Sandpaper revisited
Christopher Fitch @ Memphis
>The notion of "what did woodworkers use before sandpaper" has come up. If I remember correctly, some people maintain that up to the invention of sandpaper, pieces were scraped, or planed.
Last night I was reading Joyce's Encyclopedia of Furniture Making and at the start of Chap. 7, he mentioned that before the invention of Sandpaper in the 19th century, cabinetmakers used a number of abrasive materials to smooth finishes. He also said that it sometimes seemed amazing that "old-world" furniture makers achieved such smooth finishes by using primitive abrasives or something to that effect. (I don't have the book here at work...perhaps someone else could post the exact passage).
I got curious, and did some brief searching this morning and found a few references to pre-sandpaper abrasives. Joyce had a decent list.
Here are a few comments from other sites on the subject:
Sandpapers, like some planes, are used for smoothing and finishing a surface. It is usually used to condition a surface for painting or just to provide a pleasing appearance and feel to a finished item.
Before the 19th century, sand was used as a polishing material. It was placed loose on an object and rubbed with wood to give a smooth surface. The next step was to find an adhesive to keep the sand on heavy paper.
One of the first patents for sandpaper was granted to Isaac Fischer, Jr., of Springfield, Vermont, in 1834. His invention was covered by four different patents, all issued on the same date. Unfortunately, the paper used in early sandpaper fell apart when wet. Hence, sandpaper could only be used dry and its dust often caused lead poisoning among workers.
Period polishing and sanding methods and materials.
There are many references to differing methods here...including a reference to one Joyce mentioned, sharkskin...
Jeff Parker This would not be terribly effective, as the grits will tend to roll I recall references to colonial cabinetmakers using sharkskin and a If you want to make your own glasspaper, I would use a thin layer of Charles Joiner
<< This is sort of an offshoot of an earlier posting. I have
tried sanding, once, by placing sand on the surface of the
wood and rubbing it with a flat object. >>
around, rather than cut. Also, the individual grains of sand are
probably pretty well rounded over, depending on where you got the sand.
particular variety of grass (it has a very high silica content) for
smoothing. No idea how old the technique is, and all my references are
packed away right now.
hide glue to adhere a freshly crushed and screened frit (crushed/ground
glass.)
Who mostly uses sandpaper for sharpening tools these days.
Another post reads:
At 10:48 PM 08/31/98 -0800, Charles Joiner wrote:
>I recall references to colonial cabinetmakers using sharkskin and a
>particular variety of grass (it has a very high silica content) for
>smoothing. No idea how old the technique is, and all my references are
>packed away right now.
I recall reading a 19th century book that described traditional (Meiji-era
and prior) carpentry techniques and tools in Japan, and sharkskin was
said to be used for sanding.
There is much more on that second link.
Just some facts...