Thread: I question for woodworkers

If this is the wrong place please feel free to move the thread.

I'm about to start construction of a flag box for my dad's burial flag.


I'm making it from purpleheart which will be finished with clear shallac and a clear UV protection marine varnish.


My question is sanding. Should I hand sand my way through the grits or use a palm sander?

It would depend on how much work you want to invest in it. Personally, I use a sander course grit sandpaper to get the bulk of the wood off then finish hand sanding with the finer grits. I use this process when making scales, racks, etc., anything I make out of wood.

Purple Heart is a very good choice of wood for your project as it is a very nice but durable wood. I heard the military used it a lot for trailers, truck bed flooring because it was so durable and lasted forever. Post some pics when you get it finished.

I would do the fist sanding with the machine, the finish sanding by hand.

I will second, ok third this. Lol. Would love to see it when your done.

My first thoughts would be to use the machine but with a project like this hand sanding might be a therapeutic way to go.

All machine sanding leaves marks that need to be sanded out by hand. But first, you might want to take a look at Purple Heart and how it ages. It quickly looses its color when exposed to sunlight and turns a dull grey or muddy brown.

You might experiment with dyes if it is the color you like. I use Purple Heart often for wedges for custom hammer handles, (I stumbled on hord of 1/4x2 in strips for a song). It is a tough wood, I wish it would retain its color.

Btw, most folks sand wood to an excessively high grit, you need a bit of tooth for coating finishes, shellac will stick to most anything. Especially a wash/seal coat. 220 is plenty fine for most woods. How high you need to sand depends on the wood and if you stain or dye and the type of finish and the gloss/finish you are after, shiny or satin.

There was a good Video interview on Fine Woodworking with Mike Mascelli a furniture finisher museum quality type, were he talks about sanding, staining and clear finishes. Shop Talk Live 232.

Originally Posted by Euclid440

All machine sanding leaves marks that need to be sanded out by hand. But first, you might want to take a look at Purple Heart and how it ages.

+1 to both of these pieces of advice. Hand sanding will be slower but should give a better (IMHO) finish, not to mention the sheer satisfaction of putting in more hand work into such a personal project.

Purpleheart is really interesting wood. Heat can also affect its colour. Well worth looking deep into ways to get the colour you want and then preserve its appearance in the long term.

I know I'm fighting a losing battle color wise I will preserve the color as long as possible but it will fade.

The shallac is to seal and start the protective finish and protect from the finish varnish. The epfings is the best UV protection on the market so my research shows.

I have a shave brush with just UV varnish that has help up pretty good for a couple years.

How do I know when it's time to move to the next grit?

Originally Posted by formernuke

How do I know when it's time to move to the next grit?

Generally speaking it's when the marks from the previous grit disappear.

In process photo. I finished sanding today in a couple days I will cut the back part out then sun bake it to bring the purple out prior to finishing.