WOODWORKING
grade of sandpaper are generally used in refinishing furniture and antiques. Coarse grits (those under
#100) damage a fine wood finish. Medium grits, such as #120 and #150, are useful for removing old
finish or scratches. Fine grits, such as #220, are frequently used for a final light sanding just before
applying stain to the wood. The rule of thumb is: If the wood is rough, use rough (or coarse)
sandpaper. If the wood is smooth, use smooth (or fine) sandpaper.
Work your way up the grit table: Start with coarse sandpaper and end with fine. When using sandpaper,
you are actually closing the pores in wood. Polished wood, for instance, has been buffed so smooth
with fine grit sandpaper that stain will hardly absorb into the wood. When sanding, start with coarse
grit sandpaper (#60, #80) for shaping, removing burn marks, or removing large amounts of lumber.
Then, move to a medium grit (#120, #150) and remove unsightly marks or the scratches left behind
by the coarse sandpaper. Then, finish with a fine grit paper (#220) to smooth out. Any rough spots
on your wood are wide open pores and absorb the finish in such a way that it turns out much darker.
Sand in the correct direction: ALWAYS SAND WITH THE
GRAIN. Grain is the fiber in wood, the pattern of
which appears as lines. The direction of these lines
indicates the direction of the grain. Sanding with the
grain (#2 on the right) means to sand in the same
direction as the lines in the wood. When you sand
cross-grain (or “against the grain”) as seen in #1 to the
right, unsightly scratches will occur and often not be
seen until the project is stained. See image below.
Sanding Tools
Sandpaper: Paper with glued granules of sand attached to rub against wood and remove wood particles.
Sanding block: A hard substance formed to fit your hand for attaching sandpaper. Blocks provide a truth,
flat surface to sanding that evenly removes material. Your finger is soft and therefore bends with the
contour of the wood.
Electrical sanders: Regardless of the type of electrical sanders used, the same rules of sanding apply.
Some sanders are the Disc Sander, the Belt Sander, the Orbital Sander, and the Hand Sander (belt,
disc, and drum). Palm sanders are useful for finish sanding and help the process move alone a lot
faster.
Finishing
