sanding or hand planning?

Sanding is my least favorite woodworking task… I’ll always choose the hand plane or scraper any old day…

-- Scott, Colorado

Charles, I guess my answer to this would be a simple yes. To tell the truth for me sanding is one of those activities, like mowing, that you can put your mind on autopilot and plan/review other things while your hands take care of things. But I also prefer to use a card scraper in the finishing routine as well. Right now I am just not comfortable with my hand skills, nor do I have an extensive enough line of planes, to focus on hand planing as my primary means of surfacing a piece. But I am making a concious effort to work those planes that I do have into my finishing routine.

-- With God's help all things are possible- even woodworking. Woodworking is not just a hobby, it is an (expletive deleted) expensive hobby.

i hand plane and then just a quick tough up with 180 and i’m done. gives a really nice smooth surface with minimal sanding.

I have a hold set up of hand planes to make a board smooth I have smooth, jack, and jointer plane.

-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker

CJ,

Although sanding is my second most favorite thing in all the world, I still do it.

I just can’t get the hang of using the hand plane to get acceptable results. I am a little better with the card scrapers thanks to Todd’s post on sharpening.

Lew

Like Scott said we all still have to mow the grass.

You can minimize the sanding. But there is still always a little that can be done.

-- Measure once cut twice....oh wait....ooops.

I’m with those guys who say sanding is like mowing.
I get good results and it’s kind of therapeutic.
I’m already thinking of my next project while doing it.
Planes don’t seem to like me very much…

-- Eric

I’m not sure what to think about woodworkers who hate sanding. Isn’t that sorta like a surgeon who hates the site of blood?

I love hand sanding. Its like one of the few task in woodworking that allows time for meditation while you operate in autopilot mode.

-- miles125, Alabama.."Architecture is frozen music""

Here is the workflow in my shop;
1. Glue up panels with a little extra thickness
2. Scrape glue joints with cabinet scraper to remove all glue.
3. Send panels through dual drum thickness sander to even and clean up.
4. Sander leaves grit “track lines” because it does not oscillate so I hit it quick with a card scraper
5. Finish out with random orbital sander.

Sanding time is the biggest profit eating activity in any project. I still can’t sand fast enough it seems even with the drum sander, but it does save me a LOT of time. (I realize that your shop does not allow this large and costly option.)

I hardly ever use my 5” R.O. sander. I use my 6” R.O. because it is so much faster and I even have an 8” Fein R.O. sander. It is the Cadillac of sanders and covers large surfaces quickly, but I have to be sure and figure enough money in a job to cover the sandpaper discs. They come out to something like $1.50 each.

Before I had the drum sander, I got the boards as close to the finish thickness as I could and then did my glue-up. I made sure that the glue was cleaned off well before it dried hard. Then I used the cabinet scraper and finished with the random orbital sander.

I use handplanes a little bit, mostly on edges or flush trimming. But I really do not use them for flattening or surfacing.

My favorite hand plane is my new Shea model.

-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com

Whatever method you use to finish your furniture, if you don’t put as much patience and care into it as you do the rest of the process, you’ll always have a piece that you have to make excuses for. I happen to like sanding and finishing. If I spend 3 weeks building a piece of furniture, then I know that I at least have another weeks worth of finishing until it’s done. The step in your furniture making that you like the least, will show in the final product. My 2cents.

-- Tim -- http://tmuli.com

Random orbital is definitely the way to get a superb finish on flat areas. I have an older porter cable model that has the side mounted handle that works great for more agressive needs like cutting solid wood down flush to the veneer. Then i use a standard palm held random orbital to finish it off and make sure no swirls exist.

-- miles125, Alabama.."Architecture is frozen music""

Thanks guys for the comments.

-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker

Errr, both of course :)

Straight off the planer or jointer there is a washboard effect. For some items this isn’t much of a problem and I will just do a light sand or scrape and then go to finish. For high polish or visible items like table tops I need to do a bit more work and then I take it case by case. I try to use my hand planes and scrapers as much as possible, they are faster and better most of the time without all the dust.

-- Doug, woodworking in Alabama

I’ll chime in here.
I used to reach for the sander for everything, until I finally learned how to use a smoothing plane. If you just sand and sand and sand, you are still just tearing the wood fibers. You will also strip out the soft fibers first creating tiny hollows that only show when the finsh is applied. This is one of those questions where everyone has an opinion, this one is just mine. A very sharp plane or scraper cuts the wood fibers instead of tearing them leaving a much clearer grain.
After I have prepped the stock by machines to rough dimensions, such as the jointer/ planer etc, you can still see machine marks. So I always consider the machine finished surface “rough”. I use pencil marks as a guide coat, and use a jack plane diagonally across the grain to remove them. Then I use the jointer plane,with the grain and finely set to get a very flat true surface.
From here, I move to a very fine smoothing plane, and then finish with a #80 Stanley scraper. If it is difficult grain or I have some tearout, I use a hand scraper.
I rarely use sandpaper as I prefer a planed finish. I want my work to bear the mark of the human hand, not a machine. This is just my opinion, but I rarely sand anything.

I refuse to give up my hard earned skills, to a machine.

I’ve agree Bob.

-- CJIII Future cabinetmaker

I guess I’m a glutton for punishment but I love to sand. I just wish my eyes weren’t losing focus. It’s getting harder and harder to see those scratches. I always go over everything by hand, I like to feel the smoothness of the wood, it helps check the surface for flatness.
I am spoiled with my 37” wide belt though. Picked up an old SCMI at an auction for 800 bucks. I’ve been using it for over 7 years without a problem, the feed belt is getting hard and slippery, anybody got any idea’s how to soften it up?

Charles…..Good quality sandpaper helps to make the task go easier. Either sanding, hand planing or scraping is required after any machine operation. If you don’t do it….you will regret it as soon as the finish goes on.

-- Don, Pittsburgh

Bob’s method may work ok if your not staining the wood. There is such a thing as geting the wood so smooth it won’t take a stain well.

Sanding is part of finishing any project. If you skip this step or take short cuts you will have a finished project but not an outstanding finished project. If you are using a lathe you should get to the point where you can start with 220 grit or higher sandpaper. On alabaster or soapstone I have sanded all the way up to 12,000 wet grit to get a high gloss shine. Flat board work how much sanding depends on wood density, type of finish you will be using and effort you are willing to put forth to get the best finish possible. If you use “sharp” sandpaper at all phases of the job and tack off each coat your finished project will show your hard work and extra effort.

-- Those that say it can't be done should not interrupt those who are doing it.

It depends on the porosity of the wood and the finish you are using.

If you are using an oil or wax, sharp handplanes or scrapers will give you a fine surface that the oil or wax will allow to translate to the final surface.

If you are using a finish that builds up and hardens, especially on a harder wood, and even more-so if staining, then sanding will give a better profile for the finish/stain to adhere to.

On a softer wood, if staining just the early wood, then a sharp plane or scraper will give a smooth surface on the late wood, while allowing the early wood to receive the stain while the later wood will be smoother and absorb less stain.

It depends on what you want the finished product to look like. However, I will add that a sharp hand plane will give better results than a power planer if planed wood is what you want to finish.

Then we get to what is the difference between a sharp plane, and medium sharp plane and 1000g sanding? Again, it depends on the wood.

Both have their place and are needed for different woods, different finishes, different effects, and different woodworkers.

Woodworking isn’t a one-size-fits-all discipline.

JMTCW

Go

-- Go http://ncwoodworker.net/pp/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=730