Ask MetaFilter questions tagged with sanding

Re-purposing found butcher block wood.

wfrgms — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 17:58:22 -0800

Carpentry-Filter: Can you help me identify this butcher block style wood, and figure out how to best cut, sand, and finish it for my project? Pics inside. I pulled this wood out of the dumpster at school. Apparently it was used as a large table top. At least some of it goes together, but broke/split during removal. Pics 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5. It looks a little rough in the pics, but it's mostly smooth and solid.

I've been looking for some butcher block style wood for a while now as I really want to build floating shelves just like these in my bathroom. With the left over wood I may build a work bench or even use it for an actual cutting board.

As you can see in the pics the wood is lightly colored. It's very heavy and 1 & 3/4" thick.

So my first question is this: what type of wood is this? Would you consider it "real" butcher block, or is there a better name for it?

Second, how best to cut this? I'm thinking circular saw, but do I need any type of special blade or adjustment?

Third, what about sanding? I don't want to do it by hand, but I'm perplexed by what type of sander I should buy. Do I need a belt sander? An orbit? Palm? Detail?

Lastly, how can I finish it in a way that will bring out the natural wood, perhaps darken it some, and protect it in the high humidity environment of my bathroom? I won't be using food on this stuff, so the oil / beeswax treatment isn't necessary here.

Thanks for any and all advice and tips. I'm very excited to start working on this.

Should I sand the binding of my Les Paul?

atmu — Thu, 26 Apr 2007 00:12:40 -0800

Should I sand the binding of my Edwards Les Paul? I just bought a new Edwards Les Paul - Jimmy Page model. The guitar sounds great and plays great, but the body binding is really sharp. It's practically at a 90 degree angle and rubs the underside of my forearm raw after a few hours of playing.

If you can't picture what I'm describing imagine running your fingers along the edge of your guitar's body. Instead of a smooth edge, it's a sharp line like the edge of a wooden desk.

I don't know if this is normal or if someone at the factory forgot to sand down the body binding. I've never seen another Edwards Les Paul for comparison.

My question is: should I sand down the body binding myself? It seems like an easy enough job. The guitar has a very very thin coat of nitrocellulose so there won't be much between the wood and the sandpaper.

I know once I do this, the guitar will be pretty much unsellable, but it looks so damn good. I'll take the hit. If sanding it myself isn't too hard, how do I do it and what do i need?

Adventures in modding for the non tool inclined.

richter_x — Fri, 07 Jul 2006 18:28:52 -0800

Adventures in computer case modding for someone who's never done anything remotely close to it... I've decided to try my hand at some arts and crafts for the nerd in me, case modding. Mind you, i've never done any type pf thing like this before, computer related or otherwise. The last time I picked up a tool (aside from a chainsaw in the 2004 hurricanes in Florida) was shop class way back in high school. MeFites, can you help me answer these questions?

1.) I'm looking for a paint that will work uniformly well on plastic (front bezel) and metal (top and side shell). The case is the shell of an old IBM PC 300PL (6565).
1a.) Where can I get said paint from question 1?
2.) Should I sand the metal before painting the top and sides?
3.) Do I need to prime or do a white base coat before painting this black?
4.) What kind of safety precautions should I use while doing this? (besides the obvious, no flames)

Sanding a Deck: How little can I get away with?

HK10036 — Mon, 24 Apr 2006 16:47:55 -0800

Sanding a Deck: How little can I get away with? We have a a neglected deck at the back of our house. It's about 700 sq. ft., it was painted at one time but about 70% has worn off. The exposed areas are thoroughly sun bleached and the whole thing is fairly warped, cupped, etc. It's not excactly falling apart, just ugly. It's built of pressure treated wood and I'd guess it to be 20 years old or so. I've used a powerwasher (fun!) to clean the whole thing and against all the warning used the 'laser blast' nozzle to get as much of the remaining paint off as possible. I'm not trying to restore the thing, just clean it up and make it hold up for a few more years.

