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In my various DIYings around the house,
it
often happens that I need to make two
pieces of wood meet. Quite often, they
are not entirely straightforward: for
example, a mitred skirting board that's in
a skewey corner, or a mantlepiece that
needs to fit snugly against a non-flat
wall.
In
some cases, there are easy solutions
(eg, butt the two pieces as close as
possible; scribe a line on one piece a
fixed
distance from the other, then cut away
the
excess). Often, though, it's a case of
offering the wood up, seeing where it
needs to be shaved by a fraction, shaving
it down, repeating, repeating... A good
carpenter can do it faster, but most of us
aren't great carpenters.
The Tongue Sander is designed to
address
this problem. Imagine a handheld power
tool rather like an electric chisel/scraper,
with a blade that oscillates in and out at
high speed and with small travel. Fine.
Now the blade. The blade (which is
disposable) is basically a stiff but flexible
strip of double-sided abrasive. It could
be
a flexible metal strip with abrasive
coating
on each side, or something more like two
sheets of sandpaper back-to-back, but
stiffened with plastic strips between the
abrasive layers. Other options are
possible. The point is that it's a thin
flexible tongue of double-sided abrasive.
To use, just offer up the two pieces of
wood, with the tongue between them.
Switch on, and use the tongue to abrade
away the points that are "pinching".
After
a few moments, the two pieces will be
perfectly contoured to one another,
separated only by the thickness of the
tongue. Withdraw the tongue (please do
not pun at this point), and move the
pieces together to create a near-perfect
joint.
In some cases, you might only want to
sand one side of the joint: fine, there are
"single sided tongues" available. There
are
even some existing tools that might be
able to use a special blade like this.
[link]
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Hm. Sounds like an interesting approach, but won't you end up over-sanding by the thickness of the blade? Or does that just allow room for the glue? |
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You will indeed oversand by the blade
thickness, but in most cases that's not an
issue - after sanding, you withdraw the
blade and slide the piece 2 millimetres to
the side to close the gap. |
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Depends, of course, on the situation: if
you're fitting a piece between two others,
you'll wind up with one blade-thickness
gap split between the two joints. |
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Another way to do this would be to coat one partner (preferably the more moblile) with a thin coat of abrasive-contining glue. Then, affix a rapid vibrator to this piece, using the piece itself to sand itself into place. If some garnet power winds up in the joint it is all good. |
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Nice, could be an attachment for a Saws-All, or is that too much motion? |
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Great idea, easily bakable into a jigsaw blade. Break the plastic handle off a metal nail file (fingernail) and shape it to match a jigsaw blade. The file is less than 1mm thick. Ideal for making things from animal horn. |
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//easily bakable into a jigsaw blade.// I
think the jigsaw itself might be an
awkward shape - you'd want something
closer to an electric screwdriver or electric
chisel, for maneuverability in corners. But,
agreed, a sanding-tongue blade could be
made or adapted for a jigsaw. |
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I agree with the awkwardness factor, but you could clamp it upside down in a vice and move the wood instead. An electric toothbrush might be ideal for small jobs, or you could risk stealing something for the missus's goody drawer. |
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disclaimer: improper use may lead to shortened/sharpened/shiny fingernails and/or teeth. |
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good idea. or you can caulk the inside surfaces for a squish n' fit. If I am reading this right. |
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//Ekstrom / Carlson do an industrial
version.// A tongue sander? |
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//or you can caulk the inside surfaces for
a squish n' fit.// Yes, but it's much more
satisfying to get a hair-thin joint you can
seal with paint. |
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Promoted with this slogan: "A Tongue
With Teeth" (I used to work in
advertising - can you tell?) + |
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[UB] could you rustle up a link with an
image? |
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