Sanding Help from the Garden
In my work as a luthier, I sand a lot of curved surfaces. I’ve found that I can make perfect sandpaper backing pads from “kneeling cushions” sold for garden work. Available at home-supply stores [...]
Festool Edge-Sanding Guide
Tool: Edge-Sanding Guide Shop Now Manufacturer: Festool MSRP: $99 Sanding the edge of a table or interior of a face frame with a power sander can be a fraught affair. There is huge [...]
EKASAND Dust Extractor and Sander Review
Deluxe Sanding and Dust Collection Tool: Dust Extractor Shop Now Sander Shop Now Manufacturer: Uneeda MSRP: $1289 (dust extractor) $499 (sander) You may not be familiar with Uneeda, but the [...]
10 Sanding Tips To Make Stain Look Great
If you’re unhappy with how your stained finish is turning out, the problem might be in the way that you’re sanding. Follow these tips and you’ll be good as gold! Go E-Z [...]
Instant Rosewood
I like to use purpleheart pen blanks because they’re less expensive than other exotic hardwoods. Recently, I stumbled on a cool trick. I discovered that I could cause the wood to overheat and [...]
A Good, Affordable Sanding block
One of the most mundane – but important- tools in our toolbox is a sanding block. We, and I include here my students in grades four to twelve, are using our sanding blocks during the last [...]
3M Pro Grade Precision Keeps Improving
Tool: Pro Grade Precision Sanding Sheets Shop Now Manufacturer: 3M MSRP: $4.79/pack Everyone knows using the right tool for the job is the way to go, and that rule definitely applies [...]
Sandpaper Index
When turning, I like to have all my supplies close at hand, ready for use. I use an index card box to store and organize cut pieces of sandpaper. It has a lid and dividers, so everything is [...]
Mobile Work Station
Tool: Workcenter Buy Now Manufacturer: Festool MSRP: $415 Remember the old adage “a place for everything and everything in its place”? Well, Festool’s CT Workcenter puts everything right at [...]
Sanding Chalk
I’m making and installing approx. 5000-bd.ft. of hard maple trim. Keeping track of what I’ve already sanded is difficult, so before sanding, I rub artists non-oil pastel chalks (also available at [...]
Creating A Sanding Block
Efficient, cheap and simple to make. This magazine puts a lot of emphasis on hand tools – that is, tools without motors. Common subjects include handplanes, chisels, scrapers etc. But when it [...]
Two-Handed Sander
Tool: 5″ Random Orbit Sander BO5041k [Buy Now] Manufacturer: Makita MSRP: $89.00 Ever wish you had an extra handle on your sander? Not for extra pressure—that would create unwanted swirl [...]