Sanding problem

[Katchin]

Hi, I am making a clock currently, and have sanded the main housing down to 600 grit, using the sorby sandmaster. However as you can see, I have a problem in two place on the rim, what is causing this? I have restarted on the rim once, going back to 120 grit and back down to 600, but the same thing happened, is this the wood? will it be hidden by sanding sealer? I was planning on using a sanding sealer / microcrystaline wax finish.

[Katchin]

Adding the photo's may help 

[Andy Coates]

The woods looks like sapelle, iroko,or other of the mahogony group, which are notoriously difficult to get a good finish on. Especially on a curved surface.

I suspect the trouble derives from the quality of the original cut, not a lack of sanding. You could try to re-cut the surface but you face the problem of having already sanded the surface.  It's not a good idea (ever) to go back to cutting after sanding because the abrasive leaves tiny particles of the abrasive in the wood and this will blunt you tool very quickly.

Sanding sealer will not help, in fact it will darken the offending torn grain and make it look ten times worse. As will any finish applied. So your options are re-cut - with the problem of having to re-sharpen the tool a few times, or to continue abrading and hope you can get it out. Neither option is 100% certain.

The best option for the future would be to not use sapelle.

[petjeffery]

hi there i think the same as andy has said  but i was think may you could add a textre to it were that part is to try and cover it up a bit  or a inlay of some sort   sorry i cant help any more than that   

er i was just thinking that may be you  could use a drill with the sanding pad in it and do not turn the lathe on and just work the part were that is and till it goes but do not press to hard or you well end up with a flat point 

well hope this helps a bit

[GwilymF]

I use Sapele and Iroco a lot and when I get this problem I use standard cabinet scrapers to good effect. As Andy stated this is quite prevelent on Sapele and Iroco.
Gwilym

[Katchin]

Ok, well thanks all, I re-cut the surface, and it was a lot better, one side was still a little marked, but the marks vanished when I sealed the wood! I must have bought the magic sealer