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SanderScore’s Blog
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Main Blog Posts
An HVLP sprayer is how a home shop gets a factory-smooth finish on furniture: a turbine or a compressor pushes
The best paint sprayer for cabinets and furniture is the one that lays a smooth coat on small, detailed surfaces
A dovetail jig turns the most famous joint in woodworking into a router job: clamp the boards, guide the router
A jointer planer combo is one machine that does two jobs: the top works as a jointer to flatten one
Wood carving is one of the easiest ways into woodworking: no machines, no dust collector, no garage needed, just a
A wooden cutting board needs oil for the same reason your hands need lotion: washing pulls moisture out of the
A good wood glue makes a joint stronger than the wood around it, as long as you pick the right
A biscuit joiner (also called a plate joiner) cuts matching half-moon slots in two pieces of wood. You glue a
A pocket hole jig guides a stepped drill bit into a board at a shallow angle, so you can join
A woodworking vise holds a board still while you plane an edge, cut dovetails, chop a mortise or sand a
A drill press drills holes a hand drill can't: dead square to the face, to the same depth every time,
A bench grinder is the fastest way to reshape a chipped chisel, put a new bevel on a plane iron
A wood lathe turns a spinning blank into bowls, pens, boxes, tool handles, spindles and table legs, and it's one
A band saw is the most versatile saw in a woodshop. Its thin, continuous blade cuts curves a table saw
A downdraft sanding table is a box with a perforated top and a dust port. Connect it to a dust
A scroll saw cuts the shapes no other power tool can: tight curves, sharp inside corners, fretwork, puzzles, intarsia, signs
An air sander, or pneumatic sander, runs on compressed air instead of an electric motor. The motor is small and
The right woodworking tools for beginners are fewer than most lists suggest, and the order you buy them in matters
Best router table for most shopsKreg PRS2100A quiet 16" x 24" benchtop table with a full-size insert plate and a
Best router for most woodworkersDEWALT DW618PKA 2-1/4 HP motor with fixed and plunge bases, 1/4" and 1/2" collets and a
The best wood finish for furniture is the one that matches how the piece is used and how you want
Top gift ideaALORAIR PureCare 1350IGA shop air cleaner that catches the fine dust left in the air after sanding, the
Worth watching firstALORAIR PureCare 1350IGA shop air cleaner with a 360-degree intake and four MERV-11 filters, rated for shops up
A drill sanding attachment turns the drill you already own into a small sander for curves, holes, edges and rust:
A belt sander is only as good as the belt on it. The right belt cuts fast without burning, stays
A wood moisture meter tells you whether lumber is dry enough to build with, whether a deck is ready for
An electric hand planer takes wood off fast and flat: it trims sticking doors, levels framing, fits boards to uneven
The best deck stain is the one that soaks into your boards and comes back off them evenly when it's
A floor buffer is a walk-behind machine with a round pad that abrades or polishes the floor in a circular
The best wood floor finish depends on three things: how much traffic the floor gets, what color you want the
A benchtop jointer flattens one face of a board and squares an edge to it, the step that has to
The best sandpaper for metal depends on the tool you sand with, more than on the metal. On a random
A sanding belt cleaner is a block of soft natural rubber that you press against a running belt or disc.
An oscillating belt and spindle sander is a benchtop machine that does two jobs: with a sanding sleeve on the
In a small shop, the best dust collector is the one that fits three limits at once: your floor space,
SanderScore is written by me, James Draper. I run a woodworking shop and sanding is the part of the job
There are more types of sanders than most people expect, and the names overlap: a palm sander can be a
When sanding discs start flying off your random orbital sander, or won't sit flat, the problem usually isn't the discs.
