Old timer at the lumber yard in Toledo told me to stop sanding past 180 grit on pine, and he was dead right

Sean Ward · 2026-10-22T07:50:03.944767+00:00

I was burning through 220 grit on every cabinet face like it was going out of style, and a guy named Ray at the yard off Detroit Ave pulled me aside and said pine just clogs up and burnishes past 180. I figured he was just set in his ways, but I tried it on a batch of 6 shaker doors and the finish went on way smoother and I cut my sandpaper bill almost in half. Your mileage may vary depending on the wood, but for cheap pine it saved me a lot of time. Anyone else got a grit cutoff they swear by for softer woods?

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Old timer at the lumber yard in Toledo told me to stop sanding past 180 grit on pine, and he was dead right | Cabinetmakers - Pinecone Attack