Boat launched! And sanding question

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grumpydog

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After 2 years and 4 months of work, Billy Blue, a 1932 Hillyard 9-ton belonging to me and four others, was launched into the cold brown muddy water of Denton Island, Newhaven. She'd been out of the water for around ten years, and we thought there might be a bit of taking up - but she floated all right, with just a dribble coming in through the pitch pine planking. Now for a less boaty question! I have a small, antique (but not valuable) dining table in a darkish red wood. Maho perhaps? Or oak with a horrible stain? Not sure. Anyway, I want to sand it down and apply clear varnish. What's the best way to sand really fiddly things with thin, deep, routered lines and crevices everywhere? There's not a sanding machine on earth that will do it - but what about fine drill attachments? Or glass blocks? Any ideas?
 
Depends on the groove profile but the Fein Multimaster has a profile sanding set that may do the job and I'm sure that you will find many other uses for its other features.
 
You can get little disc sanding attachments that go on the end of a power tool - that is what I use for fiddly areas.

BTW - A saloon table is one area where I would advocate the use of two-pack polyurethane varnish, simply as it is very heat resistant and you can plonk your kettle down on it without damage.
 
I would have to hand a cabinet scraper, a fein mm, some small different shaped pieces of broken glass (watch your fingers) and maybe a dremel thingy.
 
Congrats on the launch. Pitch pine is a god 'un for hulls... my 8-ton is mahogany and it dries every time she's out of the water for more than a month or so. The topsides suffer more than the wet bits, though.
Any pics of the lady with her bottom wet?
If you think your table is stained oak I would bite the bullet and pay to have it professionally stripped. Once you start sanding you could be left with an orrible patchy table. The crevices will be as clean as the rest.
 
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I have a small, antique (but not valuable) dining table in a darkish red wood. Maho perhaps? Or oak with a horrible stain? Not sure. Anyway, I want to sand it down and apply clear varnish. What's the best way to sand really fiddly things with thin, deep, routered lines and crevices everywhere?

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Chemical stripping is much more effective than sanding when you have lots of detail to cope with. Most finishes will come off with Rustin's Strypit, which can be washed off with white spirit to avoid raising the grain. A french polished surface can be taken back with meths. Use fine wire wool or synthetic equivalent to work the stripper in. Once stripped careful hand sanding (start with 180G, work up to 400G) will even out the surface. Scotchbrite type abrasive is good for mouldings and details. I'd avoid using any power sanding, as you would lose all the nice marks of age, and probably damage the mouldings. I'd avoid varnishes too, unless you're taking the table on board and expect it to get really wet. A nice wax finish like Liberon Black Bison Clear will be easy to put on and look very fine. For a more durable finish suitable for a kitchen table say, try Osmo Top Oil.
 
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