Newbie Trying to Finish A Bar Table *LINK*

Re: Newbie Trying to Finish A Bar Table

Barry Irby

You have opened an enormous topic and there may be some fightin' words mixed in.

Depending on the condition of the wood when you start you might start with 80 grit and progress to 120, then 150 or 180 and at that point many would say you can apply finish. Depending on what the finish is.

The rule of thumb is to start with whatever is course enough and then progress through all the grits without skipping any until you get to a good enough finish. If your lumber is planed starting at 80 may be good. If it is still rough sawn you may have to start at 36 or 40.

The problem with using all the grits and not skipping any is there are now so many available. 36 and 40 and 60 and 80 and on and on. When I was taught, the rule was to start with maybe 80 and then add approximately 50% to the grit number. Something like 80, 120, 220. Ignoring 100 and 180.

Making it even more complicated there are European designations that have a P and things like open coat and coated. And other grit material besides Aluminum Oxide. (Aluminum Oxide is a good starting place.)

Also, check with the finish manufacturer. If you are using something like Epoxy they may have different recommendations.

I have not even mentioned the machines. Belt sanders, drum sanders, random orbital sanders and stroke sanders to mention a few.

Let the discussion begin. If you ask ten woodworkers this question you with get at least 18 opinions. None completely wrong or right.

Be afraid!

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

1. I have been woodworking for decades. The most difficult machine in the shop to use without screwing up the work is the belt sander. Every day we eat at a table I refinished as a new woodworker and screwed up its top belt sanding it. I get to look at my mistake daily. I don't have any useful advice other than a belt sander is a quick way to remove wood you don't want to.

2. It is rarely necessary to sand beyond 180 grit. You did not say what wood you are using. Wood goes away at an alarming rate at 80 grit.

PS

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

there are a lot of screw up between beginning and becoming proficient. We have all been there. Don't get discouraged. On the other hand, learn to walk before running.

Re: Newbie Trying to Finish A Bar Table

David Yoho

Like Barry said, you'll probably get any number of responses to your question.

For me - you didn't indicate the type of wood you plan to use, whether it is planed to a smooth surface or not, what type of sander you'll be using, and the type of finish you plan to use. All of these will help narrow down suggestions.

Without the above information to go on, my general thought is for a planed surface I would start with 100 grit and move on to 150 using a random orbit sander and probably stop there. The surface should be smooth enough for finishing. I don't know that you need to sand to 320 to make your finish better.

Don't listen to Barry

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

The technical staff at any abrasive company will recommend skipping one grit size as you go finer. 100,150 220, for example. If I start at 80 I will then do 100 next. But I avoid 80 except in extreme cases. 80 grit makes wood go away at an alarming rate, often where you don't want it to. And 80 scratches can be hard to be rid of. I never belt sand beyond 120 and I always end up hand sanding the final grit.

With a well planned surface I sand 120, 180 and done. If 120 is taking to long I do 100, 120 180. The idea is to finish up at 180.

actually.....

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

sanding with every grit will do no harm except to your woodworking accounts payable. That is a lot of belts to buy and we all have learned they go bad after sitting a few years.

It doesn't matter...

Clint Searl

...how you get there, but 180 is an adequate final grit if you're happy with the feel, but no finer than 220.

Depends....

John in NM

On a lot of things. Sorry there's no simple answer.

I used to think a lot like Bill on belt sanders, until I read an old article in which a well known pro who's opinion I respected was using one on cabinetry frames. Figure if he got away with that (maybe then learned to love a hand plane? ) I could get away with using one on tops. True thing, worked well as an initial flattening step.

What I know - look at how much you need to take off - how big are the "steps" left between boards after gluing up? If its pretty flat you may get away with just orbital sanding. If they are pretty big (1/16 is what I'd call big in this case) then run across them with 80 or 100 grit on a belt. Trick to belt sanding is to keep the sander moving around, don't worry about direction, that is for the final steps. Last time I did one this way I remember sweeping the sander in arcs across the top.

I would use the belt sander for roughing only. Actually, these days I use a scrub plane for that chore instead, but the belt sander is the electric equivalent. I'm getting older and have a sedentary job - the occasional work out of scrub planing a top does me good.

Good thing to do is glue up some scraps if you can and try out what you want to do. See first hand if this tool is the one you want to use for initial flattening. For intermediate and final steps I really prefer a random orbital sander, kept nice and flat on the work so that it stays random (a bunch of fine, C shaped scratches rather than a long curly cue - that's what you get if you get impatient and tip the ROS).

Re: PS

David Weaver

I don't do a lot of sanding, but my preference for someone new is one of the dual mode 6" sanders. Doesn't have to be moon expensive like a festool - bosch makes one that works well and is string enough to get away from you and jump up and cut you deep (so plenty of power). I've used mine as an edge sander for flooring.

It'll work with the same grits as a belt sander and the dust collection is a little better. It's a little slower so getting an even surface isn't that difficult.

The reality of something large like this is if someone can finish plane, a whole lot of trouble can be cut out and a much sharper surface left (in flatness, not talking about surface finish) as anything I've ever finish planed has looked good with 180 grit to start at the very least, often 220 and then 3 something (320?) with a short throw ROS.

A strong belt sander can really do some damage, and if the belt gets a clog of some sort, it just rows the surface of work.

not intending to endorse hand planing...

David Weaver

...in this case. This isn't the project to learn it on.