Best Sanding Tip For Woodworkers: Sand The Sequence - SOLID WOOD DOOR SERIES - Video 11

[zardiw]

Where can you buy the VSM Vitex Sandpaper?

[askwoodman]

@zardiw I buy the VSM Vitex paper at the Weatherford Co here in Austin. Their # is 512-444-6765. They have a website also. The owner is Jim and the counter industrial salesman is Pete. Great guys. Tell them I sent you. I get the Mirka at Beavertools .  com. They are also a pleasure to do business with.

[backlundguitars]

I prefer 3Ms Production Fre-cut Gold over both the Vitex and the Mirka.

NOT to be confused with 3ms "Imperial" line of sandpapers. the production fre-cut gold is the real deal.

[askwoodman]

@backlundguitars Thanks for the info. I will order a some sheets and give it a whirl. I have always found 3M a little frustrating. They have so many products and they vary wildly in quality. Thanks for pointing me to a specific item.

[yoheff988]

great video, thank you

[GBMorris]

Why not start with 60 grit?

[askwoodman]

@GBMorris Vsm/Vitex starts with 80 in their paper backed stock. It is very aggressive. But in my large belt sander, for stock quick stock removal and dimension setting, I mostly use 36. 3M makes a black floor paper called Resonite that comes in rolls and can be purchased down to 24. I was just trying to speak in general woodworking terms when I start the sequence at 80. For the vast bulk of my work it is sufficient for rapid surface setting, but there are always more extreme situations. Thanks.

[GBMorris]

@askwoodman Ok, thank you!

Your videos are absolutely great. I've learned a lot. Keep it up!

[strolgen]

Even if I'm a beginner, I don't think starting at 80 is applicable if you are starting with 4S lumber from big store. I'm still not surfacing my lumber myself and start at 150 usually without issue. Also Finishing at 320 is sometime not preferrable if you plan on using stain which will not "sink" in the wood. 320 increase the risk of burnishing certain wood. Between I work only with poplar and premium pine ... So I cannot say what is preferrable all of these exotic wood I've been dreamng of :)

[askwoodman]

#1 @strolgen Granted I do not spend time sanding white wood from Home Depot, but you're right, if I was making a straight component out of poplar with no surface irregularities or glue joints 150 is fine. Most of my shop cabinets are baltic birch plywood w/poplar drawers. There is no way I am going to sit on a half blind dovetail joint for several minutes w/150 in order to float that joint when in a matter of seconds the desired result is achieved using 80. Then from there I sand the sequence.

[askwoodman]

#2 @strolgen I have made hundreds and hundreds of paint grade frame and panel poplar cabinet doors and I always start with 80 to set the faces of the frames and the panels in order to save time and get on with removing the glue and setting a final flatness. If you look at panel sanding in commercial cabinet shops you'll find their first pass is always 60 or 80 to set the shape. Trying to set the shape with 150 on hard maple and white oak (certainly not exotics) can be a daunting task.

[askwoodman]

#3 @strolgen Regarding staining: If I wanted to stain a fine grained wood like maple, I would stain when I get to 150 in the sequence, then continue on and restain at 320. I just can't tolerate swirl and scratch marks in my pieces. Thanks again for commenting!

[askwoodman]

You are correct. It is the combination of a really good half sheet sander (Festool) and the best sandpaper I have ever found (VSM/Vitex) that has led me to this conclusion. With this setup I have twice the amount of abrasive in contact with the work piece versus as a 5" random orbit. Flatness and straightness of both surfaces and edges is also critical to me which is a another reason I use this setup. I also really like the low dust of a half sheet sander versus the slinging effect of a ro. Thx

[gizmobently]

I too wondered about using random orbit sander exclusively. I do believe your explanation makes sense, and I am sure years of experience is what led you to your opinion on this. It helps to have a half sheet sander of extraordinary quality though. I do not believe you can get those results with just any flat sander as your time will suffer tremenously, unless time is of no concern.

[lokinya]

Great tips as usual! Thanks.

The Festool sander is awesome. I worked with one not too long ago that was hooked up to a Festool vacuum. Indeed no dust at all and no vibrating hands in comparison with a cheap sander.

Good tools are half the work, as they say here in the Netherlands. :)

[askwoodman]

@lokinya Thanks for the comment. I have quite a few Festool products and am going to do reviews later on askwoodman. Thanks for reminding me about the low vibration. I have made a note for the review. They also seem to have engineered a lot of the high frequency noise out of their machines although I still wear hearing protection. Good tools are half the work indeed. I like that saying and will use it . What type of woodworking are you most interested in?

[lokinya]

@askwoodman I just made a study switch from IT too woodworking, so I'm still a complete beginner. I'll be starting soon with my study for the first time as a woodworker at a company that makes custom furniture, window frames and doors.

I love making boxes and my first project I finished a while ago was a cigar humidor... it did not turn out as nice as I wanted to, but I learned a lot from the process. (quadrant hinges are a pain!)

Exciting times ahead. :)

[askwoodman]

@lokinya Yes that does sound exciting.Even after 25 years of professional woodworking, I am still amazed by the properties of different woods and by the infinite variety of ways we are able to use use tools to create using wood. I would be very interested to hear about the shop you will be working in and what your first woodworking tasks will be. Keep in touch. Allan