Tommy MacDonald's 207 Woodworking Community • View topic

falconfc · **Posted:** Wed May 11, 11 11:13 pm

hey guys
can you prep wood without sanding, i just meet a guy that doesnt sand at all and just uses his smoother and that that, he doesnt sand before he applies finish or stain. but i noticed plane marks on his project that was next to him. not some people have higher standards than others and some things past to some that wouldnt pass to others. so can we as woodworkers get away without sanding the wood before staining and finishing? (i still believe that we would still sand between coats of our finish)

if we can get away from sanding how?

thanks tom

RaDioAcTivE · **Posted:** Wed May 11, 11 11:40 pm

sure..use a scraper and you can even out the plane marks.

Can you plane and finish without scraping or sanding..sure!!! But be prepared to live with the final results.

In the 18th century they didn't have fine quality sand paper like we have yet the furniture is incredibly beautiful.

It's all in the eye of the beholder. Sand or not to sand...it's up to you to make that decision.

Me personally...sand where needed but do not over do it. Hand tool marks are often an enhancement and not a blemish.

I wonder what others who might not necessarily work on fine antiques have to say about this topic.

chobbs66 · **Posted:** Thu May 12, 11 6:36 am

Typically on all flat surfaces I like to scrape with Stanley #80 type scraper, which keeps things flat, and then finish by sanding - one pass with 220 grit. To me it helps to smooth everything out, and keeping the sanding to one pass I have never had any problems with the surface or losing details in the process.

Seems to me there are so many surfaces, shapes, curves, etc. that it would be nearly impossible to just handplane alll surfaces.

So no magic to it, just my approach, the way my dad taught me. Cal

Ronaldo · **Posted:** Thu May 19, 11 9:02 am

RaDioAcTivE wrote:

Can you plane and finish without scraping or sanding..sure!!! But be prepared to live with the final results.

I think it says it all! Put some glossy finish on
a surface that is not prepared and you'll see why.
A good and flat sanding block is a must in this case.

RaDioAcTivE wrote:

In the 18th century they didn't have fine quality sand paper like we have yet the furniture is incredibly beautiful.

I'm not sure what they had was really that bad. Shark skin seems
to be pretty uniform.
But the patina that time put on those pieces is unbeatable (and inimitable).

chobbs66 wrote:

Seems to me there are so many surfaces, shapes, curves, etc. that it would be nearly impossible to just handplane all surfaces.

yep, the surface of a fully carved surface (take a chair) that was not
scraped to an uniform profile is so nicer to look at, reflections
(catch light) plays a central role in that.

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