Spokeshaves are great tools for fair. Make sure they are sharp. I do not use a power sander for fairing, they do not do that good a job in this respect. Sanding tends to conform to the existing texture of the wood. I eats into soft places faster than hard spots. A well-tuned, sharp edge tool such as a spokeshave or plane will is much easier to control and generally produces better results faster.

When I want to use sanding for fairing, I use a long-board fairing sander with coarse grit (60) paper. This works much like a plane, but squirrely grain is easier to deal with.

I use the power sander for smoothing the wood, after it has been faired out. I use it again on the the fiberglass. Nick

> Thanks for your info. Does a spokeshave really work that well in these
> sort of places - seems like a crude tool? Are you using a variable speed
> orb sander? Could you rate the relative effectiveness of smoothing out
> delicate decorative areas of these 2 tools?

> - mick