Replies

1. 
   hammer1 | Apr 02, 2007 06:12pm | #1

   Ruth, you didn't specify what type of material or finish. Most of us won't be power sanding or hand planing delicate veneers or plywood. Scrapers, planes and power sanders are pretty limited in where they will reach. I may use all of them during construction but for final prep before finish, it's hand sanding only. You won't get too far trying to scrape softwoods. Painted finishes are more forgiving of small, power sander marks. You get better color coverage, especially with dark stains, if the surface is sanded and not plane smooth.

   Beat it to fit / Paint it to match

2. 
   Stumper | Apr 05, 2007 08:46am | #2

   Hammer1 makes the valid points here. It depends entirely on what the surface is:
   i.e. flat or curved, veneer or solid, open or closed pores, clear or painted coatings, penetrating or surface coating, etc. I do find that I very rarely use a powered sander on any surface that I'm going to coat with a clear finish. If I do sand, it will be the last thing that I do in preparation for applying the finish and I almost always will hand sand instead of using power. Chris Minick gave a demonstration in this area not too long ago about hand sanding and I have found that his suggestions have a lot of merit. Most of us move the sander far too fast (hand sanding)--keep in mind that sandpaper is nothing more than a bunch of tiny cutting instruments, so there is no need to move it so fast that the sanding dust doesn't have a chance to clear the paper as it is moved. Try it--you'll like it!