Here's a free opinion (and I've made a lot of scarfs ...never a failure
either);

- I prefer cut pores, not pores sanded and smooshed flat. Use of a circular
saw attachment (followed by a low-angle block plane finish) or a power hand
plane is what I do in my shop. I want the epoxy to suck as deeply in the
wood as possible, and judging by how many coats it takes to keep the cut
edges looking wet (3 coats, sometimes a 4th), I'd say that the epoxy is
going SOMEWHERE where it's doing some good for the strength of the joint.
Right into the pores.

- I vacuum scarf joints with a ShopVac prior to gluing. Then I wipe down
with a damp hand towel and let it dry for 20 minutes. Then I pre-wet with 3
or 4 coats of clear epoxy, then glue it up with a mix appropriate to the
task ...straight silica thickener, or silica plus milled glass fiber.

Just my 2-bits. When it comes to scarfing, there are a lot of ways to skin
the cat. I've heard of others having scarfs pop open when bending wood
around a boat, and wonder how many scarfs 'barely held' on others. That's
why I'm careful.

Brian D



"Brian Nystrom" wrote in message
news:%D2bf.233$SV1.39@trndny01...
wrote:
On Thu, 03 Nov 2005 14:32:49 GMT, Brian Nystrom
wrote:


I don't think anyone is disputing the utility of a belt sander and I
wouldn't be without one, but it's definitely not the best tool for making
scarfs.


Brian, you can't blow out the sanded area with a high pressure air
gun? I can't imagine ANY sand or grit being left in a sanded area
after a thorough blasting with an air gun using 100+ psi.

Actually, you're as likely to blow grit INTO the pores in the wood as out
of them.