When I first got into woodworking, I thought it was all about the cool tools, the satisfying smell of fresh-cut lumber, and the joy of saying, “Yeah, I built that.” And sure, running a small business selling handmade, DIY projects has taught me plenty of hard skills—like how not to glue my fingers together, how to measure twice (and still somehow cut wrong), and how to avoid turning my garage into a sawdust snow globe.
But woodworking has also taught me something bigger: patience, perseverance, and the art of slowing down. And nothing drives that lesson home quite like sanding.
Let’s be real—sanding is the least glamorous part of woodworking. Nobody brags about how many hours they spent hunched over with sandpaper. It’s dusty, it’s repetitive, and it makes you question why you didn’t just buy a factory-made table at IKEA. But sanding is where the magic happens. It’s proof that nothing is permanent. Mess up a cut? Gouge the wood? Don’t panic. With enough grit (literally and figuratively), you can smooth things out and start fresh.
Things I’ve Learned From Sanding
- Start smart. If you fire up the sander before it touches the wood, you risk leaving weird dips and scuffs. Start it on the piece, and you’ll save yourself some headaches.
- Slow down. Rushing through sanding is like rushing through cooking—you’ll end up with something half-baked. Taking your time at the start saves you a ton of hassle later.
- Bigger isn’t always better. Low-grit sandpaper (the smaller numbers) will chew through material fast but leave battle scars. High-grit sandpaper (the bigger numbers) is where the sparkle happens. And yes, wood can actually sparkle if you go high enough.
- Respect the supporting cast. Safety glasses, dust masks, a vacuum system, even a pencil to mark your progress—these aren’t extras, they’re essentials. Without them, sanding is basically a dusty nightmare.
Why It Matters
Sanding isn’t just about smoothing wood—it’s about learning to smooth out life. Running a handmade woodworking small business means things rarely go perfectly the first time. Projects fail, customers change their minds, and sometimes your “genius” idea turns out to be a wobbly shelf. But sanding teaches you that with patience, persistence, and the right tools, you can always start again.
So next time you’re knee-deep in a DIY project, covered in sawdust, and wondering why you didn’t just take up knitting, remember: sanding is the unsung hero of woodworking. It’s boring, it’s dusty, but it’s also the quiet teacher that reminds us—slow down, take your time, and trust the process.
