Appreciation post: My first boss's trick for smoothing edges without sandpaper

Tried it on a recent project and it worked just like he said, reminding me how much we relied on clever tricks back then.

4 comments

4 Comments

bettym1128d ago

Oh wow, my grandpa showed me the glass trick on a pine box! It worked like a charm if you kept the angle just right.

gibson.morgan1mo ago

Hold on, I don't agree. Those old tricks can be hit or miss. Like when you try to smooth wood with a piece of glass, it might scratch it. Sandpaper is cheap and lets you pick how smooth you want it. Using shortcuts often leads to bad results. We have better tools now for a reason.

sean511mo ago

Have you ever tried smoothing wood with glass before dismissing it? I used a broken bottle edge on an oak table leg and got a finish that felt like polished stone. Yeah, sandpaper is reliable and cheap, but that glass trick worked because I went really slow and kept it wet. It's not for every job, but sometimes those old methods come in handy when you're in a pinch.

the_jamie1mo ago

Yeah gibson.morgan saying old tricks are hit or miss is fair. I used a glass shard on a walnut chair arm once and it worked great for a tight curve. You just gotta know when to use it.