The problem I had with the belt sander wasn't from using it incorrectly, it was from not getting the tactile feedback I needed to ensure that the thing was riding flat. Trust me, the few passed I did with it on the boat I used no force but the weight of the sander. I decided to scrap the idea because I know how quickly a slight tilt would carve a nice channel in the strips. My current plan is to use the cabinet scrapers as the final fairing step and then go right to glassing from there. This will preserve that nice fiery grain pattern.

Ross

> Isn't it the evil that always looks soooo good. I love the look of flat
> grain and to get it right, it almost always takes a bunch more care and
> work. The grain direction even has a sych affect, in that the way the
> grain points draws your eyes. Like cabinets, where a good builder always
> points the grain upwards to draw your eyes that way. Point the grain
> forward, towards the bow and it gives you a very light and fast boat.
> Trust Me. About the belt sanders, yes and No. Using one to good effect
> does indeed take a bit of practice, mostly just not trying to do it YOUR
> way (i.e. forcing or pushing or leaning on it ), and let the sander sit in
> the surface, and move forward and then drawing it back. It takes a light
> touch, surprising enough. It is heavy enough to do the work it is intended
> for. Hey, them huevos is good with them rancheros you gotta know. There is
> nothing wrong with using the ROS and in fact, since they invented the
> Random Orbital feature, it has become the sander of choice for many
> fields. It can actually take as much material off as the belt sander, and
> yeh, can be a lot easier. I just find it easier to keep things fair when
> doing different grain patterns next to each other. With good, sharp belts,
> it ain't proud, it'll take it all off the same. Practice. Practice. If you
> haven't used one much, then learn on what's easiest and stick with that.
> Best of luck with whichever you use. The boat looks great right now. Rehd