A Few Good Sanding Tips From Skil

Sanding work ranks up there with having a root canal done in most people’s book — it takes about as long, and it’s almost as painful. But the fact is, any project you attempt to finish without sufficient sanding will wind up looking as beat-to-hell as the picnic table at the park. You know the one: it stands alone off to the side, and the kids call it the Splinter-Master. Ray Travers at Skil wrote a great article on basic sanding tips and what to steer clear of.
I could almost hear the collective groan as I wrote the title for this article.
“Sanding…ugh!”
But the truth is, with the proper attitude, the right tools, and the correct techniques, sanding doesn’t have to be a grind. I’ve got a few ideas on each of those topics that should help your sanding time sail by.
The thing to remember about sanding in general: The amount of time and care you put into sanding directly corresponds to how good the project looks when you’re done. You can rush it and half-ass the job, but in the end you’re only hurting yourself.
Isn’t that what hand planes are for?