Old timer told me to stop using belt sanders on trim and he was right

I had this older guy named Bob come by my shop last month while I was sanding some oak window casing with a belt sander. He said I was gonna ruin the profile and I should use a detail sander instead. I figured he was just being old school and kept at it. Well after I burned through the edge on the third piece I finally gave it a try. His way took a few extra minutes per section but the finish came out way cleaner. Has anyone else had an old timer call them out on something that turned out to be solid advice?

2 comments

2 Comments

simon_sanchez585d ago

Yeah, Bob was right on the money. I had an old carpenter tell me the same about using a block plane for final fit on jambs instead of a sander, and it saved me from blowing out the corners every time.

ryanj605d ago

You ever watch someone learn the hard way? I got a buddy named Mike who tried to speed through some crown molding with a palm sander and turned a nice profile into a wavy mess. @simon_sanchez58 is right about block planes too - Mike finally borrowed mine after trashing two pieces and it cut his waste down to almost nothing. He still brings it up whenever anyone reaches for a power sander on trim.