# Bowties before or after planing / sanding?



## calcnerd (Sep 29, 2015)

Just wanted to see what the general consensus is. I have a large maple slab that I posted about in another thread. Should I plane/sand this down a good bit before I put in the bowties or doesn't it matter? It's relatively flat and fairly smooth cut, but I imagine I'll probably still lose 1/2 inch.

Just curious as I found a cabinet maker close to me that has a 36" drumt sander and he said he'll take it from whatever I want all the way up to 150 grit for me for $50. Should I bowtie before or after?


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## Kevin (Sep 29, 2015)

I get the board to finished thickess then install butterfly before sanding or scraping.

Reactions: Agree 2


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## calcnerd (Sep 29, 2015)

OK thanks @Kevin I'll have him sand it down for me & then put in the bowties & keep going as needed.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## Kevin (Sep 29, 2015)

calcnerd said:


> OK thanks @Kevin I'll have him sand it down for me & then put in the bowties & keep going as needed.



I always install the tie before sanding - never tried it after.


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## calcnerd (Sep 30, 2015)

@Kevin - Right, but if he's taking it down to final thickness with the 36" drum sander, shouldn't I wait to do bowties & then just finish sanding by hand?


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## Kevin (Sep 30, 2015)

Well by final thickness I mean before any sanding occurs. Think of the drum sander as a planing operation. When it comes out of the sander/planer that's when I would install the tie, then do the finish sanding with the ROS working through the grits. That's just how I would do it but you can install the tie before the drum sander if you want but if you do you need to get the tie the same flatness as the rest of the board first. He won't want to run it through with the tie very proud of the board IMO.


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## calcnerd (Sep 30, 2015)

Right. That's what I was getting at. I'm going to have him run it through first, then do the bow ties. Thanks!


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## paarker (Oct 2, 2015)

I would put the ties in first. Then get them close to the rest of the thickness of the slab. After that the whole slab, bow ties included, can be finished sanded with the drum sander.


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