I cut a 20" x 6'' x 2" piece of Purpleheart to a curve of 1" thick (Radius is roughly 53")

Question

I used a band saw to cut the shape roughly and finished it up with a belt sander. The sander has left ripples from where I cut the relief cuts used for when I shaped it first on the band saw. Question is, how do I get rid of these ripples if the Belt sander won't do it.

Answer 1

Actually if you keep sanding with the belt sander it should come out, just keep the sander in constant motion. or if you, or someone you know has a disc sander that would do the job.

Answer 2

As mentioned, the belt sander will do the job. It could be that your relief cuts were a little deeper than the edge cut. There is no question that if you keep sanding they will disappear. A larger problem might be maintaining the radius you want with continued sanding, a belt sander is a pretty aggressive machine. Ideally you would use a stationary sander and move the work. It's much easier to control the amount of material removed that way

Answer 3

hand sand it,
the belt sander viberates while sanding,

Answer 4

a rasp