considering. I appreciate all the response and help guys.

[Tony Glassman]

Find a friend with a hand held trim router and some round over bits with bearings. It should take about about 20 minutes to do all 4 sides…..It will look much better than a sanding job.

Alternatively, you can buy a corded hand router for about $60 @ Harbor Freight add a couple of roundover bits, watch a YouTube video, some practice on scrap wood and you should be golden.

[Per Berner]

A hand-held router is definitely the way to go, and a cheap one is good enough. I bet you could find a used router in some thrift shop for maybe $20-30, and later sell it on for about the same? Or probably there's a friend of a friend who can lend you one. Some hardware stores or machine rental places may offer pro-grade machine tools for rent on a day-to-day basis, which is another option. The main difference between cheap bits and the expensive quality stuff is how long they last, not how well they cut when new.

I've used rounding-off bits on maple, walnut, khaya, ash, alder. oak, birch, koa and elm, from about 2 up to 15 mm radii – never any trouble with tear-outs, just don't try to take everything in one go if you're aiming for a big radius.

[Bobby D. Jones]

If your are using some type of metal end plates on the guitar. Check carefully how and where the wood and metal meet together. So there is a smooth transition to end plates or Leg attachment hardware.

A Stanley Shur-Form tool will give a good initial wood removal, Then sand to finish.

[Jerry Overstreet]

Yeah, I have considered the cabinet to endplate fit aspect.

I've about decided to just use simple sanding tools for any radius I do. It will only be on the front edge, or possibly just a portion of it, so shouldn't be too involved.

[David Higginbotham]

Jerry, I think you're onto the best option for the short distance and round. I use a router frequently and it takes some practice even with small rounding. Using scrap material to set the depth and speed of your push is essential and it still doesn't guarantee you won't have tears or gouges and in your case...that would be a problem. Even with the time spent using a router I still recently had a tear on 3/4 birch plywood...(which is far more likely to rip than solid wood) I was able to stop and repair the area. It was going to be covered anyway but still easy to make a mistake. In your case I'd be reluctant to risk that beautiful wood.

I usually use 80 grit on wood to quickly knockoff an edge and then 120 to 220 and to 400 if needed. You'll end up with some uneven places sanding by hand. Take a metal yard stick or other straight metal edge to lay across your sanded area. It'll show you any places you need to touch up that you can't readily see or feeling by hand. It works and takes just a bit of time. Best of all...it'll only cost you a couple sheets of sandpaper.

You got this my friend.
Dave

[John Hyland]

With a drill of the right diameter, you can make a template with a negative of the radius in a piece of ply (or cardboard). As you sand you can check your radius by holding it at 90 degrees to the edge.

[Jerry Overstreet]

'preciate all the tips and education. Thanks. I plan to use an assortment of sanding blocks from coarse to fine for most of the work and probably some 400 fine sandpaper to finish. Also fine blocks between coats of sealer.