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Step 6The Base, step three - sanding the parts
As I was handling the 2x4's, during the routing, I realized that I really wouldn't be happy with the look of the bench, if it were made from these unfinished boards. They had stamps, pencil marks, and more importantly, incipient splinters left by the saw, none of which I wanted. And I was remembering what other shop furniture made from unfinished pine had looked like, after a few years in the grime of a shop.
So I determined to clean up the boards, to remove the stamps and splinters, and to prep for a finish of some type.
There's only the one picture for this step, but it was by far the most time-consuming.
I used the hand screws again, to hold the pieces. I used a belt sander to remove the surface problems, then used a small random-orbital sander to remove scratches left by the belt sander. In total, it required five passes - 50 and 80 grit on the belt sander, 100, 150, and 220 grit on the orbital.
My advice? Don't do this. If you have jointer and a planer, use them. If you don't, seriously consider using dimensional lumber that has already been planed and sanded. If you are going to try to clean up construction lumber by hand, using a hand plane is a lot faster and more pleasant than using a belt sander. Except, of course, that to do a good job of planing a board you need a solid bench to hold the board, and you don't have a bench, yet.
Me, I'm stubborn, and nearly always insist on doing things the hard way.
So I determined to clean up the boards, to remove the stamps and splinters, and to prep for a finish of some type.
There's only the one picture for this step, but it was by far the most time-consuming.
I used the hand screws again, to hold the pieces. I used a belt sander to remove the surface problems, then used a small random-orbital sander to remove scratches left by the belt sander. In total, it required five passes - 50 and 80 grit on the belt sander, 100, 150, and 220 grit on the orbital.
My advice? Don't do this. If you have jointer and a planer, use them. If you don't, seriously consider using dimensional lumber that has already been planed and sanded. If you are going to try to clean up construction lumber by hand, using a hand plane is a lot faster and more pleasant than using a belt sander. Except, of course, that to do a good job of planing a board you need a solid bench to hold the board, and you don't have a bench, yet.
Me, I'm stubborn, and nearly always insist on doing things the hard way.
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