But which sander do I need?

Ah yes, the age old question...which sander do I need? But lets first take a step back, do I even need a sander? If you plan to do any kind of refinishing or wood repairing at some point you will need to sand. If you are simply repairing scratches or small holes in wood you can easily do that with a hand sander, but if you want to re-stain or paint furniture you will need an electric sander for sure. Simple enough, until you walk into Home Depot and see 30 different options. So which one do you need?

The main types of sanders are a belt sander, a detail sander and an orbital / sheet sander. A belt sander is the heavy duty sander that looks like a small tank. It removes larger amounts of material faster, but can be an intimidating place to start.

A detail sander is smaller, often less expensive and great for getting in the nooks and crannies of a piece of furniture. This work can often be done by hand so this is where you have to decide how much sanding you are going to do. If you are only going to do one project then maybe this isn't necessary, but if you are going to take up sanding as your new hobby then spending the $30 - $40 on a detail sander is well worth it.

But the place to start is an orbital or sheet sander. An orbital sander is, yes you guessed it, round. A sheet sander is square. They are both great for your basic sanding needs. This is what I used to refinish the kitchen table! You want to pick one that you can easily hold in your hand. I stay away from cordless only because I never remember to charge the battery and this isn't something you need to walk around the house with. And it is also nice to get one with a bag that collects the dust (well collects some of the dust). Here is a pic of an orbital sander and the sheet sander I have - Makita Sheet Finishing Sander.

There are also lots of different brands out there. So first decide how much you want to spend. Do a little research online before you go to the store. I usually plan to not buy the cheapest one, no matter how tempting it is, or the most expensive - no risk of that happening. I always go for the middle price range. Then I ask a sales person. Ask them what they use at home! They are usually honest about which brands are quaility and which will fall apart on you. Then pick them up. See which one feels better in your hands, not to mention which one looks prettier! And you are done...you just bought your first sander.

Busy Day

The presents have been opened, family has left and another wonderful Christmas has passed. OK, well I have to admit it wasn't the perfect Christmas...we all came down with the stomach flu and spent Christmas day in bed. But the rest of the week was wonderful and we will always remember the Christmas we had peanut butter & jelly for dinner!

Now today is a busy day putting the house back together, cooking the 16lb turkey that was still sitting in my fridge and getting back to work on projects. I went to ACE this morning to get started picking out colors for my daughters room. (A pic as a reminder...)

I am having a little trouble because the current wall color and carpet color put off a yellow hue in the room (you can even see it in the pic) and I am trying to avoid this from happening again. I already have a plan for the walls (my little secret) but before I get started I have to find just the right non-yellow creamy color so that you don't look like a fake tan gone wrong when you enter the room! Any colors out there you love?

Last night I also got started on another project, the kitchen table. I want a black pedestal table for our kitchen eating area. I think it will be just the right transition from the kitchen to the family room. But I just didn't want to spend the money on a new one, which pretty much means PROJECT! So I ventured out into the Craig's List world and made my very first Craig's List purchase, a gently used oak pedestal table for $150...such a steal!

If you have ever been nervous to buy something on Craig's List don't be. I was, but this was so easy! I knew what I wanted so I set up a search. I went back to it quickly each morning until just the right thing popped up. I emailed the seller, went and looked at the table, did a little haggling and brought it home a few days later. Easy as that, really!

The plan is to sand it, prime it and paint it black. Now this is all new to me but I have been reading up and I am confident I can take this on. My goal is to have it done by my daughters first birthday party, which only gives me two weeks! So I better get to work!

PS - I will share all the "how to" details of this project so you can do it at home.