Sanding -- why do they do that to me? :-)
 

Hi,

I'm kind of curious about the benefits of sanding. Plus,
I'm extra confused by the long list of choices for the
type of sander (handheld, random orbital, belt, finish
sanders, etc -- what the hell is that? aren't all the
others I mentioned intended as finishing tools?)

So, it makes me wonder: why does a surface that has been
extra smoothed with a properly-sharp hand plane, or even
a flush router bit, etc., need sanding? Those things
get a mirror-look flatness that makes me wonder why would
I want to pass a sanding machine on it.

Another thing is: I guess sanding should be the very
last step -- am I understanding correctly assuming that
it should be done *after* assembling all the pieces?
If so, what about concave corners? (i.e., when one has
to sand the inside of a right-angle)

I'll be most grateful for any tips you may offer to
a complete beginner -- so far I've been learning and
getting more confident with *building* the furniture
piece (working all the pieces, joints, improving my
skills with the tools, etc.). But right now I'm near
the end of my first project, and it's completely
assembled, only missing the finishing details.

Any advice on what tools to look for would be also
appreciated.

Thanks,

Carlos
--

Hi,

I'm kind of curious about the benefits of sanding. Plus,
I'm extra confused by the long list of choices for the
type of sander (handheld,

Finish sanding to just prior to a finish, or between coats of finish

random orbital,

Good compromise of minimal scratch patter and agressiveness.

belt

NOT a finishing tool. Belt sanders are for removing material (shaping not
smoothing).

finish

See handheld.

sanders, etc -- what the hell is that? aren't all the
others I mentioned intended as finishing tools?)

No belt sander.


So, it makes me wonder: why does a surface that has been
extra smoothed with a properly-sharp hand plane,

It doesn't.

or even a flush router bit, etc., need sanding?

Maybe. It depends on the surface left by the prior step of machining. A
power planer seldom leaves a surface which is ready for a finish. This
should be followed by either sanding scraping or smoothing with a handplane.

Those things
get a mirror-look flatness that makes me wonder why would
I want to pass a sanding machine on it.

You get it. There is no need if the prior machining (power or hand) step
leaves a surface that is good enough.
There is no magic to sanding that you are missing.

Also, understand that flat and smooth are not the same thing. Sanding *can*
help with both of these.


Another thing is: I guess sanding should be the very
last step -- am I understanding correctly assuming that
it should be done *after* assembling all the pieces?

No necessarily. But be careful, if you sand before assembling, you can round
over acorner which is supposed to be flush with the adjoining part. It will
look wrong if you do.

If so, what about concave corners? (i.e., when one has
to sand the inside of a right-angle)

This is a good place to sand before assembly.

I'll be most grateful for any tips you may offer to
a complete beginner -- so far I've been learning and
getting more confident with *building* the furniture
piece (working all the pieces, joints, improving my
skills with the tools, etc.). But right now I'm near
the end of my first project, and it's completely
assembled, only missing the finishing details.

Any advice on what tools to look for would be also
appreciated.

Or don't sand. There are alternatives such as using a card scraper for final
preparation of a surface. A plane or a well-tuned scraper will slice the
wood at cellular boundries, or at least cut cleanly. Sanding grinds the
surface and will generally leave a less chatoyance.


-Steve

On Mon, 06 Dec 2004 12:44:59 -0500, Carlos Moreno
wrote:

Hi,

I'm kind of curious about the benefits of sanding. Plus,
I'm extra confused by the long list of choices for the
type of sander (handheld, random orbital, belt, finish
sanders, etc -- what the hell is that? aren't all the
others I mentioned intended as finishing tools?)


There's no benefit to sanding a piece which has been smooth-planed.

My spokeshave work still needs a bit of sanding. :)

Sanding is FAST and doesn't require much skill and can be done quickly
by powerful machines in a commercial mass production shop.

Planing takes a bit of practice, but produces a finish that brings me to
tears once I'm in the planing zone.

