On Oct 12, 12:12 pm, "Toller" wrote:
I have tried cutting curved back rails with my band saw. I can get the
curve about right, but there are a lot of marks in it that need to be sanded
out, and I can't maintain the curve when I sand the marks out. Are there
any tricks here? (I mean other than sawing more smoothly so there is
nothing to sand out...) I suppose the outside is easy enough with a ROS,
but the inside needs a drum and that is rather more difficult.

I used a stationary belt sander to smooth out my bandsawn chair back
rails. I think I used about a 100 grit belt. The convex side was
easy to do on the platten, and the concave side was done carefully on
the wheel at the end of the belt. Worked quickly, looks good. Still
needs minor hand sanding (or possibly a finer belt) but overall the
process is pretty quick. This was with cherry; red oak might take a
little longer.
Do you have enough scrap and/or time to try one rail each way? If you
discover that one way is significantly quicker or better, it seems that
could save you a lot of time over a 4- or 6-chair run.
Good luck,
Andy