Sanding inside corners

[bob vaughan]

A friend needed to sand some inside corners of 10 small star-shaped plaques he was making. I also have some letters to cut out in the future. Put on the thinking cap and came up with a modification to my shop-made narrow belt sander.
Problem: The platen of a narrow belt sander lets one only get so close to that inside corner.
Possible Solution: Remove the stock platen and make a v-shaped wood platen that allows about 1/8" or so of the belt to overlap to get into the tight corner.
Proof of Concept Test: It worked great! I looked at the designs of other narrow belt sanders and they all have removable platens. The new wood platen was made from a block in the scrap bin.
Pictures below.

 

[JNCarr]

Excellent solution! Thanks for sharing.

 

[drw]

Your "thinking cap" must have been fitting pretty well when you came up with this solution; well done!

 

[Mark Johnson]

That's a helpful idea.

 

[mpeele]

Delta used to sell an attachment and 3/4 in sanding belts for their 14" band saw. I have used it many times for similar sanding task. I have a riser block on mine now and haven't used is in many years.