andrewh95•26d agoMost Upvoted

It took me 15 years to realize I was sanding in the wrong direction

I was working on a cherry table last month and a old timer walked by my shop. He watched me for like 2 minutes then asked why I was sanding against the grain on the end pieces. I told him that's just how I always did it. He showed me how the scratches were way more visible that way. I never even thought about it. All those years of extra sanding and I could have saved maybe 20 minutes per project. Has anyone else had a basic thing like this blow their mind after doing it forever?

2 comments

2 Comments

the_wren26d ago

...and here I was thinking sanding against the grain was just my signature move for extra texture or something. Guess I was just making extra work for myself for no reason, classic. Bet that old timer probably saved you a whole weekend of your life by the time you retire, lol.

harper_singh1825d ago

Totally feel you @the_wren, I did the same thing for years with my orbital sander. I always went too fast and pressed down hard, turns out letting the tool do the work and going slower with light pressure cuts the time in half. That old timer probably saved you more than a weekend, it's wild how one little tip changes everything.