Sandpaper 101 – FineWoodworking

I don’t know any woodworkers who love sanding, but all of us would agree that it is critical to the success of our projects. So it pays to figure out how to sand successfully.

While sanding practices haven’t changed much in the recent past, many abrasive products have. These new papers, belts, disks, and other abrasive media not only deliver better results, but they do it faster, helping us to get back to the woodworking tasks we enjoy most.

We sand for a variety of reasons, using a wide variety of tools. Belt-, disk-, spindle-, and drum-sanding machines are employed to shape woods, and the abrasive grits they use tend to be relatively coarse. The next sanding stage is smoothing—or preparing surfaces for a fine finish—which is usually done with random-orbit (RO) disks and flat papers, with finer sanding grits. Then there is the light sanding done to smooth surfaces between coats of finish, using even finer papers and films.

The field of woodworking abrasives is a large one, which makes it impossible to test every product out there. To come up with the recommendations in this article, I conducted extensive interviews with experts at the major abrasives companies and referred back to earlier product tests in Fine Woodworking. I also leaned on my own experience as a long-time professional woodworker, and even on user reviews, as well as tests conducted by generous folks online.

To scale down the size of the topic, I left out the fine papers and films used for grinding and honing hand-tool edges. Those have been covered in past articles and will no doubt be revisited again in this magazine. I also left out wide-belt sanders, as they are mostly industrial tools found in big professional shops.

For the full article, download the PDF below:

Adam Godet is a professional woodworker in Washington, D.C.

Tips for Better Sanding

Whether fairing a curve or flattening a tabletop, the right tools and techniques yield quality results

Hand Sanding and Power Sanding Basics

Sanding is one of the most important steps of any woodworking project. In this project video on building a bookcase, learn how to sand flat surfaces, edges, and curves.

Sanding in Stages

Breaking up the job eliminates drudgery, yields better results

Fine Woodworking Recommended Products

Festool Rotex FEQ-Plus Random Orbital Sander

The Festool Rotex is a top-of-the-line choice. On its coarse setting, it removed stock nearly twice as quickly as the second-fastest model. But that speed doesn’t mean you’ll have to wrestle with it. It’s no huge task to control it with two hands, and its long body gives you plenty of room to find a sweet spot while holding it.

3M Pro Grade Sandpaper

This sandpaper is clog resistant and has a material on the back that prevents it from slipping. Great for sanding blocks.

Bahco 6-Inch Card Scraper

The size and thickness are what matter here. A consistent performer, this Bahco scraper is found in many shops we visit.

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