A thickness planer turns rough or uneven boards into stock of one exact thickness, with both faces parallel. It's the
You can't glue up a tabletop, square a cabinet or hold a board for sanding without clamps, and the old
A sanding block does one simple job: it keeps the sandpaper flat, so your fingers don't press grooves into the
A good workbench is flat, heavy enough not to move when you push on it, and able to hold the
A heat gun is the fastest way to take thick, many-layered paint off wood trim, doors and window frames: the
A good wood filler disappears. A bad one shrinks into a dimple, cracks when the wood moves, or shows up
Sanding makes the finest dust in the shop, and the finest dust is the part you can't see and don't
Auto body work asks something different of a sander than woodworking does. Car panels are thin sheet metal with body
No sander is truly dust-free on its own. What makes a sander "dustless" is how well it pulls dust through
An oscillating multi-tool does the jobs nothing else in the shop can: a flush cut through a door casing, a
Sanding is the fast way to take paint off flat boards. On carved chair backs, turned legs, raised-panel doors and
A portable workbench gives you a solid, flat place to cut, clamp and sand anywhere: in the driveway, on a
A dust extractor is a vacuum built to run behind a power tool: it has a HEPA filter, cleans that
For most people, the best sanding discs for a random orbital sander are Mirka Gold Multifit discs: they cut fast,
A shop vac's filter clogs long before the tank is full, and once it does, suction drops and your sander
If you sand, cut or route indoors, the dust you can see on the bench is the easy part. The
Good sandpaper cuts faster, lasts longer and leaves a more even scratch pattern than cheap paper, and on wood you
If you spend serious time in a woodworking shop, a shop air filtration system is one of the most important
If you've spent any time browsing my blog, you already know I'm obsessed with matching the right tool to the
Finding a genuinely great sander without spending a fortune is trickier than it sounds: most "budget" tools disappoint within a
A cheap dust collector is worth buying when it moves enough air for your biggest machine, filters fine enough for
The best sander for doors is a compact orbital sander for the flat faces plus a detail sander for the
Stairs are one of the most awkward sanding jobs in any home, and they're awkward in all the ways that
Floor sanding is one of those jobs where the right machine makes a staggering difference. I've seen people attempt large
If your deck has gone grey, rough, and tired-looking, the right sander makes all the difference. Sanding takes dull, weathered
The best sander for paint removal depends on the surface. On flat boards, doors laid flat, tabletops and deck planks,
Last updated: September 2026. Every spec on this page was checked against the manufacturer's own listing this month. The best
If you've ever stared down a freshly mudded drywall seam or a ceiling full of joint compound, you already know
How-To Blog Posts
An HVLP sprayer is how a home shop gets a factory-smooth finish on furniture: a turbine or a compressor pushes
The best paint sprayer for cabinets and furniture is the one that lays a smooth coat on small, detailed surfaces
A dovetail jig turns the most famous joint in woodworking into a router job: clamp the boards, guide the router
A jointer planer combo is one machine that does two jobs: the top works as a jointer to flatten one
Wood carving is one of the easiest ways into woodworking: no machines, no dust collector, no garage needed, just a
A wooden cutting board needs oil for the same reason your hands need lotion: washing pulls moisture out of the
A good wood glue makes a joint stronger than the wood around it, as long as you pick the right
A biscuit joiner (also called a plate joiner) cuts matching half-moon slots in two pieces of wood. You glue a
A pocket hole jig guides a stepped drill bit into a board at a shallow angle, so you can join
A woodworking vise holds a board still while you plane an edge, cut dovetails, chop a mortise or sand a
A drill press drills holes a hand drill can't: dead square to the face, to the same depth every time,
A bench grinder is the fastest way to reshape a chipped chisel, put a new bevel on a plane iron
A wood lathe turns a spinning blank into bowls, pens, boxes, tool handles, spindles and table legs, and it's one
A band saw is the most versatile saw in a woodshop. Its thin, continuous blade cuts curves a table saw
A downdraft sanding table is a box with a perforated top and a dust port. Connect it to a dust
A scroll saw cuts the shapes no other power tool can: tight curves, sharp inside corners, fretwork, puzzles, intarsia, signs
An air sander, or pneumatic sander, runs on compressed air instead of an electric motor. The motor is small and
The right woodworking tools for beginners are fewer than most lists suggest, and the order you buy them in matters
Best router table for most shopsKreg PRS2100A quiet 16" x 24" benchtop table with a full-size insert plate and a
Best router for most woodworkersDEWALT DW618PKA 2-1/4 HP motor with fixed and plunge bases, 1/4" and 1/2" collets and a
The best wood finish for furniture is the one that matches how the piece is used and how you want
Top gift ideaALORAIR PureCare 1350IGA shop air cleaner that catches the fine dust left in the air after sanding, the
Worth watching firstALORAIR PureCare 1350IGA shop air cleaner with a 360-degree intake and four MERV-11 filters, rated for shops up
A drill sanding attachment turns the drill you already own into a small sander for curves, holes, edges and rust:
A belt sander is only as good as the belt on it. The right belt cuts fast without burning, stays
A wood moisture meter tells you whether lumber is dry enough to build with, whether a deck is ready for
An electric hand planer takes wood off fast and flat: it trims sticking doors, levels framing, fits boards to uneven
The best deck stain is the one that soaks into your boards and comes back off them evenly when it's
A floor buffer is a walk-behind machine with a round pad that abrades or polishes the floor in a circular
The best wood floor finish depends on three things: how much traffic the floor gets, what color you want the
A benchtop jointer flattens one face of a board and squares an edge to it, the step that has to
The best sandpaper for metal depends on the tool you sand with, more than on the metal. On a random
A sanding belt cleaner is a block of soft natural rubber that you press against a running belt or disc.
