wrote in message
...
I'd like to ask for advice on purchasing a sander that will help us on
some home projects.

snip

The real secret is in your knife (trowel) skills. Try not to get too much
on the joint and once relatively smooth resist the urge to give it another
touch. If there are ridges from off of the sides of the trowel use a light
touch to get it off. Likewise, you could wait until it dries and then hit
it with a damp sponge and use an empty trowel as a scraper. Use this
technique on the whole joint and keep the dust to a minimum. It produces a
very smoothe finish. A pro will probably be checking in on this thread so
take his advise over mine, for sure.