Replies

1. 
   AlbionWood | Dec 01, 2004 09:15am | #1

   Wow, where to start?

   How fine to sand: Until you cannot see any scratches and the surface is ready for the finish you plan to apply. Since we don't know what that is, it's a little hard to specify a grit. Also it depends on the method of sanding: that open-end sander (drum? wide-belt?) will leave long linear scratches even with 220 grit, and you will need to go to a ROS or hand-sand at least to 220. The flakes in QSWO are extremely hard and fine, and scratches really persist in them. 320 grit isn't overkill in this stuff, and some people recommend 400 if you are oil-finishing, but I usually stop at 220.

   Paste filler: I don't generally use them on QSWO. Again, it depends on the type of finish you plan to apply.

   Almost any finish will highlight the flake grain in QSWO. Shellac is fine, especially if you use a couple of washcoats at about 1-1/2# cut and then build to a polish with 3#. If you don't trust the shellac to withstand abuse, do the washcoats, sand smooth and apply polyurethane.

   I'm not quite sure I understand which way the grain is running - parallel to the width of the table, or parallel to the length? Either way, you will have an apron board that crosses the grain and will have to accomodate movement.

   Someone who knows more about pocket hole joinery than me will have to answer that one.

   "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler."  A. Einstein

   http://www.albionworks.net

2. 
   notDusty | Dec 01, 2004 11:48pm | #2

                 I would agree with Albion Wood 220 is generally a good stopping grit . White Oak is more dense than Red Oak and a bit harder and takes a finish beautifully.  As far as attaching the apron with the pocket type holes , don't glue it in place is one way another is to cut a slot near the top of the apron and make some small blocks that will screw to the table bottom , and lock in the slot and allow movement more freely .There are always many ways of doing the same thing these are only several options, use what works best for your capabilities .

               good   luck                  dusty

3. 
   UncleDunc | Dec 02, 2004 02:25pm | #3

   I have sanded white oak and a handful of other species to 12,000 grit, and they all just kept getting prettier and prettier the whole way. In my opinion, sanded wood doesn't even begin to get interesting until you get somewhere up around 600. At about 3000 grit, depending on the wood, it starts looking like it has already been finished with a very thin coat of water clear lacquer.

   What I have not done is tried to finish any of this highly polished wood, so I don't know if you can see any difference between wood sanded to 220 and wood sanded to 600 or higher after they are finished. I'm pretty sure there's no point in going much higher than 220 if you're going to used a pigmented stain.

1. 
   AlbionWood | Dec 02, 2004 10:24pm | #5

   I haven't done that myself but someone showed me a WO piece that he polished to 1200, IIRC. It did indeed look as if it had a clear lacquer finish on it. One diference, though, is that it did not have quite the "depth" that a good finish produces.If you are going to apply a film finish, you want to be careful not to go too far in polishing the wood. A while back on this forum we discussed a situation where the finish was not adhering properly, and part of the problem may have been that the surface was too smooth. Besides, as you point out, it is wasted effort to polish the wood if the finish is going to obscure that surface anyway. Since the original question was about a table top, he will probably put on a varnish of some kind, so 220 is as far as I would go.
   "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but no simpler."  A. Einstein

   http://www.albionworks.net

4. 
   DougF | Dec 02, 2004 06:09pm | #4

   I would suggest a grain filler if the end grain is exposed.  If you intend a semi/satin finish using using rubbing oil/varnish, I would suggest you burnish the wood to at least 400 and even 600.

   Doug