Sanding by Hand, for Hours
After the lathe stops, the real finishing begins. It is the least glamorous part of the process, and one of the most important.
Nobody photographs the sanding. It is where the piece becomes smooth enough to love.
Summary
- After turning, each piece is sanded by hand through progressively finer grits.
- The work takes hours and brings out the grain and the feel of the surface.
- Hand sanding allows control that machines cannot offer on irregular forms.
Key takeaways
- Surface quality is built through patient repetition.
- Irregular shapes need hand attention.
- Touch is the final test of a good finish.
The glamorous part of woodturning is watching the shavings fly. The quiet part comes afterward, when the turner sits with a piece in his lap and a handful of sandpaper.
Why sand by hand
A flat board can be sanded with a machine. A root-ball candleholder, with its curves, ridges, and hollows, cannot. A machine would flatten the details or miss the corners. A hand can follow every contour.
Hand sanding also gives a sense of the surface. The fingers notice what the eyes do not: a faint ridge, a rough patch, a spot where the grain has lifted.
Through the grits
Sanding is done in stages, starting with a coarse grit to remove marks from the tools and moving through progressively finer papers. Each stage removes the scratches left by the one before. Skipping a stage leaves marks that show up later, especially after the finish is applied.
The finest stages leave a surface that feels almost silky.
The time it takes
Hours go by. The turner sits with a piece, working one area at a time, then wiping it down and checking it under the light. He rotates it, feels it, and goes back to a spot that is not quite right.
It is slow, repetitive work, and it requires concentration. A moment's inattention can leave a scratch or round off an edge that should be crisp.
Why it matters
A well-sanded surface takes the finish properly. The oil soaks in evenly, and the wax buffs to a soft sheen. A poorly sanded one looks blotchy, and the flaws appear in raking light.
It also determines how the piece feels. The first thing most people do when they pick up one of our candleholders is run a hand over it. That moment of touch is the payoff of all those hours.
The invisible labor
Nobody sees the sanding in a photograph. But it is one of the reasons these pieces are the price they are. Much of the value in a handmade object is invisible labor, done with attention in a quiet room. You can read about what follows in Mineral Oil and Beeswax: Why We Finish Slowly.
Common questions
Why not use a sanding machine?
Roots have irregular curves and details that a machine would flatten. Hand sanding follows each contour.
How long does sanding take?
Hours per piece, depending on its size and complexity.
Keep reading
Every piece is one of one.
Browse the specimen archive and acquire the piece that speaks to you. Each is catalogued once and sold once.