Old timer at my shop swore by hand planing over sanding. I debated him hard.

He was doing a walnut desktop down to 0.0mm gaps. Said sanding just compresses fibers. I told him that takes twice as long. He handed me his spare Stanley. After three passes I kinda got it. Who else actually prefers hand tools for finish work over power sanders?

2 comments

2 Comments

claire_campbell13d ago

Well that detail about compressing fibers just floored me. Always figured sanding was the proper way because that's what every YouTube woodworker shows. Never once considered that the dust might be fibers getting mashed down instead of cleanly cut. Makes me wonder how many projects I've finished that looked good but actually had flattened grain waiting to puff back up with the first coat of finish. Might have to dig my granddad's old block plane out of the basement and give it a fair shot this weekend.

faithj1013d ago

And I was just reading something the other day about how old school cabinet makers would wet the fibers after planing to raise them up even more, then hit it with one final pass. Makes that whole "puff back up with finish" thing make so much sense now. My granddad always said sandpaper was for getting paint off walls, not woodworking, and I'm starting to think he was onto something.