I lucked into some Walnut and want to make some end grain cutting board for some Christmas presents.  The last time I made some of these, I didn't have my home made drum sander and used a belt sander and random orbital sander to finish them. Since then, I've become a little more proficient with card scrapers and have the drum sander to help with the operations.

The question is, when using the drum sander, what grit do you normally sand thru before using the hand scraper. Or, do you omit the scraper all together and go straight to the random orbital sander?

Thanks in advance for any advice.

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Lew Kauffman-
Wood Turners Forum Host

Time traveler. Purveyor of the world's finest custom rolling pins!

Lewis after scrapping excess glue I use 220 on my drum sander and take light passes. Once everything is flush and smooth I switch to my ROS and work up to 400 grit then apply the finish, sanding between coats and after the final coat I buff it out with 00000 steel wool. 

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www.thepatriotwoodworker.com Proud Supporter of Homes For Our Troops

Thanks, Mike.

I will be a while till I get to these. Just trying to get what I need ready so I can assembly line the process.

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Lew Kauffman-
Wood Turners Forum Host

Time traveler. Purveyor of the world's finest custom rolling pins!

I sand to 120 on the drum sander then to 220 with the ROS and 400 with the finish sander. I usually do the 400 after I have applied the mineral oil and let it soak in. Then use a wet/dry 400 grit paper. It will really slick up the surface.

John I like the idea of wet sanding with 400 grit. I have a few questions.

1. Assuming that the oil is still present when wet sanding with 400 grit WD paper, do you have any problem with dust from different colored woods contaminating each other? I know when Blood Wood is used cross color staining during sanding can be a problem.

2. How many coats of oil do you use and how long do you wait between coats?

I usually use General Finishes salad bowl finish diluted with mineral spirits. I've only used mineral oil on a few boards so I'm not too familiar with it.

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www.thepatriotwoodworker.com Proud Supporter of Homes For Our Troops