I have a Porter Cable pad sander that is leaving swirl marks behind. Even if I have new paper and sand with even, straight motions. Any suggestions?

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Monica Hughes
www.nakedtreewoodworking.com

Hi,
I just finished making a Lazy Susan and have swirl marks in my cherry section - also with Porter Cable orbital sander. I think we should go as fine a grit as possible - maybe 220 or 320. I think will sand mine with a square sander for finer grit paper and hand sand if necessary. Let me know if you solve this one another way.
Ellen

Hello Monica,

All sanders can leave swirl marks, although a Random Orbit Sander should mostly eliminate them.

Can I suggest learning how to sharpen and use scrapers?

A hand scraper, when properly applied, leaves a much nicer finish than sanding, and avoids the tendancy to clog the wood pores with fine dust. As a bonus, it is vitually silent.

Scrapers are pretty inexpensive and easy to use. The tough part is learning how to "sharpen" them properly. Essentially, you square an edge, then roll a burr over with a burnishing tool. This burr then becomes a micro plane shaving VERY fine across the surface of your project. It takes a bit to master the hook technique, but once you do... There are a number of good tutorials online for sharpening scrapers. Do a quick search and you will find them.

I don't sand much at all anymore, and never on fine furniture projects.

Ralph



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www.consultingwoodworker.com

Thanks for the advice. I do use a scraper, but unsually only when my faceframe material is higher than say the plywood and is to much to sand. I never thought of using it to sand an entire surface. I would be afraid of leaving an uneven surface or taking off too much material. Also, I could get better at sharpening the scraper.

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Monica Hughes
www.nakedtreewoodworking.com

You did not say what grit you were useing.
One thing that helps is to dampen the surface between grits. I use a hook and loop sander and start with 180, then 220, 320 and then 400 and dampen between each sanding. If you can not find any 400 paper, you can cut your own disk and use a spary adhesive and stick in on an old 220 hook and loop.
Several months ago I purchased a Black & Decker Cyclone sander, and I am very happy with it. It does leave some sanding marks but nothing like a Random orbit.
Good Luck
Joe

I was using 120 grit. And I am using a pad sander not an orbital one. I usually finish with 180 on cabinet parts and go a lot finer with furniture. I don't usually dampen between sandings, but will try that. I am assuming you let the wood dry before sanding again?

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Monica Hughes
www.nakedtreewoodworking.com

Switching to an orbital certainly would help a lot.

Also, be very sure that you are moving the sander back and forth along the grain only. Lift it off the piece to move over to the next pass.

120 is actually a bit too course as a finish sand, especially if you are staining. Stain will show scratches (swirl marks or any othe kind) far more than clear finish or paint. 220 would be better for final.

Lastly, since you already use scrapers, after sanding you can then lightly scrape the entire surface, removing sanding marks. You will know that your scraper is working properly if you get very fine shavings and not dust as you scrape.

It is more aggressive than sanding, but you are highly unlikely to scrape the surface uneven. You'll tire long before that! A scraper holder can be made/bought to arch the blade. This helps with the action, keeps your hands from the very warm blade (friction builds pretty quickly) and keeps the corners of the scraper from possibly digging in.

Hope this is helpful,

Ralph

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www.consultingwoodworker.com