When is best time to sand?

[Mike Conley]

This is probably an elementary question, but here goes.

When making drawers or boxes, do you sand before cutting the joints, after cutting, or after glue up. I don't like to sand after glue up because it is hard to sand in the corners. So, I have been cutting the joints first then sanding before glue up, but then the joints are loose.

I just had this problem on a drawer I was making with interlocking joints. I have had the same problem with dovetails in the past.

When is the best time to sand?

[Jamie Buxton]

I generally sand and finish drawer interiors before I cut the corner joinery. I get tight joints, freshly-cut wood for the glue to bond to, and finished surfaces to prevent squeeze-out from bonding. Drawer exteriors may get finished before or after assembly, depending on the corner joinery. If I'm using a lock tenon like your picture, I'll finish the exteriors at the same time I'm doing the interiors. If I'm using dovetails, I'll assemble the drawer first, trim the ends of the pins if necessary, and then sand and finish the exteriors.

[Cliff Rohrabacher]

put a little painter's or masking tape over the place where you don't want to remove stock. Visually that'll help you avoid it and CYA for the few times you do run over it.

[David Giles]

That's my favorite drawer joint for plywood. Most of my drawers are 1/2" Baltic birch with a shellac finish. I tend to spray 2 coats of 1# shellac on the 5x5 sheet and sand back with 220 - 320grit. This gives a nice smooth surface that only needs touchup sanding and 2-3 coats final finish after the drawers are machined and glued.