11
votes
Accepted
Issue sanding between coats of polyurethane
Referencing steps from the directions on the can and the Minwax website
Let dry 4-6 hours. Then lightly sand entire surface with fine sandpaper (220 grit) to ensure an even finish and proper adhesion....
- 63.5k
11
votes
Orbital sander papers coming off
It sounds like you need to replace the pad on your sander. This is the "hook" part of the hook and loop system. This is a typical point of failure for orbital sanders, so it should be fairly easy to ...
- 5,490
10
votes
Accepted
Good way to sand wide curved faces
I'm working on a project that has a piece of curved (concave) crotch walnut...due to the grain direction of the crotch walnut it was very difficult for me to get a perfect surface finish.
Instead of ...
- 12.1k
10
votes
Accepted
Orbital sander papers coming off
Be sure to check whether the hooks (part of the hook-and-loop) on the backing pad are intact (not melted) and not clogged, all the way out to the edge of the pad. Usually the hooks around the edge ...
rob♦
- 18.7k
10
votes
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How do I achieve flush joinery when the pieces need to be stained differently?
Stain the pieces separately before they're glued up, hoping that I don't have to sand through the whole stain to get the joints flush.
Even the deepest penetrating commercial stains, applied in the ...
- 63.5k
9
votes
Accepted
Does the speed of sanding a piece of wood affect the end result?
A lower speed can be desirable if you're sanding between thin coats of finish or thin veneers, and you don't want to sand through the current coat or the veneer. But many of the lower-end or homeowner-...
rob♦
- 18.7k
8
votes
Accepted
Sanding the final coat of lacquer?
Try "sanding" it with a brown paper bag. That will be just abrasive enough to knock loose any dust nibs. It may polish the surface, though; try it on an inconspicuous area first to make sure you're ...
- 9,171
8
votes
Sanding inside pockets, fast
Bandfile Belt Sander
Not advocating any particular product but showing the product picture
Image from Harbour Frieght
That should help you get into the tight spots quickly and efficiently. Only ...
- 20.1k
8
votes
Accepted
Sanding inside pockets, fast
Personally I would have aimed for an internal milled finish that didn't require sanding, that's the ideal. Obviously too late for that now and I don't know if that's possible with the Shopbot and the ...
- 63.5k
8
votes
Accepted
What would be the best way to bevel an oval table top?
To expand upon @keshlam's answer, you're going to want to purchase a chamfer or low angle bevel bit. Amazon (among others) sells a 60-deg bevel bit (pictured below), and chamfer bits can be found at ...
- 12.1k
8
votes
Options for sanding this type of bandsawn woodwork
If I were going into production, a dedicated special purpose sanding machine would seem appropriate.
However, for the one-off sort of project that most of woodworking SE contributors are likely to do,...
- 3,667
8
votes
Accepted
What are the differences in use between a drum sander and thickness planer?
You're correct that the planer can remove much more material at a time. With the planer, it is also simple to adjust the depth for removing more material in a pass. With the drum sander, you can ...
- 1,072
8
votes
Is it drastically more work to sand down barn wood instead of planing?
Bandsaw the planks in half. They'll net out slightly under 3/8's but not only will it be faster, you'll end up with twice as many usable boards afterwards, because you'd be able to keep both faces. So ...
- 648
8
votes
Accepted
How to clean clogged sandpaper
There are special products out there called sanding belt cleaners (one such is harbor freight sku 30766), they're essentially large gum eraser sticks that grab particles out of the sanding belt.
...
- 96
7
votes
How do I prevent stain from being removed during sanding?
The sanding between coats is entirely for the keeping a smooth finish. Any bubbles or raised grain are knocked back. When I sand, I rarely pass the sand paper more than a couple light passes. then ...
- 15.6k
7
votes
Accepted
How do I prevent stain from being removed during sanding?
My question is: is there a way to properly apply tung oil to the stained wood without removing the stain during the sanding process?
Yup: don't sand.
Drying oils are not a surface coating, they're ...
- 63.5k
7
votes
Good way to sand wide curved faces
Obviously I can just back the sandpaper with my fingers, but I was taught that this is poor technique.
It is poor technique, until it's not. This is an ideal situation for when sanding with your palm/...
- 63.5k
7
votes
Accepted
Why aren't belt sanders with sanding frames available anywhere?
Unfortunately, frames are a relatively rare accessory, but they do exist. I started with all belt sanders currently available at the time of this writing at Amazon (with good reviews) and Home Depot (...
- 5,593
7
votes
Accepted
What are more specific names for these two types of bench-top belt sanders?
They're all called "belt sanders", but typically have some descriptive adjectives in front of them. "Hand Held" and "Stationary" are generally used to distinguish portable hand-held tools with tools ...
- 5,593
7
votes
Accepted
Can I really use my table saw as a disc sander?
would I run a risk of burning out the motor if I ran it too long?
As to running the saw for a while, that shouldn't be a problem if it has adequate ventilation. Electric motors run best when run ...
- 12.1k
7
votes
Can I really use my table saw as a disc sander?
I have one that came with my table saw (a 1980's Masport). It's a combo table saw, sander and jointer. Masses of steel means is heavy as crap and a nice powerful motor make this my favourite table saw ...
- 1,045
7
votes
Accepted
What's water sandpaper for?
On the terminology first, "water sandpaper" is not the commonly used name for this type of paper. It's generally referred to as wet-and-dry, wet-n-dry or wet-or-dry paper (with or without the hyphens) ...
- 63.5k
7
votes
Accepted
How deep will sandpaper penetrate?
You can see the diameter of the average grit in a piece of sandpaper here:
https://www.gessweincanada.com/category-s/11328.htm
Assuming the grit is embedded at least 1/3 of this diameter, you would "...
- 970
7
votes
Sanding woods of different hardnesses perfectly flat
My other option might be to glue a rougher grit paper to a large flat board and use this combined with a lot of elbow grease to smooth it out.
If you use the right abrasive and the right strategy ...
- 63.5k
6
votes
Is it bad to sand extra-fine before applying Poly?
As a general thing it's not a good ideal to sand this finely before applying certain finishes, including varnish, but in this case you solved a practical problem with what you had available which is ...
- 63.5k
6
votes
Accepted
Are there techniques to sand small parts on a benchtop belt sander?
1 inch cubed is big enough that you could get smaller clamps on pretty easily (You can never have enough clamps). Not a spring clamp but something like a c-clamp where you could control the clamping ...
- 20.1k
6
votes
Accepted
Avoiding scratches on underside of piece when using orbit sander
Clamps would be the way to go but I could see them being a hassle if you are trying to uniformly work the whole surface at once. If you get kitchen cabinet liners like these I would think they do the ...
- 20.1k
6
votes
How do I prevent stain from being removed during sanding?
Something that nobody's mentioned so far is that if your stain isn't penetrating, you've got another problem.
If there's a previous finish still on top of the wood, forming a seal, stain won't ...
- 4,400
6
votes
Accepted
Accidentally used steel wool before water based poly
I began sanding about half the table top with 0000 steel wool
Just to address this point first, using steel wool is not a sanding operation and it shouldn't really be thought of as being in the same ...
- 63.5k
6
votes
Accepted
how can I make sandpaper last longer?
Sandpaper is a consumable, and in fact people should be encouraged to discard it more readily as it's very common — and not just with amateur woodworkers :-) — to use paper until it's worn out and no ...
- 63.5k
Only top scored, non community-wiki answers of a minimum length are eligible