I've seen pictures of the barrel polishing process that have sanding/polishing backers present. They are rubber, semi-circle profile lengthwise, and have a handle on top. Not finding any for myself yet, I've been various sizes of automotive heater hoses, split lengthwise, and cut to lengths desired. They work, and they're also harder to hold on to which aggravates arthritis.
Anyone have a source for what I've described?
Cork block has been my choice for years .Cheap to buy and easy to form in both 1/2" and 1" . Make them about 4&1/2" x 3" hollow one edge rounded on the other . Some have tapered off edges to get to the sides of top ribs . A 1/16" piece of plate ,alloy brass , steel , tapered to a feather edge for getting down to the rib edges . For narrow bottom and side ribs use a piece of 1/4" ply and shape to suit .Just cut your cloth /paper to 1/8 sheet and wrap around .
I made a bunch of blocks from Counter Top Solid Surface Material. Hard, and rigid. 12mm Corian scraps. Fileable, sandable, machinable.
I like Gunman's practical take on all this stuff.
http://www.rockler.com/rockler-contour-sanding-gripsI use these backers....great stuff. The make them concave, convex and wedge shape. Well worth the cost. I use cork blocks as well. Depends upon what I am doing.
That's what I saw some using. My results are fine with what I have, but I need something more to hold onto.
Another very good backer is the felt pads brownells sells for buffing stocks. I find them excellent, especially for the top and bottom contours of a stock. They come in different levels of stiffness, I like the medium. YMMV.
Steve
Both gum rubber and dry board erasers work well. If you have access to a scrap yard, old car frames have a wide variety of hard rubber blocks, wedges, and bushings that can be shaped and adapted.
I have what you are talking about and got them at Woodcraft. They look like the ones on the Midway USA videos of polishing the barrels of a parker shotgun They come in a package of a couple different sizes and I think I paid less than $20 for them. They work pretty good but I also use erasers and a wide file as backers. I couldn't find them on their website but I know they have them in their stores. Hope this helps. Hereford
Look up tadpole sanders: http://www.leevalley.com/us/wood/page.aspx?p=20183&cat=1,42500
I guess I'm cheap; I use scrap Turkish walnut ground into any shape I need. For "blending" I glue cork to them.
Dry grocery store cellulose sponges work pretty well as backers for sanding wood.
Sort of conform to the shape of the pieces being sanded, but not for sharp corners.
Chuck