Sanding Pains

I had to do a lot of sanding today while building a manger for Noah's school (details to follow) and I realised I find sanding both soothing and frustrating. There is something special in taking a rough piece of wood and sanding away the nicks, knocks and splitters to expose a smooth, surface that is a joy to handle and work with.

Take PSE (planed square edge timber), when you buy it, the wood is already fairly smooth to the touch but it isn't nice to handle because the edges are so sharp. Don't get me wrong, sharp edges are essential for seamless joints but for a piece of furniture, sharp edges on the finished item will be knocked, cause injuries and make the piece look harsh and not user friendly. By simply taking a piece of 240 sandpaper and rubbing the edges lightly, it takes away the unpleasant feeling on the edge and makes it far more comfortable to hold and use.

Today I was sanding a mixture of wood, PSE, CLS and rough sawn fence boards. The rough sawn boards needed a lot of material removing quickly to make the wood safe to be used with children so I got out my new belt sander (review coming soon after I've tested it a bit more). To keep more control over the wood and make sanding the edges and corners easier I turned the sander upside down and clamped it to my workbench. It meant instead of moving the sander over each individual piece, having to readjust and re-clamp it to do a different side, I could leave the sander in one place and quickly change sides of the wood. Belt sanders have never been my favourite to use and I find you often end up fighting them to stay in control, but they do remove a great deal of material very quickly and being able to flip them over and use them as a table top sander is great.

The other type of sander I used today was one of my detail sanders, also called mouse or palm sanders. And yes I said one of, I have had 11, currently 4 are working. The thing I like about detail sanders is their ability to follow the wood. Take an old piece of furniture that has warped slightly or an old floorboard in a house. A piece of wood that isn't flat means belt sanders take off the highest points but leaves the grooves unsanded. Detail sanders can follow the twists and bows of wood without issue. They can also get into smaller spaces, details and around corners easily. Some even come with special attachments to create an elongated point at the end for extra detailed work. So why do I have so many? Well they get a lot of use and sadly some tools just weren't built to last. A few I've used and ended up putting away because they vibrate my hand so much it goes numb within 10 minutes. Others the velcro that is used to attach the sanding pads wears away and the sander no longer holds the sanding paper in place. Others vibrate in a way that leaves sanding marks on your workpieces (little circles you can't see on bare wood but show up the second a stain or varnish is added. Some are simply really uncomfortable to hold and makes my thumb ache from the constant pressure. So I do have my favourites, my corded Workzone is fantastic when I know I have a lot of sanding to do and want to be able to keep going without interruption but my cordless Bosch is the most comfortable to use. Both do have their drawbacks. Both have a dust collection attachment but they still create a lot of fine particles in the air and room. I will be doing a more detailed review of both at some point.

The final stage of today's sanding was hand sanding with a piece of 240 sand paper. It may seem unnecessary but I always try to make the edges and corners of my pieces smooth, rounded and even and find the best way to do this is hand sanding. Simply place a piece of sandpaper in your hand, rough side up and place the wood ontop, close the paper around the wood and gently sand away. With corners I do what I call the cue tip motion, putting the sandpaper over the corner and moving it around as you would chalk a pool cue. I sanded everything to 240 to make sure there were no splinters or sharp edges that the kids could catch themselves on.

A few hours of sanding and by the end of it I was so happy with how the wood looked and felt. I was relaxed, proud and bored! I do enjoy sanding but my god! It is so tedious! Especially when doing lots of individual pieces that are all the same, it becomes repetitive, and my hands and arms ached by the end of it. But seeing the finished result and knowing my hard work and dedication made a safe, smooth, child friendly manger makes me feel like I really accomplished something today.