I've read quite a bit on this using the search fuction on this board. It seems most of you use a lathe and sanding blocks in various grits to sand down a bumpy or wavy finish before the final coat.
I don't have a lathe. Is there a way to sand it down evenly without a lathe?

Just use a basic sanding block. wrap some sandpaper over a flat piece of wood and slowly rotate the rod as you sand down the length of the wrap.

Carefull. don't go into the thread. Do you have at least two nice coats on. ?

Worse, don't go onto the blank.

I am really wary of using sandpaper on finish. Too much can go wrong then you wind up having to redo it anyway, and its a waste of time and effort. I usally try to recoat with a thin coat, if that doesn't work I redo the wrap. Careful, if you sand too deeply you'll mess up the threadwork - so go easy. Before you sand wrap blank with a few layers of masking tape.

Lou

I used to sand wraps. I have given it up. It seems like no matter how careful I am I always end up fuzzing a thread somewhere. Maybe a trim ring out on the end where the finish pulled thin, maybe a trim ring in a wrap that got sorta pushed up when I tightened the threads. Yet I get wavey wraps that I need to fix.. I almost always cut and scrape with a sharp knife now rather than to sand. I can get it flat enough for the next coat to level. On the same thought, if it is wavey the first time and you sand and put another coat on the same way, it will be wavey the second time too. Took me a long time to learn to try not to keep repeating the same mistakes. I tried different finishes. I went through 3 of the LS formulations that did not work right. I have come back to using flexcoat regular. I can get a closer to flat finish with it than the others I have tried. It took me a long time to learn something else. If it is wavey it probably was not level. When Tom says you have to level the rod he is not kidding. I kept thinking, hey, this is bound to be close enough. Guess what, close makes a nice sprial wave in the finish.