Archive for ◊ September, 2026 ◊

A little sanding help
Author:
• Thursday, September 17th, 2026

Is sanding part of almost all woodworking projects? Yup. Is it one of the fun parts? Nope. Yet, it almost always must be done, so we appreciate any available good help.

Here is a good one that I recently found and you will likely find helpful too. “Sand-It” is made by Milescraft. (See photo above.) This holds a 4 1/2” square sheet of sandpaper that is just 1/4 of a usual, full 9” x 11” sheet. I am a fan of 3M Pro Grade sanding sheets.

[As always, I do not get money or promotion from any woodworking manufacturer or seller. I buy all of my own stuff, all on my own, without promotions. Everything here is only to help fellow woodworkers! I got these for 7 bucks each on Amazon.]

A square sheet goes in by wrapping it around the frame with the center piece removed, then pushing the center piece in from the top while slightly stretching apart the side panels. That gives the sandpaper a good grip. The sheet comes out of the block by using two hands to mildly separate the curved side panels and then sliding out the center piece. 

Here are the seven sanding areas available:

1. flat bottom

2. concave side panel

3. slightly convex side panel 

4. wide-curved corner edge at bottom

5. narrow-curved corner edge at bottom 

6. curved top edge

7. another curved top edge at a different angle

These are wonderfully practical for sanding curved places, including along with nearby flat areas. One tool in hand does a wide variety of surfaces and curves.

They are, of course, not for sanding large flat areas. For that, I find the Time Shaver Preppin Weapon blocks unbeatable for hand sanding.

I use the 5” random orbit sander with attached dust collection most of all.  

In these other photos, I show a small sample of the numerous other sanding helps in the shop. Some are really used but all do some work at some time. 

Sanding is, frankly, not really a fun part of woodworking. Yet sanding is often part of actually shaping, which is more entertaining. It all gets the job done though, and it sure helps to have these tools at work for you. The Milescraft Sand-It makes the team. 

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Authors from whom I learned the most
Author:
• Friday, September 11th, 2026

Time goes on for all, but I would like to list the woodworking greats from whom I learned the most, particularly in the earlier years of my development. These are among the many more from whom I learned and still do. 

James Krenov (1920 – 2009): I think there is no more influential woodworker for those who make unique pieces of their own design. His first three books (of five) helped form and guide what I really wanted out of woodworking and where I was going with it. Having only met him once in the early 1980s at a show-and-talk lecture, I still feel his influence in the shop.

Earnest Scott (I cannot find life years) and author group of the book: Working in Wood. I got this book the year it was published, 1980, and from it, I got more serious about woodworking after years of low-key enjoyment. I also moved up to more serious hand-cut joinery as Fine Woodworking Magazine helped me along. 

Ian J. Kirby (1932 – 2022): Master woodworker and author of many books and articles. My favorite: Making Joints. Also, he wrote perhaps my all time favorite Fine Woodworking Magazine articles. I would say his theme was: do it correctly and you can do it. 

Tage Frid (1915 – 2004): Here was a way to cover most of the woodworking skills I needed. His three books are over 40 years old and I still refer to them. Probably no one taught America woodworking more than Tage Frid.  

Bob Flexner (1940 – 2024): There is no more clear, accurate, and complete wood finishing explanation and how-to work to be found than his books and detailed articles. His main book is invaluable. I also use one of his other books of assembled articles  

R. Bruce Hoadley (1933 – 2019): a professor of wood science and a member of the Fine Woodworking Magazine group from the start in 1975. His main book, Understanding Wood, first out in 1980 and redone in 2000, did just that for me. I always felt that until I really understood the nature and science of wood, I could not be a good woodworker.  

Charles H. Hayward (1898 – 1998): the author/contributor of at least 30 books and hundreds of magazine articles. Yet, it is the little 126 page book, Woodwork Joints (1975), that covered for me so much of hand-cut joinery. I had to study it a lot.  

Much of the technique explanations in these early books actually can be updated. Yet we have excellent sources of all sorts – magazines, books, online video and writing, classes, and schools. For me, it was books and FWW magazine that advanced me from hacking on my own.

There was more. From the old A&P supermarket stores, my family got the series of books Mechanix Illustrated How-To-Do-It Encyclopedia 16-volume series from 1961. Lots of woodworking was in the series. I recall lying on the carpet looking at page after page before I went to the basement, sometimes as a little kid with family help.   

And I have been enjoying woodworking ever since.

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