Sanding Redwood

Today I will be talking about sanding Redwood. I personally am not an expert, but I've been around it for quite some time now. I used to work in the yard a little, but now I only get to play with it a bit at home. I want to share some of what I have learned. This is geared more towards the non-professional woodworker.

The best advice I can give you is to begin with the finished product in mind.

Wood finishing can be fun and easy. Take your time and don't rush through finishing a piece of furniture. Imagine how it will look finished in your home. It is better to take a little extra time to achieve a good end result. The most critical part of finishing a piece of furniture happens before you open a can of stain or finish of your choice. A thorough sanding is often the factor that separates "acceptable" results from "professional-looking" results.

It is important to not buy cheap sandpaper. Cheap sandpaper actually costs you more in the long run because the cheap bonding agent means you’ll go through it faster. You do want to save $ and buying in bulk is the way to do that.

The three most common types of sand paper you will find are:

Garnet: Commonly used in woodworking and designed for hand sanding.

Aluminum Oxide: The most common in widest variety of grits, lowest unit cost; can be used on metal (i.e. body shops) or wood.

Silicon Carbide: Available in very coarse grits all the way through to micro grits, common in wet applications.

Sandpaper comes in a number of different shapes and sizes:

• Sheet: Usually 9 by 11 inches, but other sizes may be available
• Belt: Usually cloth backed, comes in different sizes to fit different belt sanders.
• Disk: Made to fit different models of disc and random orbital sanders. May be perforated for some models of sanders. Attachment includes pressure-sensitive adhesive (PSA) and "hook-and-loop" (similar to Velcro).
• Rolls: Known as "shag rolls" by many contractors
• Sponge: For tight places

Sanding can be messy, so I recommend some kind of dust collection system. I for one don't sand and finish in the same room. I sand in my shop, and have another room on the other side of the house for finishing.

 

Since Redwood tends to be considered a softwood, it is recommended that you start with 120 Grit sandpaper if the wood is already pretty smooth to start with. But if you are starting with something that might have been milled with a chainsaw, you might want to start and 36 grit, then go to 60, then 80, and progress in steps up to 220 Grit. In my projects I usually start with 80 Grit because I do a lot of my final shaping with sand paper when I carve.

Proceeding through the Grits in a progressive manner will give you the smoothest of finish, and the general consensus seems to agree on 220 Grit being the sweet spot.

I choose to sand my work finer. I like to go to a 400 grit using an Artificial Steel-Wool. What tends to happen when you go that fine is that it will not cut the grain; it only sands the wood between the grain. The grain will become higher that the rest of the wood, and give it somewhat of a ‘Wash-Board’ type of finish. I really like this look and feel that it makes my finished product more tactile. However, this is not what you are looking for in finishing a table.

Making tables is definitely on my list of things to do. If you have a home shop like me, your best tool choice for surface prep is going to be a good quality Random Orbital Sander up to about 150 grit, then hand sand to 220 grit. Always sand lightly, and sand with the grain. When using tack rags; a specialized type of wiping cloth treated with a tacky material used to remove loose particles, dust, and dirt, make sure they are oil free.

When you get to the point where you are ready to finish, make sure your room temp is above 65°. If you have any type of control over the humidity, it should be around 50%. Make sure you are not working near any vents or drafts, and out of the sunlight. Sunlight will warm the wood and release any trapped moisture, creating bubbles in your finish.

Reclaimed Old Growth Redwood

People often ask "Where do you get your wood?" I'm going to try and answer that while not giving away any secrets. Some of this information may have already been covered in some of our earlier Blog Posts on Logging History in the past few months.

The first thing you need to know is that there is more than one part to a tree. First you have the tree, which when fallen and bucked (de-limbed and sectioned), become logs. Then you have the remainder of the root that is in the ground, called a stump. Each part, the log and the stump will yield different types of products.

If you read up on the subject, as I have over the years, you will find that this whole county was logged between 1850 and 1960's. However, Redwood trees (Sequoia Sempervirens) didn't begin being logged until 1855. By that time they had figured out how to deal with such a massive tree. The logger’s method at the time was called "Clear Cutting".  It is a method in which all of the trees in an area are cut down to a uniform size.

Clear cutting Old Growth Redwoods took our Redwood forests from just over 2 Million acres down to the remaining 133,000 that remain today. At some point logging companies thought ahead and started replanting Redwoods so they would be able to harvest them again in the years to come. This wood is what we now call Second Growth Redwood. Old Growth has a much different character than Second Growth, caused by the density of the growth rings giving the wood a darker or almost brown look. Second Growth appears more pink in color, which is generally what you will find at the lumber yard. The Growth rings in Second Growth are usually only 60 to 100 for the whole tree, not 2000 - 3000 or more you would find in an Old Growth tree.

