I have turned two grips so far with a couple of burl cork rings in them for accent. In both grips, I have found that the burl, being harder as a result of the epoxy I am guessing, is much harder to sand. I end up with a grip that is never quite the shape I wanted, because the burl is not sanded down as far as the surrounding cork. If I try to focus on the burl on the lathe, it still ends up sanding the regular cork in between the burl and surrounding the burl at a faster rate than the burl. Any suggestions? I'm starting with a sure file, then 60 grit on down. Related question, how does the Lamar "burl" cork compare to standard burl cork when you turn it?
Thanks,
Ryan

I turn my cork on a Grizzly lathe, and have used both regular burl and Andy's new exotic burl as alternating accent rings with plain cork. Like you say, both are a little harder and take longer to sand than the plain cork. But I've not found that to be a problem, I get an even sand as long as I'm attentive. I use long strips of sandpaper, about 1" wide, and "free hand" it, holding the ends of the paper with both hands above the turning handle, slightly on the near side, with the handle turning towards me from the top. I do not bear down hard, let the lathe do the work. I start with 60 grit, then 100, 150, 220. Where I really have to pay attention is turning down a rubberized cork butt cap, but even with that there has been no real problem.

Try using a sanding block.This will apply even pressure when sanding.