Sanding called the “Zen of Woodworking”
I don’t know about you, but I hate sanding. And most woodworkers I talk to hate it as well. As a matter of fact, I hate sanding so much that I learned how to use card scrapers and cabinet scrapers just to avoid sanding.
When this news story from the Star-Gazette in New York came across my desk, I couldn’t believe what I was reading. The reporter starts out his story:
“There is relaxation in sanding a piece of wood. With the simplest of tools, grit on paper, you slowly smooth a slice of raw tree to reveal the beauty of the grain.
“The steady rasping sound and back-and-forth rhythm of sanding is hypnotic. The motion becomes automatic. You don’t consciously think about it. You flow into a state of manual meditation.
“That is the Zen of woodworking…”
And it goes on.
The story is about a woodworker who builds small projects in his shop. They equate sanding a piece of wood to meditation. I’m sure not one to make light of making a religious experience out of woodworking, but when I’m forced to do a lot of sanding, I want to do anything but meditate. Maybe it has something to do with the smelly dust mask and the coating of fine dust on my glasses…