Connor Aston wrote:
I was in the workshop tonight, and I'm making a 14" x 28" top for a
music centre
planned down to 7/8" some white oak 10" wide.
So I put it through my performax 16/32 with 100 grit so the planer
marks are away. Thats all I think the performax is really good for
too many lines show up even with finer grits.
But the question is finishing from here.
Should I use a

1. Reciprocating sander (i dont actually own one)
or use an
2. Orbital sander (I have and use one of these)

Which gives the better finish and what is a suitable final grade
180/240/360?

What gives the best finish is a scraper. Fact of life: all sanders use
something with a cutting grit, grit makes marks. How noticeable those
marks are depends on their direction and the size of the grit making
them.

Reciprocating (straight line) sanders should be used to sand in the
direction of the grain; thus marks tend to be hidden by the grain.

Orbital sanders cut in little circles. Like any cutting tool, wood
removed *with* the grain (within the little circles) will be smoother
than that removed cross grain; however, the circles *are* small

Final grade depends on what wood and what you intend to do with it (type
of finish). Personally, I rarely use anything above 240 on anything
other than a surface finish itself.


--
dadiOH
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