Router profiles don't usually need much sanding, but sometimes do,
depending on how sharp your bit is.

If you're doing handwork on solid wood, plane, spokeshave and breathe
easy.

If you're doing kitchen-sized runs of cabinet carcases, you'll probably
consider some kind of sanding apparatus.

Hand sanding is easy and doesn't raise scads of dust, but is slow.

Palm sanders are faster, but dusty. You'll want a downdraft table or
nice weather so you can work outside.

A random-orbit sander is faster and dustier.

A belt sander is fastest and dustiest of all, but requires a bit of
practice not to mung things.

Beyond that, you get into oscillating spindle sanders, drum sanders,
belt sanders which all have their niche. The only "Gee I wish I . . "
sanding machines for me are a 6x48 belt sander and a skinny sander for
knife grinding. Others might tell you that you need a triple drum
sander that can do a 48" wide table in a single pass . . .

Sanding after assembly ensures adjacent surfaces are truly flush with
one another. Sand difficult to reach surfaces before assembly, also.
I tend to plane, sand, assemble, sand, wet to raise grain, sand with 400
LIGHTLY, dye, seal, sand, topcoat, sand, topcoat, sand, topcoat.

David

Carlos Moreno wrote:


Hi,

I'm kind of curious about the benefits of sanding. Plus,
I'm extra confused by the long list of choices for the
type of sander (handheld, random orbital, belt, finish
sanders, etc -- what the hell is that? aren't all the
others I mentioned intended as finishing tools?)

So, it makes me wonder: why does a surface that has been
extra smoothed with a properly-sharp hand plane, or even
a flush router bit, etc., need sanding? Those things
get a mirror-look flatness that makes me wonder why would
I want to pass a sanding machine on it.

Another thing is: I guess sanding should be the very
last step -- am I understanding correctly assuming that
it should be done *after* assembling all the pieces?
If so, what about concave corners? (i.e., when one has
to sand the inside of a right-angle)

I'll be most grateful for any tips you may offer to
a complete beginner -- so far I've been learning and
getting more confident with *building* the furniture
piece (working all the pieces, joints, improving my
skills with the tools, etc.). But right now I'm near
the end of my first project, and it's completely
assembled, only missing the finishing details.

Any advice on what tools to look for would be also
appreciated.

Thanks,

Carlos
--

Just tilt the blade and run the stock through flat. That is unless you get
some interference between the dado blade and some part of your saw. It
should be doable.

-j


"Carlos Moreno" wrote in message
...

Hi,

I'm kind of curious about the benefits of sanding. Plus,
I'm extra confused by the long list of choices for the
type of sander (handheld, random orbital, belt, finish
sanders, etc -- what the hell is that? aren't all the
others I mentioned intended as finishing tools?)

So, it makes me wonder: why does a surface that has been
extra smoothed with a properly-sharp hand plane, or even
a flush router bit, etc., need sanding? Those things
get a mirror-look flatness that makes me wonder why would
I want to pass a sanding machine on it.

Another thing is: I guess sanding should be the very
last step -- am I understanding correctly assuming that
it should be done *after* assembling all the pieces?
If so, what about concave corners? (i.e., when one has
to sand the inside of a right-angle)

I'll be most grateful for any tips you may offer to
a complete beginner -- so far I've been learning and
getting more confident with *building* the furniture
piece (working all the pieces, joints, improving my
skills with the tools, etc.). But right now I'm near
the end of my first project, and it's completely
assembled, only missing the finishing details.

Any advice on what tools to look for would be also
appreciated.

Thanks,

Carlos
--

U-CDK_CHARLES\Charles wrote:

[...] Others might tell you that you need a triple drum
sander that can do a 48" wide table in a single pass . . .

This reminded me of an old joke...

- *sigh* I wish I had the money to buy a triple 48" drum sander...

- What do you need that drum sander for?

- I need the 30 thousand dollars, not the sander!!


;-)


Carlos
--
PS: Thanks for all the tips and info!