Sanding & Oiling Brushbox & North Qland Mahogany

[Bledrin]

I have a table top that is made from the above timbers (this is what I what told they were by a the owner of International Billiard Tables) that I had put through a wide sander. They charged me $150...think I was ripped off...

So now I need to get it ready for oiling. I'm not sure what the grade of paper is that was used in the wide sander and am very new to all of this..

I want to get the smoothest finish possible to offset the reclaimed nature of the timber. What grade sandpaper do I use? When do you make the decision to move to steel wool and oil?

I have finished a hardwood slab counter top before and spent hours and hours hand sanding it until it was smooth as glass. I want to try and get the same effect again.

Can someone direct me to a quick reference to oil choice. Is there a good thread on this? It is a dining table so it needs to be able to weather some use...

[Bledrin]

Not the fastest moving forum is it....
Come on surely this is rudimentary stuff that 90% of the members could answer....

[Karl1]

Bledrin,

I think we were all still in bed. You'll get an answer (and probably serveral) but maybe not within 60 minutes of posting.

I'm using Rustin's Danish Oil on a cabinet that I sanded progressively from 120, 280, 400, 800 and 1200 grit. So far so good and the product does have its supporters. I have also done something similar in the past using Feast Watson China Wood Oil and it came up well, although that product appears to contain polyurethane. You can consider pure Tung Oil but there are long drying times between coats involved. See my thread in this forum last updated 4th Sept 'Finish for Victorian Ash'.

[Bledrin]

thnx for the reply... I'm just an impatient bugger......

I'm going over the table with 120 and am amazed how well its comming up. Is there really any need to go much further?

[Karl1]

Try the 280 grit after the 120 and marvel at the difference. And then the 400 etc...

[Bledrin]

and when should you switch from a random orbital to hand sanding..

[Bledrin]

I'm about to go to the hardware store... Can any one tell me if I should be buying sanding discs or sand paper..... Who hand sands and when?

[Karl1]

You could hand-sand the whole thing. I've done it. Or you can use the ROS for each grade. But you probably need to do a final hand-sand after each grade because the ROS may leave non-linear marks on the work.

[Waldo]

I'd use a ROS all the way up to 1500. A decent ROS, like a Metabo DuoTec 450 (can't remeber exactly what it's name is, it's under my bench but I'm here) won't leave any marks at all.

Use a tack cloth between grits to wipe off all dust, otherwise you are just sanding dust all the time.

[Bledrin]

I've got a Hitachi ROS, but I've just bought the sand paper. Looks like elbow grease it is

[DJ’s Timber]

that I had put through a wide sander. They charged me $150...think I was ripped off...

Just out of interest, how wide is your top and what was the maximum width that this wide sander could do and how much was taken off?

Only asking cause some of these wide sanders cost serious dollars just to start up and sandpaper can cost upwards of $200 for each grit for some of the bigger machines.

[Bledrin]

Just out of interest, how wide is your top and what was the maximum width that this wide sander could do and how much was taken off?

Only asking cause some of these wide sanders cost serious dollars just to start up and sandpaper can cost upwards of $200 for each grit for some of the bigger machines.

I'm not sure of the dimensions of the sander. It looked a bit antiquated compared to what I've seen talked about on this site. The company is billiards table manufacturer that is relocating and their seriously old building was being demolished as the work was done.

The planks are old bearers so there was a few nails that the sander would have hit and they would have taken at least 5mm off. So I guess the price wasn't too bad.....

[Bledrin]

Chatting to one of the salesman at Mitre 10, I was made aware of a issue in sanding too fine before oiling. He told me if I sand to 1000 or more then the timber will burnish and wont take up the oil. So how far do I go before oiling and then do I sand after oiling? Do I apply the oil with the steel wool?

[Bledrin]

Pic of the table