I don't mind sanding...

**Toxxyc** · 15th February 2023, 07:59 PM

Hey guys,

So something that I've been seeing for a while now, is that people generally seem to absolutely hate sanding. In general, it seems to be something that people don't want to do, but HAVE to do, and when doing it, they hate it. So this weekend I was sanding a set of drawers that someone else built out of Mahogany. The set of drawers was built by a guy who bought a bunch of tools and a bunch of laminated sheets of Mahogany, but he didn't really have a good idea of what he was doing. He used those corner blocks to "join" the wood on the corners, and then filled the gaps with wood filler putty. The drawers he built wasn't straight and the drawer boxes fell off the rails on the inside as a result. I was tasked with fixing it.

What I ended up doing was straightening the rails, fixing the drawer faces into the rest of the drawers so that they remain well in place, and sanding. A lot of sanding. Oh yes, and a little bit of routing to just finish the drawer faces to just make them look a bit more "finished". Anyway, what I want to focus on is the sanding.

It's obvious that the wood panels he purchased were made in a mass production facility, and the wood wasn't properly dried when it was laminated. As a result the wood was quite rough, some of the panels cupped a bit as time went on and there were some gaps between the boards laminated together (joinery not done properly). I was very negative about the entire project but hey, money is money.

So when the sanding started, that's where I realized that I don't really dislike sanding. I mean, I stick earphones in my ears, jump onto Spotify, get my dust mask on and have at it. I started off tackling the whole thing with 80 grit on my Bosch RO sander. This involved sanding off an huge amount of the wood filler putty, and also sanding out the misaligned corners so that they just look more matching. I finished off the 80 grit, proceeded to 120 grit, then 150 grit and finally 180 grit. Once I hit the 180 grit I decided that I actually like sanding. Yes, it takes a lot of time and the vibration makes my hand itch, but for me this is the first time you can see how wood finishes in the entire building process.

The wood still has its problems, yes, but the rough, unappealing wood turned into a smooth, flat, satin-like finish. It's like half of the issues with the entire project is sanded away, and reveals beauty that's previously unseen. This beauty obscures some other issues as your eye is drawn to the grain of the wood, and your hand can feel the silky smooth wood that's been given just a coat of clear lacquer. You don't even see that the sides are mismatched, or that the top is bowed, or that the drawer faces aren't completely evenly spaced. Sanding fixed a lot of that, and I feel that way every time I work with wood and I get to the sanding stage.

Am I the only one? I'll say it - I quite enjoy sanding.

**double.d** · 16th February 2023, 11:51 AM

Well i'm a hater. I use mostly figured timbers that could not be passed through my bladed thicknesser so all thicknessing was done on the 80g drum sander then with the ROS at 120g then 180g then 240g then when the box was together it would get another hit with 240g then at the final stage a 320g then a 600g.

Now i have a helical head thicknesser so in most cases i can now skip the initial 120g 180g and 240g. Saves a lot of time for this grumpy old bastard.

**tonzeyd** · 16th February 2023, 12:05 PM

It depends on the type of sanding, hand sanding i don't mind, despise using an RO sander, but absolutely love using a drum sander. Def one of the best things to have in the shed.

**Fuzzie** · 16th February 2023, 12:24 PM

I hate the tingling hand sensations from the vibrations. I suspect if it was a regular thing I did I worry I might end up with some sort of permanent nerve damage, so I avoid it as much as possible. When I do have to sand I connect the ROS to the shop vac to limit dust exposure as well.

**BEM** · 16th February 2023, 04:10 PM

I don't mind sanding either. It's mindless work for the most part. You can think on other things.

**Toxxyc** · 16th February 2023, 04:16 PM

I have a fairly basic Bosch blue RO sander, but it has fairly decent built-in dust capturing. I still use a dust mask, and with the dust mask on I don't even smell the wood dust. I think one of the reasons I enjoy sanding is because it's not something you can really stuff up. I charge per hour, and sitting there, listening to music, watching beauty unfold, man, there are worse ways to spend your time. Like cleaning up knot holes.

**Skew ChiDAMN!!** · 16th February 2023, 06:13 PM

Me, I have a foot in both camps.

Flatwork at bench-height? Not a problem, I can - and have - do that all day and enjoy the work.

But when it comes to sanding into tight corners or around carvings or what can be called the 'fiddly stuff' then in all honesty I'm always relieved when it's over.

Worst of all is anything where I need to crouch or stretch to reach.

**JK_Qld** · 17th February 2023, 07:56 AM

I hate sanding, I had carpal tunnel syndrome in both hands for over 10 years so using an electric sander meant I was in for at least 3 days of no sleep, hand sanding wasn't much better.

I finally got the surgeries to fix that up mid last year, recovery has been a bit double edged, I no longer get the nerve pain, but my hands tire out and get achey really fast now so I still dread it.

My approach these days is to do as much surface prep with a hand plane as I can manage, I normally only need to blend the surfaces with a bit of 240 before finishing, it's a lot more manageable.

I'm still trying to achieve a finish ready surface with just a plane, I can get close but tight areas always beat me.

**ED65** · 20th February 2023, 11:32 PM

I quite like sanding, but that's because I do so little of it

More seriously, if I had to use sanding up through the grits to smooth and prep every surface I don't think I'd still be woodworking, regardless if I had good dust collection.

On flat surfaces I plane as much as I can, and do as much as possible after that by scraping. So >98% of what might be done with an ROS has already been done before I reach for the abrasives.

**ED65** · 20th February 2023, 11:37 PM

Originally Posted by JK_Qld

I'm still trying to achieve a finish ready surface with just a plane...

That's the dream for a lot of us!

Originally Posted by JK_Qld

I can get close but tight areas always beat me.

Might be worth looking at various scraping options for those, if your carpal tunnel would allow?

Thread: I don't mind sanding...

Thread Tools

Search Thread

I don't mind sanding...

Similar Threads

My Mind

The Mind

All in the mind

Who in their right mind???........

WHAT did this guy have on his mind.

Posting Permissions