Guys, how do you deal with sanding maple?

[Mike Mecredy]

And I mean any maple, hard, soft, curly, tiger, bird's eye, etc.  It seems that I end up sanding, scrapping, buffing, and boning/burnishing maple more than any other wood, then I still see stuff I don't want when the finish is applied.  So after 10 years, I decided to pick you all's brains.  Ideas?

[Crooked Stic]

Got to keep your paper fresh. If you got to use finer grits on power tools don't crowd it.

[PEARL DRUMS]

I like a very hard rubbing of 0000 steel wool, straight lines.

[Bowjunkie]

It's an anomaly, almost. Being hard maple, diffuse porous and congruous as such, you wouldn't think... but it is what it is. It's weird. I just adapt and overcome. Read the wood. Switch tools as needed and appropriate, and renew paper as often as needed. Some woods just load up tools and paper quicker than others. Don't push too hard. Let the tools do the work. Clean them, or pitch them to keep them fresh and new as they need it.

With figured maple, you have to be especially careful. I sand over curly maple with the heavy cloth backed paper and a technique that 'floats' the paper over the alternate curls so it doesn't sand down into to others which creates a washboard affect.

It would help if you told us what problem you were having exactly.... washboard... fuzz... paper loading, etc.

I have this 'thing' about sandpaper. I use mostly stiff cloth backed red oxide paper. It's stout, and it bends easier one way than the other, and I use that to my advantage, relevant to the shape I'm after. I only use paper/paper when I get to 400 grit... silicon carbide.

[Mike Mecredy]

The specific problem:  I get it smooth, and even so smooth it's glossy before any finish is even applied, it looks totally pristine.  Then I spray it and the little divots show up and turn dark brownish color.  One thing that has helped and I did it today, is I used a tack cloth and rubbed it down and found that the divots were full of dust. With the dust removed by the tack cloth, I sanded it more and that helped.

What I'm really asking is this:  Is there a method any of you all know about that I can get good results without it taking twice as long I spend sanding other hardwoods?

[mikkekeswick]

The key to any and all sanding is to only use very light pressure and fresh paper. It took about 3 years for this to sink in with me!
As you say tack cloths are also key. You can also use denatured alcohol to get any residual dust out of the pores.
If you think maple is a pain try lignum vitae......

[Bowjunkie]

Sounds like the sawdust in the divits was turning brown when the finish soaked them??? It sounds like you have it figured out pretty good.

Good sanding technique, tack cloth it, and hold it to a source of light at a sharp angle while inspecting every inch. I'll check them like that against both a light in the shop and natural light outside. The shadows caused by the light and sharp angle make the tiniest imperfections jump out at you.

[George Tsoukalas]

I sand all my wooden bows with 60, 100 and 220 grit. Then I dampen the wood with a moist paper towel to raise the grain. Let dry.  

Repeat light sanding with 220 grit until the grain is no longer raised.

Finish with 400 and 600 grit.

Jawge

[Mike Mecredy]

Jawge, I haven't tried raising the grain with water yet, that's a good idea.  I have done that with zebra wood, and oak (oak I was working with being for non archery projects, aside from a few board bows)

 Bow junkie mentioned light and sun light, that grabbed me, because I noticed with maple, especial the sort with lots of character, it'll look ready for finish from one angle, but look at it from the opposite angle and it's far from ready.  I've found once I get to that point, I use a highly polished, piece of deer antler and burnish it until it's glossy, and looks as if it already has had a few coats applied.  Then I take a box cutter blade and use it as a scrapper and take off all the gloss, then burnish it again. and that usually does the trick.

[mikkekeswick]

Be careful with burnishing, you want a surface with some 'tooth' for the finish to adhere properly.

[Mike Mecredy]

There are many woods that I don't burnish, maple on the other hand will still absorb the type of finish I use after burnishing.

[George Tsoukalas]

Mike, when you dampen the grain you can see those little nicks a lot easier too. Jawge

[T Folts]

I also started using a scraper before sanding and it sure speeds up the sanding process.

[Jon in North Idaho]

The problem you are having is due to different tannin levels in the wood.  It's something furniture makers deal with all the time.  It has nothing to do with how well you sanded or if you used a blade vs. sandpaper.  It's all in the wood.  One thing with maple, though, is that if you sand it too fine (180 or higher), you can seal it so it won't take finish very well and it will bring out more discoloration.

Try sealing the maple with shellac before finishing.  I do all my maple with an amber shellac, but clear works too.

[Wolftrail]

Originally posted by George Tsoukalas:
I sand all my wooden bows with 60, 100 and 220 grit. Then I dampen the wood with a moist paper towel to raise the grain. Let dry.  

Repeat light sanding with 220 grit until the grain is no longer raised.

Finish with 400 and 600 grit.

Jawge

I wont argue with you on that point, but man oh man I hate sanding.  Such a thankless job, but when done right she sure looks purrty......  

[George Tsoukalas]

Once I string up the stave all I use is a scraper-like tool but sometime I'll alternate scraper with a rasp or surform.

When tillering is complete, I remove all nicks with a pen knife used as a scraper and then I go through the sanding process I outlined above.

I never really had a problem sanding maple with the above outlined sanding procedures.

Jawge