How to Sand End Grain

The end grain on wood is the end of the wood that you cut. It's usually rougher than the flat surface of the wood and has different requirement to make it smooth and marble-like in appearance. When you sand end grain on wood, you need to remember a few things to achieve the best results.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Orbital sander
• Various grits of sandpaper

1. Begin the sanding with an orbital sander, which is simply a power sander that goes in a circular motion. It saves a lot of time and removes the higher ridges that came from the saw when you cut the board.

2. Use rougher grit sandpaper when you begin to sand end grain with the orbital. Sandpaper is numbered. The lower the number the rougher the grit. If there are few ridges in the wood, start the orbital sander with medium grit, which starts at 80 and goes to 120. If there are no major ridges, you can use 120 or higher for the task.

3. Wipe the area after you remove the rough spots and before you begin hand sanding. Check for any gouges in the wood that the cut caused from the cut. If you find none, begin the hand sanding.

4. Find a grain for finishing the job. As you precede, you want to go from lower number grit to a higher. Start at 120 and move up to 180 for the best possible finish.

5. Sand in one direction. End grain sands nicer and smoother than the regular board grain so the job is quite rewarding if you sand in the same direction. Side to side works well.

6. Finish the job with fine finish sandpaper. The grit for that is 180. Wipe away the dust and check for scratches. When smooth, wipe it off and begin the process, if necessary, on the other end.

Tips & Warnings

• When you sand, don't begin up and down and move to back and forth. This creates scratches in the end grain.