: Thanks Rob, that's just what I needed to hear. The wood is so beautiful
: already that I didn't think it could be even more beautiful. But I'll get
: some 220 grit and go for a finer finish. The mesquite is outrageously
: curly figured and beautiful. I used 3/16" strips to cut down weight.
: Planning to start another Great Auk in a week and may use 100% mesquite.
: I've learned a lot building this first one and hope to eliminate a few
: mistakes I made on it. Had to cut a couple of glue joints between strips
: with a knife and lift low strips. I think I can take more care next time
: and eliminate some corrective work, which is a drag. Thanks again for your
: help, Glen

I hope you understand that you need to do some intermediate work before
sanding with 220 grit.

Finish sanding is going to be much more work on hardwoods than softwoods.

You should use a hard backing pad on your radom orbital sander instead of the soft
one you would use if you were sanding softwood. This hard backing pad will make
the cutting more aggressive on the hard wood.

Start by wetting the wood down with a wet sponge. Get it really wet but don't
allow any standing water. This will raise the grain, raise dents and greatly reduce
the 60 grit cut marks.

Once the wood is dry, sand with 120 grit thoroughly and look very closely and carefully
to be certain the 120 cuts are consistant.

Then go to 220 grit. Look very closely and carefully
to be certain the 220 cuts are consistant.

Vacuum the dust off the surface. Go over the whole surface and hold a light at a low angle
to make any heavier grit cuts show up. I have a hand block with 120 grit and one with 220
grit so I can remove any spots that need work.

The drawback to producing a finer surface is that missed cuts from heavier grits show up
very obviously as dark swirls on the surface. So you must look carefully to get rid of them all.

All the best,
Rob Macks
Laughing Loon CC&K
www.laughingloon.com