Buying an Electric Sander

When Peter was sanding our end tables he made me promise that before we decided to take on another project that required a significant amount of sanding we would buy an electric sander. So a week and a half ago when we found a buffet at the Salvation Army, we headed straight to Lowe’s. We paced around the electric sander aisle for a few minutes before conceding that we knew nothing about them. Did we want a belt sander or a finishing sander? I’m sure this is pretty basic for anyone who has dabbled in home improvement, but we figured that if we didn’t know the answer, then some of our beloved readers may not know it either.

Here’s the breakdown according to the guy from Lowe’s:

If you are going to do any heavy duty sanding than you will need to buy a belt sander. These are a lot more difficult to control, which increases the risk of damaging wood,  but they sand things down a lot faster.

A finishing sander is used for pieces that don’t need any major stripping. They allow for greater control, especially in the hands of a novice. We opted for the finishing sander since it has a wide face to cover a lot of surface area and a pointed tip to facilitate sanding in tiny crevices.

Another interesting fact: The grade of the sand paper refers to the coarseness of the particles. A low grade paper contains thicker particles while a higher grade consists of finer particles.

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