It has two wedge-shaped slots cut on the top to hold the sandpaper. A pair of wood wedges fit in the slots to keep the sandpaper in place. I sized my edge sander to accommodate commonly available 1" strips of sandpaper.
The edge sander is cut from an oversize blank. Make sure to run the blank you’ll be using through the jointer to ensure the bottom edge is truly flat. After cutting the block to length, I rounded the top corners on the front and back edges. A band saw makes quick work of the wedge-shaped slots on the top edge.
The biggest challenge of this sanding block is cutting the small wedges. When cutting small parts like this, I prefer to start with an oversize blank. This makes it easier to keep fingers away from the blade. Be sure to cut the wedges the same width as the sanding block, or slightly narrower. finish up. To make the sander easier to hold, I also added a screen door handle. Now just add a strip of sandpaper and this block is ready for use.
