12 Tips for Faster, Smoother, Better Sanding

People give me strange looks when I tell them that I don't mind sanding. Yeah, it is jarring and somewhat tedious, but that I enjoy watching the nice detail in the wood grain pop out as I move through the grit sequence. That glossy smooth coating reminds me why I became a woodworker. I also look at sanding as my best opportunity to grab potential completing issues before they blossom into absolute disasters. Nevertheless, I love to sand economically and get excellent results for my time. I've learned some simple techniques over time which are able to prevent you from spending more hours at work than necessary. Here's a sampling.

Pencil Lines Tell You When to Prevent

There's nothing worse than sanding directly through a veneer. Pencils lines really are a excellent method to gauge sanding advancement. I always draw lines onto plywood at which it meets a solid hardwood border. The lines will start to disappear if the timber edge is flush with the plywood. That is when you know that it's time to stop.

Pencil lines focus with glued-up boards, too. The planks are not even before all of the traces are still gone.

Dust Collection Improves Sander Performance

Without dust accumulation, your sander rides on a level of sawdust, greatly reducing its effectiveness. With a shop vacuum hooked around a sander, excess sanding dust and grit particles are vacuumed up immediately. This ensures complete contact between the paper and the wood in any way times allowing your sander to work on maximum potential. Plus, the lack of grit and dust helps keep youpersonally, your shop as well as your lungs tidy.

Scrapers Leave Sanders at the Dust

Scrapers have now been around for hundreds of years, and for good reason: They perform the work fast! A sharp scraper leaves hardwoods having a smooth conclusion that just needs a little finish sanding. A scraper is faster compared to an orbital sander and also you also never have to change grits. The tough part is getting a fantastic leading edge on the scraper; it will take some practice. But, as soon as you have applied a sharp scraper, you will find yourself reaching for it more often than for the own sander. (For more about sharpening a scraper, visit AW Number102, September 2003, "fool-proof Scraper Sharpening".)

Maintain Edges Crisp

Lay pieces of scrap wood of equal depth to bridge the bit you're sanding. This can prevent the sander from tipping and rounding over the sharp borders.

For sanding the narrow edges of doors, clamp the door between 2 pieces of thick stock to help steady the breaker.

Jump Grits

Really, it is OK. We checked with several significant sandpaper manufacturers and each one said exactly the same thing: Whatever Duties you start with, you're able to skip any additional self as you progress from rough to fine. Utilizing each self explanatory in sequence is almost always overkill, as well as extremely dull. If you begin in 100, jump to 150, then 220. Or in 80, visit 120 and then 180.

Pipe Insulation Contour Sander

Sticky-backed sandpaper and foam pipe insulation team up to make perfect custom contour sanders. The flexible pipe insulating material might be rolled to conform to almost any type of curve.

Coarse Grit Saves Time

If you need to remove a lot of material, using too good a self is just a waste of time and paper. Use 80- to 100-grit sandpaper to accomplish the hard, time-consuming work. As a Guideline, you should spend about 80 percent

Of energy with those coarser grits. Subsequently the finer grits simply remove scratch marks from the old self.

Flap Sanders Eat Wood

A flap-sanding disc turns out an angle grinder into a terrific tool for shaping and sculpting wood. You're going to be stunned at how fast these things remove timber. Be sure to take time to practice a bit before you scoop out your first seat seat.

Soft Pads Increase Random-Orbit Sanders' Flexibility

A soft replacement pad does much better job compared to standard firm pad which accompanies your own random-orbit sander when it involves sanding contoured areas.

The thick, flexible mat adheres into your soft curve. A rigid mat will dig in and ruin the job.

Hold Wood Steady with a No-Slip Pad

Router pads do a wonderful job of gripping flat pieces of wood during sanding. With a router pad, you don't have to avoid and move clamps around or (certainly one of my personal bad habits) make an effort to hang on to a board along with your fingertips and work the sander one-handed.

A Raking Light Finds Hidden Defects

Shine a bright light from other angles across coated boards to illuminate hard-to-see swirl marks and problem stains while they are still simple to repair. Make use of the light before each grit change and you'll avoid being forced to back up a few grit levels to eliminate a deep scratch.

Dampen the Wood for a Clean, Smooth Finish

Once your finished move with the power sander, then wipe a damp sponge within the wood. Since the wood dries, some other loose wood fibers will probably endure up.

Allow wood dry completely. Then gently sand the whole surface with 220 or greater grit paper to knock off the whiskers. This returns as smooth a timber surface because you can get and is especially essential once you utilize water-based finishes that typically enhance the grain any way.

Wetting the timber may even reveal any hidden adhesive smears or sweat drips. Or you may wait until the varnish is on to see them--your choice.

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