Woodworker's Journal 2011-35-Winter, страница 18

Sanding: The Real Key To A Great Finish

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idable, sanding be drudgery. our you sand smarter.

Every sanding operation has an objective: something specific you want to accomplish. The author breaks down the process into four steps and details the objective to each.

Sanding. Ugh. If that's how you feel, you are in good company. Nobody likes doing it; yet most people sand too much and still don't get the results they deserve. Woodworkers often blame the choice of finish or their application technique for less-than-per-fect finishes when in fact they are fighting with poorly prepared surfaces. How a finish feels and looks may have more to do with how you sanded the wood than how you applied the finish. I can't eliminate sanding from the finishing process, but I can tell you

how to do it, and what to use, so that you'll get a beautifully prepared surface in the quickest time with the least effort.

What's the Point?

Each sanding operation has an objective: something specific you want to accomplish. You need to know what the objective is for each step, along with the fastest way to achieve it. Step One is to remove tool marks and machine marks from the wood. If you just finished using the planer, jointer, saw, hand plane or chisel, there are

most likely some marks. Perhaps the surface is uneven or not quite flat, or curves are too bumpy. Use a coarse (80- or 100-grit) aluminum oxide paper, sanding diagonally, to flatten or contour the surface. As soon as the tool marks are gone and the surface is smooth and flat, stop sanding and move on to step two. Step Two also has only one objective, to remove the coarse scratches left by step one. Switch to 120- or 150-grit aluminum oxide paper to remove the scratches left in Step One. If you are sanding by hand, change directions so you are sanding diagonally at 90 degrees to the last sanding. As soon as all the old 80-grit scratches are gone, stop. Step Three is similar to Step Two. Use 180-grit aluminum oxide paper to remove the scratches left by the last sanding, then stop as soon as the 120-grit scratches are gone.

While sanding is the key to a great finish, knowing how to sand efficiently is the key to woodworking enjoyment.

18 sanding: the real key to a great finish