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.