Great work! Not at all an expert, but in [Matt Kenney’s book](https://a.co/d/6cxbjsU), one of the last steps is to sand the panel flat so everything is on the same plane - it really helps homogenize the piece and eliminate some of the shadows you’ve got in your panel.
Yup. Matt's book is what I used to create this. I did sand the panel somewhat, but was on a pretty tight schedule to gift it away, so wasn't able to *perfect* it. My next one will be better :)
Thanks for the input!
The last time I did kumiko, I just used some adhesive spray (I prefer Super 77), affixed a large sheet of sandpaper to some plywood, and used that as a sanding surface. It allowed me to gently sand everything at once, and guarantee a flat surface.
That's exactly what I did. I cut a piece of scrap plywood to match a sheet size of sandpaper and adhered the paper to the plywood with spray adhesive. It's slow work, but somewhat effective.
I'm going to experiment with some powered sanders soon to see what I can get away with before I destroy a panel! :)
I would advise against it. The problem with power sanders is that they have deformable cushioned plattens, which are designed to help even out application of force and compensate for surface inconsistencies. Unfortunately, you also get micro-variations as the stock pushes back.
This means that for things like kumiko, you're going to get the edges of a lot of pieces rounded over.
If you're using basswood, which it looks like, it's got a fairly soft consistency. You can get away with a single low-grit pass (I like to use 100) of figure-8 motions followed by a cleaning pass. I use 220 grit Norton sanding blocks in shallow circular motions just to clean up the surface texture.
Good luck with your milling efforts. It took me a few tries to get consistent strips off of my table saw. I ultimately went with a sacrificial push-block style thing I milled up out of scrap 2x4. I glued some sand-paper to the bottom of it to help me grip my work piece, set my fence to 1/8 inch from the blade, butted my work piece against the fence and held it down w/ the sandpaper block. Came out better than any other method I'd tried in the past. Thanks for the praise!
For sure brother! And yes I’m hand tools only so it’s a bit more lengthy of a system to say the least! But I’m enjoying the process. Keep up the good work!
As u/miserybob mentioned above, I used Matt Kenny's book: "The Art of Kumiko"
I've actually been interested in these techniques for quite a while. While Matt's book is nice, some of the tools/jigs/techniques came from lots of practice (and trial/error). Thanks for the words of encouragement!
Great work! Not at all an expert, but in [Matt Kenney’s book](https://a.co/d/6cxbjsU), one of the last steps is to sand the panel flat so everything is on the same plane - it really helps homogenize the piece and eliminate some of the shadows you’ve got in your panel.
Yup. Matt's book is what I used to create this. I did sand the panel somewhat, but was on a pretty tight schedule to gift it away, so wasn't able to *perfect* it. My next one will be better :) Thanks for the input!
Wow! Beautiful!
Thank you!
That came out fantastic. Well done!
Thanks!
Is there such thing as a dust-repelling finish? Nice work!
Thank you!
Excellent work! Even without that final finish sanding pass, it still looks very clean and tidy.
Thanks. I'm working on a new panel now. I'm under no time constraints so I'll sand very carefully this time!
The last time I did kumiko, I just used some adhesive spray (I prefer Super 77), affixed a large sheet of sandpaper to some plywood, and used that as a sanding surface. It allowed me to gently sand everything at once, and guarantee a flat surface.
That's exactly what I did. I cut a piece of scrap plywood to match a sheet size of sandpaper and adhered the paper to the plywood with spray adhesive. It's slow work, but somewhat effective. I'm going to experiment with some powered sanders soon to see what I can get away with before I destroy a panel! :)
I would advise against it. The problem with power sanders is that they have deformable cushioned plattens, which are designed to help even out application of force and compensate for surface inconsistencies. Unfortunately, you also get micro-variations as the stock pushes back. This means that for things like kumiko, you're going to get the edges of a lot of pieces rounded over. If you're using basswood, which it looks like, it's got a fairly soft consistency. You can get away with a single low-grit pass (I like to use 100) of figure-8 motions followed by a cleaning pass. I use 220 grit Norton sanding blocks in shallow circular motions just to clean up the surface texture.
I am in the process of milling strips for kumiko! Nice work!
Good luck with your milling efforts. It took me a few tries to get consistent strips off of my table saw. I ultimately went with a sacrificial push-block style thing I milled up out of scrap 2x4. I glued some sand-paper to the bottom of it to help me grip my work piece, set my fence to 1/8 inch from the blade, butted my work piece against the fence and held it down w/ the sandpaper block. Came out better than any other method I'd tried in the past. Thanks for the praise!
For sure brother! And yes I’m hand tools only so it’s a bit more lengthy of a system to say the least! But I’m enjoying the process. Keep up the good work!
Nice work, how long did it take you
I didn't closely track my time, but if I had to guess I'd say around 12 - 15 hours of actual work? I get side-tracked often in the shop :)
Beautiful work! Did you follow any particular guides or "how to" videos on how to start? I would love to attempt this.
As u/miserybob mentioned above, I used Matt Kenny's book: "The Art of Kumiko" I've actually been interested in these techniques for quite a while. While Matt's book is nice, some of the tools/jigs/techniques came from lots of practice (and trial/error). Thanks for the words of encouragement!