A fid is traditionally a tapered wooden tool that’s used by sail makers to stretch holes in canvas or to stretch and size rope grommets. In Italy, furniture makers developed a similarly shaped tool for sanding wood.

Fids turn out to be widely useful in the shop, and making one is a quick and straightforward project, even if you have only very basic wood-turning skills. Fids are particularly useful for sanding carvings, furniture legs and turnings with varying coves, as well as for fairing one compound cove curve smoothly into another.

Turn a fid on the lathe
You need only basic turning skills to make a sanding fid. The first step is turning the handle. It can be any design that suits you. I make fids in two sizes: the longer size has a 6-1/2-in.-long tapered portion, and the shorter fid has a 3-in.-long tapered portion. Diameters can vary from 2-1/2 in. dia. at their widest to 3/8 in. dia. at their narrowest taper.

Once you’ve turned the handle, work on the tapered portion with a large roughing gouge skewed at 45°. Take a light cut, starting at the tip and gradually backing up.

No matter what your desired degree of taper, it’s important that it be smooth. Any bump or curve will prevent a close fit of the sandpaper, and dips will create unsupported soft spots. As you develop the taper, check the flatness frequently using a straightedge (photo 2).

It helps to set the lathe’s tool rest at the angle you wish to achieve. Then gradually develop your taper parallel to the rest. Take a finishing cut when the taper is essentially complete (photo 3) or finish smoothing with sandpaper.

Turn the corners at the base and tip with a spindle gouge (photo 4), then finish the fid while it’s still on the lathe.

The next and last step is to cut the kerf on the bandsaw (photo 5). For safety, grip the handle of the fid with a parallel jaw clamp. Saw as straight as possible up the center of the taper from the tip to the base.