Re: Fixing a stupid mistake

[Ruster]

Just bite the bullet and redo the top. You will spend three times the amount of time trying to fix the problem and it still won't look right. Biscuits are simple to use and almost foolproof.

[MSH]

Short of doing it over, buy and learn how to sharpen a scraper. It will become your good friend. I don't know about the scraper you mentioned but Red Devil blades and a hammer handle gives a lot of leverage to take down a lot of wood in a hurry.

At the hardware store buy a large hammer handle, cut off one side where the shim would normally go, drill a hole for the blade and fasten with a small screw, washer and wingnut. Fits the hand like a....hammer handle, and the leverage!! Or buy a premade but shorter handle. Buy a bastard file, learn to file a *straight* edge at about 30 degrees. Hand sand (with the grain!)with

50 or 60 before staining. Many, many thousands of feet of hardwood flooring are done this way.

M Hamlin

[Silvan]

You could take a chain and beat the crap out of the thing. Call it "distressed" and raise the price 40%. :)

[McQualude]

UTRECHT spaketh...

The same thing happened to me, but instead of Mistake #2, I used a hand plane to plane the top flat. Lots of work, but a lot less than work than fixing Mistake #2.

It doesn't help now, but 2 things I learned about belt sanders, 1) Never stop moving and 2) Never sand cross grain

You mean ROS, random orbital sander; a RAS is a radial arm saw. You really have no choice but plane it out or toss the top and start over. I would hand plane it out. A local Woodworking Shop offered to sand my table top on a wide belt sander for $25, I would look for a shop that could sand it out for you. Take the breadboard ends off first, have them sand those also so they remain the same thickness. Put everything back together.

This might help in the future... I learned the hard way to start with a low grit sandpaper on my ROS, usually 60 grit and spend plenty of time with it until I am sure the only marks remaining are from the sandpaper. Then switch to 80, then 120, 150, 220, etc. By the time you are done, you will only need a few strokes with a sanding block to get rid of the ROS marks (you may not see them until you stain, but they are there).

Wide belt sanders are open on one side, so that an 18" belt sander can sand up to 36" wide. There is no need to rip the boards apart. The risk is not losing width or length, but losing thickness.

Fillers usually stain a little darker than surrounding wood, the scratches would still be there (visually) they would just be smooth.

Handscrapers are very cool for some purposes, but I'm not sold that they can replace sandpaper. This is a job for sandpaper or a hand plane, IMHO.

[Phisherman]

[Smokey]

Perfect opportunity to learn to use a cabinet scraper - Veritas (Lee Valley) has a great one - The Stanley #80 works well - I mostly just use flat steel like the $10.95 set at

/// Smokey

[John Grossbohlin]

I suspect that you don't need something like a Stanley No 80 cabinet scraper, that has a cast iron body and handles, as you have already leveled the boards one to the other. The flat hand scrapers like Marks uses should take care of the job... I've seen them in places like True Value Hardware and Woodworkers Warehouse so you might find one locally. Mail order makes Lie Nielson, Stanley, Bahco (used to be Sandvik) and myriad others available. I've got a Stanley for heavy work like leveling glued up boards and removing paint, and a couple thinner L-N scrapers for finer work. Check Highland Hardware

and search for 'scraper' for a good selection.

John

[Andy Dingley]

There's no need to use biscuits.

Is the breadboard end glued ? Rather defeats the point of permitting movement.

I'd definitely remove the breadboard ends, if they are glued, and use loose tenons or a loose spline to re-attach them (you might need to peg the tenons). I wouldn't dismantle the top.

Then get on the phone and find a wide belt sander.

If you can't find that, use a #80. Search the group on how to sharpen them and put a hook on the edge, and you'll need a burnisher too.