As lumber companies today harvest the trees they were replanted over the last 100 they are finding many old logs that were left behind during the earlier clear cuts. It seems if the log had any defects in it, it was left in the woods because it had no commercial value at the time. Believe it or not, the ‘defects’ at the time would have been curls in the grain, or burl formations of any kind. This wood was considered not structurally sound and could not be used to make lumber. As we all know, lumber is strong because of the way it is cut with the grain, running the length of the board to make it sturdy. Curly character or burl in the grain would cause lumber to snap under pressure.

Although these left over logs are not good for lumber, other markets have found a great use for them. For example, there are many wood burning power plants up and down the coast where they will chip and grind a whole log, just to make saw dust, to produce fuel for the plant. We purchase these logs and using a specialized mill cut them into slabs for tables and other product. We also use the top and bottom cuts, which are narrower, to make Fireplace Mantels, which are one of our most popular products. This Old growth Redwood typically has grain running the length of the piece as well as lots of character.

 For every tree that was cut, a stump was left in its place. We are talking millions if not billions of stumps here. Many of these stumps are in places not easily accessible and still in the forest of Second Growth trees. Many of these stumps are old and rotten and can have numerous new redwood trees sprouting around the base. Some of the trees cut in the last 60 or so years have stumps that are still somewhat sound and solid. Some of these areas where stumps are located are now in the hands of private landowners. These new landowners usually want to build on their land, and with this new construction comes roads and driveways. To make these access ways, they need to remove stumps. Companies are hired with excavators and big trucks to pull out just enough of the stumps to build the roads to their homes. People see the value in these stumps and come to us to sell them. We sometimes have Low Boys in our yard with only one big stump in it, but usually there are at least 3-5. 

Low-Boy delivering stumps.

 Where the logs can just be power-washed and milled, these stumps require a bit more preparation. You can’t just pick up a saw and start cutting. It takes many hours of power-washing to remove all the dirt, rocks and other debris from between the roots before they can be milled. It is definitely worth the time as these roots contain some of the best wood that can be found. These Root Slabs, also called Burl Slabs come in all different sizes. They make great Dining Tables, Coffee Tables, Fireplace Mantels, as well as anything else you can imagine.

Power Washing. It's a dirty job, but someone has to do it.

Purchasing wood in this way provides us with reliable sources for Reclaimed Old Growth Redwood. We do not buy Redwood slabs, blocks, or any other forms of Redwood from people off the street. Having been in this business for more than 40 yeas now, we know who the legitimate sources are.

Over the last few months there has been national and world-wide coverage of the Redwood Poaching happening in our local area. We have participated in countless interviews and answered questions for news articles related to the subject. We truly believe that nothing good comes from the harming of such majestic trees. We live here surrounded by these beautiful giant trees. In fact, I see them every single day, as they grow in my yard.

If you are ever in the area, please be sure to stop in and see our facility. I would suggest you plan ahead and give us a call beforehand to make sure that Landon will be around to talk with you and show you around a bit.

 

A view from the tower looking at the eastern part of the yard.

Redwood Thieves and Poachers

This damage was caused by someone cutting a Burl from a living tree in Redwood Creek State Park, in Humboldt County California. – photo provided by the National Park Service

There has been an increase in late night poaching occurring in our local parks. Poachers have been cutting Burls off of living trees in Prairie Creek Redwoods State Park. To help deter some of this activity, Newton B. Drury Parkway will be closed at nights. According to the National Park Service the closure is a proactive step toward preserving our State's priceless natural resources.

Newton B. Drury Parkway was the old Hwy. 101 when I first moved here back in the 80's. Shortly after that they built a new 11 mile stretch of highway to go around the park. The Parkway is now a scenic alternate route.

Our state parks are home to most of the last stands of virgin Old Growth Redwood forests. Some of the trees are 2,000 to 3,000 years old. At one time the North Coast was home to more that 2,000,000 acres of Coastal Redwood Forest. Only 133,000 acres remain, and our state parks are home to 45% of those that remain. These trees are truly priceless! If you haven't seen them yet, it is surely something worthy of adding to your Bucket List.

All of us here at Redwood Burl Inc. are fully aware of these activities, and we go out of our way to not be a potential market for this poached and stolen wood. All of our wood is Reclaimed Redwood. Most of it was cut more than 50 years ago, and it all comes from legitimate sources. We take pride in having the largest inventory of Reclaimed Redwood on the North Coast.

Here is another great story from the NY Times that was published on April 8, 2014.