Final Sanding

[Connor Aston]

I was in the workshop tonight, and I'm making a 14" x 28" top for a music centre planned down to 7/8" some white oak 10" wide. So I put it through my performax 16/32 with 100 grit so the planer marks are away. Thats all I think the performax is really good for too many lines show up even with finer grits. But the question is finishing from here. Should I use a

1. Reciprocating sander (i dont actually own one) or use an
2. Orbital sander (I have and use one of these)

Which gives the better finish and what is a suitable final grade

180/240/360?

[tom]

Hand sand the little thing. Whatever finish you plan to use can help determine the final grit needed. Tom

[Scott Lurndal]

Go up to 180 or 220 on your performax, then hand sand with the grain to 320. Depending on your finish, of course. If you are painting, don't bother with the 320.

You should get lines with the performax if it is adjusted and tuned correctly.

scott

[David]

Random orbit sander, scraper, or scraper plane. 180 or 220 before applying finish. if staining, don't go too high or oil based stains won't penetrate. try going to 320+ on maple and then try to stain it. It won't take. DAMHIKT...

Dave

[Swingman]

Are there anti-adjust and de-tune instructions to make sure that doesn't happen?

[David]

I've read lots of messages about drum sanders leaving lines. it isn't an adjustment; it's because of the linear path of the sandpaper across the wood.

Try skewing the workpiece a bit differently each pass and don't take heavy cuts, according to others.

dave

[Bob S]

Dave,

The skewing of the stock helps prevent snipe. The sanding striations will still be there, just at a different angle. I've found the best combination for me is to use the drum sander up to 150, maybe 180 grit, then finish with

180 and 220 on the ROS. If it needs to go to 320, I like to hand-sand it to insure I don't burnish the wood and mess up the next step of staining. But that's my personal preference and will vary with the wood and papers you're using.

Bob S.

[Scott Lurndal]

Ooops. should be "should not" not "should".

scott

[David]

Bob, your comments mirror many I've read across the web about drum sanders; that a ROS is the next step.

dave

[Leon]

I highly recomend the Porter Cable Speed Bloc Finish sander. This is a serious sander that works day after day for years. Old school design sith a square bottom, good for inside corners. It will keep up with many ROS's.

If you decide on a orbital sander, get a RANDOM orbital sander.

For Oak I NEVER go past 180 grit but you do need to use all grades in between the 100 and final grade that you choose.

[Jim]

the grade by the appearance of the wood. For things like this, I would stop at 400. Jim

[connor aston]

[connor aston]

[dadiOH]

Sure, just takes longer.

A better choice IMO is a half sheet sander. Particularly the Porter Cable 505...nicest finishing sander I know. The thing that makes it so good is not the machine itself (which is just fine) but the thick felt pad on the bottom. That combined with the weight of the sander really levels stuff out.

-- dadiOH ____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06... ...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that. Get it at

[dadiOH]

What gives the best finish is a scraper. Fact of life: all sanders use something with a cutting grit, grit makes marks. How noticeable those marks are depends on their direction and the size of the grit making them.

Reciprocating (straight line) sanders should be used to sand in the direction of the grain; thus marks tend to be hidden by the grain.

Orbital sanders cut in little circles. Like any cutting tool, wood removed *with* the grain (within the little circles) will be smoother than that removed cross grain; however, the circles *are* small :)

Final grade depends on what wood and what you intend to do with it (type of finish). Personally, I rarely use anything above 240 on anything other than a surface finish itself.

-- dadiOH ____________________________

dadiOH's dandies v3.06... ...a help file of info about MP3s, recording from LP/cassette and tips & tricks on this and that. Get it at

[Leon]

Yes it does.

[robo hippy]

I have been using my Performax sander for over 10 years now and am still learning about it. The main cause of the linear scratch marks seems to be the old problem of not getting out all of the sanding marks from the previous grit before moving up to the next grit. You can sand to 220 grit, and have a very nice surface that requires only minimal hand sanding. If you don't want to go that high, use the good old card scraper. You can follow that with 220. It is a lot less work to scrape a 150 or 180 grit surface than it is a 120 grit surface. When running any boards through the sander, I always finish with at least 2 passes on each side before lowering the sander again. I always rotate the board to compensate for the sander not being parallel to the bed, no matter how close I think it may set up. Also watch out for the edges of the boards. They are very sharp and will cut you as you run your hand up and down the board to feel how smooth it is. robo hippy

[Teamcasa]

Hand scraper. For Oak it works great.

Dave

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[bob]

I just finished a 2' x 5' oak tabletop, made from 4 6" slabs glued up. After planing, I sanded it by hand with 320, following the grain. It was like glass when I was done. For something that small, do it by hand. Can't beat it.

[David]

It couldn't have been "like glass" unless you filled the pores. did you?

Dave