How To Make Custom Sanding Sticks For Hard To Reach Spots!

In this video, I'm going to show you how

to make custom sanding sticks like

these. I've been using them for sanding

the letters of my engravings to a 90°

angle. By making the sanding sticks

ourselves, we are able to customize and

match them to all the different shapes

we come across when sanding. You can buy

sanding sticks on Amazon, but the amount

of different shapes are limited. This

tapered straight one is great for

getting into tight corners.

This half circle one is great for

sanding the inside of curves.

And this flat pointy one is great for

getting into tight flat areas. I'll show

you how to make a few different ones.

Once you know the process, you can get

creative and make the shapes that you

need for your projects. Let's start with

this tapered straight one. I like to use

popsicle sticks for most of my sanding

sticks. They're just about the right

size for my projects. If you need

something bigger, then a small paint

stirring stick works well. I make the

end flat by cutting, sewing,

or sanding. Then I taper the end with my

small tabletop sander.

You can do it with sandpaper as well by

just resting it on a flat surface and

moving the popsicle stick. It just takes

a little bit longer. Tapering the back

end of the sanding stick will give it

the ability to get into the sharpest

angles. When I'm happy with the shape, I

cut out a small piece of sandpaper. I

use a high quality rough grit sandpaper.

We want it to last as long as possible

before we have to change it. Then I use

some double-sided tape to cover the area

where I want the sandpaper. I clean up

the excess with a knife. Then I remove

the cover tape and put on the sandpaper.

Press the sandpaper on firmly, making

sure it sticks well. And then cut away

the excess with a knife. To finish it

off, I clean up the edges and sharp

corners with some sandpaper. Now we're

ready to use it. And as you can see, it

is really great for getting into tight

corners. It also works great for outside

curves.

You can use foam padded double-sided

tape like this. It works fine, but if

you need to get into tight areas, it is

not the best because it adds a lot of

thickness to the sanding stick. for

inside curves and circles. We need a

sanding stick that is curved to match

the shape of the letter. I found these

half circle-shaped sticks at my local

craft store that I think will work great

for this. Once you have the shape ready,

we can prepare the sandpaper. Some

sandpapers have a tendency of cracking

when you bend them. So, we want to use a

sandpaper that is a little bit flexible

and not too brittle. Then, we roll it a

couple of times with something round to

make it follow the shape better. Then,

we add a double-sided tape to our stick,

cut away the excess, and apply the

sandpaper. Now we have a sanding stick

that can smoothen the inside of curves

well. It is not as effective as sanding

the outside of the curves since we have

to hold it at a 90° angle to the

workpiece, but it does the job. With

these curved sanding sticks, the

sandpaper has a tendency of not sticking

perfectly at the edges. But just

pressing it back on again usually works.

The great thing about this rounded

sanding stick is that when it gets worn

out, we can just cut off the worn parts.

And now we have a fresh sanding stick

again. As the last one, I also want to

include this pointy flat sander. This

one is great for getting into those

tight flat spots where my fingers are

too fat to reach.

To make this one, we start by sanding

our wooden stick to a sharp point. Then

we taper one of the sides.

Now, instead of attaching the sandpaper

on the flat side like we did with the

first one, we're going to attach the

sandpaper to the tapered side. This

gives us a better angle for working on

flat surfaces, and it is a really good

shape for cleaning up in sharp corners.

but you might have to adjust it slightly

depending on your needs.

These paint pallet knives can also be

used as sanding sticks. Just use some

double-sided tape and tape some

sandpaper to the bottom of them. They

work great for those flat surfaces that

are hard to reach. And if the sandpaper

ever gets clogged up, a good trick to

use is to just rub it on the rubber sole

of your shoe. This will clean up the

sandpaper in no time. And that was it

for this video. See you next time.