An oscillating belt and spindle sander is a benchtop machine that does two jobs: with a sanding sleeve on the
In a small shop, the best dust collector is the one that fits three limits at once: your floor space,
SanderScore is written by me, James Draper. I run a woodworking shop and sanding is the part of the job
There are more types of sanders than most people expect, and the names overlap: a palm sander can be a
When sanding discs start flying off your random orbital sander, or won't sit flat, the problem usually isn't the discs.
A thickness planer turns rough or uneven boards into stock of one exact thickness, with both faces parallel. It's the
You can't glue up a tabletop, square a cabinet or hold a board for sanding without clamps, and the old
A sanding block does one simple job: it keeps the sandpaper flat, so your fingers don't press grooves into the
A good workbench is flat, heavy enough not to move when you push on it, and able to hold the
A heat gun is the fastest way to take thick, many-layered paint off wood trim, doors and window frames: the
A good wood filler disappears. A bad one shrinks into a dimple, cracks when the wood moves, or shows up
Sanding makes the finest dust in the shop, and the finest dust is the part you can't see and don't
Auto body work asks something different of a sander than woodworking does. Car panels are thin sheet metal with body
No sander is truly dust-free on its own. What makes a sander "dustless" is how well it pulls dust through
An oscillating multi-tool does the jobs nothing else in the shop can: a flush cut through a door casing, a
Sanding is the fast way to take paint off flat boards. On carved chair backs, turned legs, raised-panel doors and
A portable workbench gives you a solid, flat place to cut, clamp and sand anywhere: in the driveway, on a
A dust extractor is a vacuum built to run behind a power tool: it has a HEPA filter, cleans that
For most people, the best sanding discs for a random orbital sander are Mirka Gold Multifit discs: they cut fast,
A shop vac's filter clogs long before the tank is full, and once it does, suction drops and your sander
If you sand, cut or route indoors, the dust you can see on the bench is the easy part. The
Good sandpaper cuts faster, lasts longer and leaves a more even scratch pattern than cheap paper, and on wood you
To sand hardwood floors, empty and seal the room, set every nail below the surface, then sand the main floor
Sanding wooden worktops, or a butcher block countertop, takes a random orbital sander, a grit sequence that starts at 80
Banisters are among the most visually prominent woodwork in any home: they're at eye level, they're touched constantly, and they're
To sand a bowling ball, clean the oil off first, then sand the whole ball evenly with foam-backed pads (Abralon
A properly sanded drywall patch becomes completely invisible once painted. One that's been sanded too soon, with the wrong grit,
To sand 3D prints, use silicon carbide wet/dry sandpaper and work up the grits: start at 120-220 to knock down
Yes, you can sand epoxy resin, but only once it has fully cured. To sand epoxy resin, wash off any
How to refinish a table, in order: clean it, strip or sand off the old finish (80 grit on solid
To sand metal, degrease it, take off rust and loose paint at 80 to 120 grit, smooth the scratches at
To sand glass, use silicon carbide wet/dry paper or diamond pads, keep the glass wet the whole time, and work
To sand concrete, use diamond abrasives, not ordinary sandpaper: a diamond cup wheel on an angle grinder or concrete surfacer
To sand a car for paint: wash and degrease it, mask it, then either scuff the old paint or strip
To sand drywall, wait until the joint compound is fully dry, scrape off ridges with a taping knife, then sand
How to sand a deck in one line: set every nail and screw below the surface, sand the deck boards
To sand wood, start with the finest grit that removes the worst marks (usually 80 or 120), sand with the
Other Posts
The best wood finish for furniture is the one that matches how the piece is used and how you want
Top gift ideaALORAIR PureCare 1350IGA shop air cleaner that catches the fine dust left in the air after sanding, the
Worth watching firstALORAIR PureCare 1350IGA shop air cleaner with a 360-degree intake and four MERV-11 filters, rated for shops up
A drill sanding attachment turns the drill you already own into a small sander for curves, holes, edges and rust:
A belt sander is only as good as the belt on it. The right belt cuts fast without burning, stays
A wood moisture meter tells you whether lumber is dry enough to build with, whether a deck is ready for
An electric hand planer takes wood off fast and flat: it trims sticking doors, levels framing, fits boards to uneven
The best deck stain is the one that soaks into your boards and comes back off them evenly when it's
A floor buffer is a walk-behind machine with a round pad that abrades or polishes the floor in a circular
The best wood floor finish depends on three things: how much traffic the floor gets, what color you want the