It's pretty splintery at this point. I plan to use clear deck sealer when weather permits but I suspect it should get a bit of sanding first. I think renting a big drum sander, like you use for floors, would be overkill. Considering ther un-eveness of the surface I imagine it getting caught on corners and grinding off the nailheads that hold the deck together, running amok, etc.

Can I get away with a handheld random orbit sander to just get the high points? Is there some kinds of spongy/flexy sanding device that'd reach below the high points (like the lower areas of a cupped plank)? I don't want to spend more than necessary but I don't want to go through all this to end up with a bed of nails either. I'm a total novice. Any suggestions?

Sanding a floor

gaby — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 07:51:58 -0800

It's time to sand and varnish the floor in the front room, ground floor. We'll be replacing a few worn out floorboards but we're not totally confident about the best way to fill the gaps between boards. Some people say use resin, some say use a sawdust/pva mix, some say use filler, some say use wood fillets. The floorboards are 1" thick tongue and groove, solid pine. Any good suggestions? (Based in the UK) I know we need to punch down any sticking out nails, and we're going to remove the skirting boards and replace them, so we can get tight up to the edges. The radiator will be coming off as well so we can do the whole thing.

Some people say that using filler is not rigid enough and that it will crack and eventually get hoovered out of the gaps, and that the resin can be quite expensive, but provides a really good finish. I've also read of horror stories about some fillers not taking up the varnish on the final layer, so you have pale strips where the filler is, in comparison to the nicely varnished boards.

Can you calm my nerves about this? Perhaps there's something we've not thought about...

Wet versus dry sanding

bobbeene — Sat, 10 Dec 2005 13:44:57 -0800

What is the general rule as to when should I use wet sanding versus dry sanding?

Floor Sanding!

Yelling At Nothing — Mon, 18 Jul 2005 21:24:55 -0800

I need tips on floor sanding. I'm going to have to sand some hardwood floor in the near future. I have heard that floor sanders are tough to operate, so I'm looking for tips.

I'm capable of reading and following directions, so I don't need a total runthrough of 'How To Sand a Floor.' What I'm looking for are tips, things that 'they' don't tell you, etc.

The floor is not large, probably a hundred and fifty or so square feet. I believe that the floor is oak (or some other dark wood), and would like to preserve that color if possible.

Best Dust/Gas mask

sdis — Thu, 16 Jun 2005 13:51:37 -0800

I get a bit concerned about my lungs when I paint, saw, sand, blow dust around, or use nasty chemical solvents. Anyone have any gas and/or dust mask recommendations?

Refinishing Hardwood Floors

ferociouskitty — Mon, 29 Nov 2004 05:16:32 -0800

Inspired by a number of people moving into my neighborhood and talking about the gorgeous oak floors revealed when they lifted up the carpet, we decided to jump on the bandwagon and ditch the carpet. Besides, with having two puppies this year, it was beginning to get funky. When we tried, we found that the padding was almost disintegrated, powder in some spots, in others stuck to the floor, and not with adhesive. No amount of mineral spirits and elbow grease was making that stuff budge. Also, there are black spots from when we must have missed a puppy accident. In other words, it looks like crap. Google gives me conflicting reports about the salvagability of the floor - some say a good sanding and maybe some bleach will take care of the dark spots, others say the boards will need to be replaced. Any first hand experience with this one? I know refinishing is a must, but will it be worth the effort?

What are the tricks to spackling?

Shane — Sat, 11 Sep 2004 13:57:00 -0800

Spackling: What are the tricks to spackling and sanding (relatively small, no mesh or such required) holes or dings, getting a nice smooth patch, prior to painting? There are generally little tricks to anything handy, but after all these years I'm still not learning them and I just can't get the knack. The couple tricks I think I've learned amount to these:
-Keep the spackling knife relatively flat against the wall.
-When patching a larger hole, it seems to work best if you use a lot of plaster and smooth it down aggressively, not lightly. I think.