Sanding Miniature Furniture

When you look at real furniture you don't really see the rounded edges created by the sanding and finishing of the furniture piece. When making miniature furniture the sanding has a tendency to round the edges "out of scale" and your miniature furniture looks bulky and more toy like.

For some miniature furniture pieces this is ok, like my miniature outdoor furniture. Here slightly rounded edges look "in scale" because the real furniture is built and finished to avoid splinters.

On an indoor miniature cabinet we want the edges to be as sharp as possible. My sanding techniques will help achieve that effect. Because the sanding methods vary slightly I will detail different ways of sanding in each "How To Make Miniature Furniture" project.

In general though you want to sand with the grain whenever possible. Have your sandpaper on a flat hard surface or use your emery boards, laying them flat on the surface of the wood and stroking with the grain of the wood.

I will sometimes make small sanding blocks to aid in achieving specific effects. I take a small block of wood, which has at least one smooth surface, and I glue a small piece of sandpaper to that surface. Spray adhesive works well but can be a bit messy.

I use a glue stick and coat the surface of the block. Then apply the sandpaper and press it down, firmly, on a flat surface to get even adhesion. Try to keep the glue as smooth and even as possible before applying the paper so you don't have any ridges which will cause grooves in the finished sanded piece. Be sure the glue is dry before trying to use this sanding aide.

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