Sanding

Sanding

Where the Surface Is Won or Lost

Sanding looks simple from the outside.

Take a rough surface and make it smooth.

In practice, it is one of the stages where a table either comes together or starts to fall apart.

Because I mill the entire tabletop first, sanding begins with cutter marks and machining lines that have to be removed without changing the shape of the table. That is why I start with a large Gem sander. It is essentially afloor sander used by hand, and its broad sanding surface helps keep the tabletop flat instead of allowing asmaller sander to dig in and create low spots or pockets.

From there, sanding becomes a process of controlled refinement.

Each grit has one job: remove the scratch pattern left by the grit before it.

The Grit Sequence Matters

For an epoxy-and-wood table, I typically start around 40 to 80 grit, depending on how aggressive the milling marks are, then move through 120 grit, 240 grit, and 320 grit.

For a wood-only table that will receive oil, lacquer, varnish, or another topcoat, I generally begin at 80 grit, then move through 120 grit, 240 grit, and 320 grit. In some cases, I may take the wood to 400 grit.

The exact sequence matters, but the discipline matters more.

The biggest sanding mistake is moving to the next grit too quickly.

If scratches from the previous stage are still present, finer sandpaper does not erase them. It simply makes them harder to see. That is how pigtails, swirl marks, and other defects survive the process. Then the finish goes on and brings them right back.

Move On When the Surface Is Ready

Sanding is not a timed process.

You do not move from 80 grit to 120 because you have been sanding long enough. You move on because the current grit has done its job.

That means the milling marks are gone, the scratch pattern is consistent, there are no missed areas, and there are no pigtails hiding in one section.

If a stage is incomplete, the mistake follows you through every grit after it. That is why sanding takes patience.

Not because the process is complicated, but because every step has to be finished before the next one begins.

A Wand Light Tells the Truth

The most reliable inspection tool I use during sanding is a good wand light.

I pass a bright white light across the tabletop at a low angle. That light exposes defects normal shop lighting can hide: smiley marks, pigtails, swirls, grooves, uneven sanding, and missed scratches.

The light catches those imperfections differently and makes them stand out immediately.

That matters because sanding defects often reveal themselves later. A tabletop may look perfect in the shop, then get installed near a window or under strong architectural lighting and suddenly every swirl becomes visible.

I would rather find that before the finish goes on. If the wand light shows a defect, that sanding stage is not finished.

Sanding Is Front and Center

There are parts of furniture making where certain decisions disappear into the finished piece. Fasteners may behidden underneath. Joinery may be concealed. Structural work may never be seen.

Sanding is different. It is right there on the surface.

Every time light moves across the table, the quality of the sanding is on display. That is why I say tables live and die by sanding.

The work is repetitive. It is dusty. It takes patience. But there is no shortcut that produces the same result.

The goal is not simply to make the surface feel smooth. The goal is to refine it until there is nothing left for the finish to expose.

Final Thoughts

Good sanding is controlled progression.

Start with the grit aggressive enough to remove the milling marks. Stay there until the surface is truly ready.Move through each grit deliberately. Inspect the table with strong light. Then move on.

A great finish begins long before oil, lacquer, varnish, or another topcoat is applied.

It begins with a surface that has nothing left to hide.