Is there a primer thread on sanding?

[Mark Garc NYC]

I haven't been able to find much info comparing methods of sanding. I was tempted by so many tools this past weekend, belt sanders, drum sanders , orbital. Is there common knowledge on when to use a particular method vs another?

[Brian Kent]

Hi Mark.

I use a Delta 18-36 drum sander for getting out bandsaw surface marks and for matching thickness on similar parts. This gets a whole lot of use for furniture. I do not have a thickness planer, so this is a slow substitute, but with no cutting marks.

I use my Grizzly combo sander (6" x 48" belt and 9" disk) a lot for boxes, curves, tool shaping, and the disk for tuning an angle that is not quite right.

I use planes whenever I can for putting a beyond-sanding surface on a flat surface or convex curve. Spokeshave or sanding for concave curves.

The Bosch 5" Random Orbit Sander is my good friend for a fairly fast sanding of everything but the smooth planed surface. Corners and hard to reach surfaces are covered by sandblock. When I need fine sanding between finish coats, I use the sandblock.

For complex joinery, smoothing curves together, I use folded sandpaper after the Nicholson 49 rasp and various files have done the hard work.

Brian

[Todd Burch]

Sanding is a PITA, unless you do it right. Then it's only annoying.

All the following need to be taken into consideration when approaching the task of sanding:


Understand when you can stop sanding
Using sandpaper too long is false economy
Take care of the edges and the flat parts take care of themselves
Power orbital sanding will leave swirls
Don't sand too early in the project


Each one of those is a magazine article or a chapter in a book.