when does best sanding happen

[Demps]

When preparing lumber for medium/large projects like a desk, kitchen table,etc., is it best for foursquare the lumber and make parts, subassemblies and then sand them or...if you have drum sander, to make it part of the wood prep process?? And if part of the prep process, how far to sand?
I'm just trying to end my own confusion on when to use drum sander.

[Bibliophile 13]

The usual process is this: dimension the stock (cut to length, joint, plane); cut and assemble the joints; sand and finish.

It's always risky to try to sand too much before assembly because inevitably the workpieces get bumped and scratched as you move them around. I expect that you'll want to remove milling marks, tear-out, and other visible surface flaws with a relatively coarse grit on your drum sander before you do your joinery--that's part of your stock prep. But you should probably plan to do your final sanding (by hand or with a handheld device) after assembly.

[meackerman]

course you have to pay attention to all the surfaces and sand those that aren't easily accessible after assembly before you assemble them.

[John Mihich]

It depends what I M making. Small items I sand the inside before assembly. Plywood boxes sand after. I am making arts and craftsman side table-- sanded everything before gluing.

[packerguy®]

Bibliophile 13 said:

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The usual process is this: dimension the stock (cut to length, joint, plane); cut and assemble the joints; sand and finish.

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This, with one change.

To me dimension stock, or rough milling Ill joint and plane. If its a long board, Ill break down to a rough length (normally within 1" of finished length.

Then with the wood cleaned up, ill rip, cut to length and then cut joints.

Depends on the piece if I sand before or after assembly. Whatever makes it easier.

I dont understand WHY people use drum sanders outside of flattening a panel like a door inset, table top, or thin stock for example after resawing.

Frankly, I have a 16-32, and have NEVER been impressed with the finish. Even with a higher grit, its nowhere near what I would call "finish ready". If your lumber is planed, it should be better than what you get out of a drum sander.

Now if you have a timesaver or something like that, it might be a different story.....but I am assuming thats not what your talking about.

[Sawdustd]

For me, final sanding is last step before finishing. regardless of size or shape. I'll rough sand to get rid of the mill marks and or to make joints fit.

Only use for a drum sander I've found is to flatten a glued up panel and or flatten and sand panels to the same thickness such as panels for dovetailed chests. Fortunatly I have a friend that has a drum sander who comes to my rescue. I've made large 3 large Hope Chests with hand cut dovetails for 3 granddaughters, one more to go, and the drum sander is the perfect tool to flatten and thickness the panels.

[MichaelMouse]

Where permitted by final placement, planed or sanded prior to assembly, because it's more complicated later. Most pieces are easier to clean up when you can reach all sides, so why not? That way nothing is vertical nor in a tight place.

[rwe2156]

What mark said. For example, sanding the inside of drawers or the panel of a raised panel door is best before assembly.

I will run rails and stiles through drum sander to remove planer marks but don't do much anymore do it with a a smoothing plane.

To me, the best time to sand is never. I like the finish of hand planing and scraping. Now a pack of sandpaper lasts me a year!

[David G]

I'm with packerguy. The drum sander acts as a very slow jointer / planer for boards that will not fit an 8" jointer or a 13" planer. Or on wood that is subject to tearout. Or when a very tight thickness tolerance is desired, such as tenon stock. Drum sanders leave a poor finish. I usually start one grit coarser on the ROS.

I like to ROS sand everything to 150 grit before final dimensioning and assembly. Any accidentally rounded corners are cut off after sanding. A final 180 grit hand sand after glueup takes care of minor scratches.

Prefinish any surfaces that can not be easily reached after assembly including drawer bottoms and inside surfaces, case internals and floating panels. Basically, any surface that is not a "show" surface. Or don't be all anal retentive like I am and just finish the outside after assembly.

[John Mihich]

I agree about the drum sander. I will use it to get to the final size and rid of planer marks. I found wood will burn very easily with 180 and above. So I sand to 120 on my drum. It's really nice to have boards just about as equal as I can get.