Had a retired cabinetmaker tell me sanding is just 'polishing your mistakes'

He said if I spent more time dialing in my jointer and planer setup I wouldn't need to sand nearly as much, and after spending a whole Saturday dialing in the blades on my old Powermatic, I think he was onto something - has anyone else cut way back on sanding time by fixing their machine setup first?

2 comments

2 Comments

jamie7122d ago

Honestly "polishing your mistakes" is brutal but true, it hits different when you realize how much time you wasted. The old guys always seem to have these simple phrases that cut right to the core of what we're doing wrong. I bet your Powermatic is running like a dream now though, that's the kind of weekend work that actually pays off.

barnes.shane2d ago

Not sure I buy it though. Sometimes the details and the small fixes are what separate good work from great work. Maybe we just need to be better about knowing when to stop polishing.