pine problems

[old_picker]

finishing some pine and running into a problem with sanding
as i sand from 120 - 180 - 240 - 320 i notice ridges starting to appear along the grain lines -

is this why pine is seen as cr@p? this particular piece is hoop pine [Araucaria] it was called at the yard i bought it

in the application i am using it, lightness is a big issue and it is very light so that is a good thing

am i PSU trying to get this flat so i can get a decent finish on it??
also it has a patch of bluestain - is there a way of getting rid of it??

[Wood Borer]

The grain consists of hard and soft tissue. Sand paper flexes and takes out the soft leaving the hard.

Try using a good sharp hand plane.

[Neil]

When sanding, do it by hand using a good firm sanding block and use it as a tool, straight up and down the grain. It should ride on top of the hard grain and not cut away too much of the soft grain. Don't sand too course. Best to start with nothing courser than 180 grit preferably 240 grit.

Either that or make a feature of the soft and hard grain. I have done many pieces of furniture like that so as to give the impression of weather worn timber. You can also get it sand blasted to give a more startling grain pattern. Was particularly popular back in the 70 when sold as Spanish style furniture. Used to burn the soft stuff out with the oxy then clean up with steel wool. Later on went to slashed flap sanders to get the same effect without the burnt look.

Oh yeah back to your problem. Use a light hand with the sanding and don't scrub at it. Avoid using an orbital sander, for that matter any sort of sanding machine and you should get a better result after planing with a razor sharp plane.

Worst comes to worst look for a furniture maker of joiner in your area and see of they have a thicknessing sander. You may be able to get them to run it through this for you and take the grits up to around 240 in 1 hit which will make it dead flat and leave you with only a couple of grits th lightly finish off with.

Asa for the bluing, you could use oxalic acid but more trouble than it's worth for little change. Live with it or stain the whole thing with a stain that will blend or hide it.

Hope this is of some help.

Cheers

[old_picker]

Later on went to slashed flap sanders to get the same effect without the burnt look.

mmm slashed flap sander? what is that??
btw i took it down with an orbital sander - obviuosly the worst thing i coulda used - worse of all i started with 120 grit exactly the things you said to avoid

now can i make the most of it ??
mmmm weather worn timber huh??

might just be a goer -

either enhance the effect or go to a sharp plane and scrapers

[haosiliu235]

try a scraper

[RufflyRustic]

For what it is worth, I was reading some Krenov today and he said the same thing Neil did, that planes or scrapers [for handtools] are the best way to go with timber that does what you have described.

I found both the sanding creates 'ridges' and planing flattens the ridges eg on oregon, which is also prone to having very soft grain between the growth rings.

cheers
Wendy