This is a continuation of an earlier posting as the previous thread has been closed.
I try to write shorter entries, but every once in a while….
My adventure on Saturday was one for the books. I started out in on Friday night loading 48” x 108” walnut table top into the bed of my truck. I wanted to get on the road early on Saturday AM to get up to The Hardwood Store (THS) in Gibsonville to run it through their drum sander. I left the driveway in West End (Near Pinehurst) at 6:35 and pulled into the THS parking lot at 7:50. At 7:55 I realized the door was open and went on in. I was asked if I could be helped and responded “Absolutely, I have a 48” wide table top I would love to run through the drum sander.” I was informed, very apologetically, that they did not have the equipment to accommodate such a large slab. Note: This was my error completely: No one from THS ever represented that they could sand something that wide.
I asked where else I might be able to go, and they suggested that Steve Wall Lumber Co. (SWLC) might be able to help. I then went into THS warehouse and picked out a few pieces of 8/4 black walnut that I needed for the table’s trestle base. By the time I had selected, paid for, and loaded the wood it was about 8:40. I then checked online with my phone and discovered that SWLC did not open until 9:00. I tried to confirm that they sold sanding as a service and if so what were their limitations but was unable to do so online. Being unable to confirm, I waited until 9:00 to call rather than heading that way because it was an additional 55 minutes northwest, which, of course was directly opposite of where I needed to go. It turned out to be a good decision as they do not offer sanding as a service.
So, it is 9:00. I have been at this since 6:30, I have a large slab of wood in the truck that requires sanding, I have no idea where to go. So, what do I do next? I reached out to NCWW friends for help. Thanks to Mike Matthews and Phil Soper I ended up calling Scott Smith. Scott said that he could not sand anything that big but gave me the number for Billy, at Raleigh Reclaimed. I called, and they didn’t open until 10:00. Based on Scott’s recommendation, I took a flier, and drove from the Hardwood Store, in Gibsonville, and arrived at Raleigh Reclaimed in northeast Raleigh at about 10:45.
The good news: They have a drum sander that can accommodate up to 52 inches! The bad news: They were a lot more expensive than the THS. The good news in this case far outweighed the bad news because getting the slab sanded saved me a tremendous amount of finishing work.
There were two projects for the drum sander ahead of me. While we waited in the queue, Billy gave me a tour of the facility. It is quite impressive, and I would recommend that anyone in the area drop in and familiarize yourself with all of their offerings.
Raleigh Reclaimed Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Raleigh-Reclaimed-479441205444082/
My original plan was to be back home by 9:45, but as it turned out, I didn’t get home until after 2:00. That said, I did get the sanding done saving myself countless hours.
You can see the photos attached to note the progress of the project. The photo labeled Table 6 is of Billy posing next to the slab after it came out of the final pass on the 52” drum sander.
I try to write shorter entries, but every once in a while….
My adventure on Saturday was one for the books. I started out in on Friday night loading 48” x 108” walnut table top into the bed of my truck. I wanted to get on the road early on Saturday AM to get up to The Hardwood Store (THS) in Gibsonville to run it through their drum sander. I left the driveway in West End (Near Pinehurst) at 6:35 and pulled into the THS parking lot at 7:50. At 7:55 I realized the door was open and went on in. I was asked if I could be helped and responded “Absolutely, I have a 48” wide table top I would love to run through the drum sander.” I was informed, very apologetically, that they did not have the equipment to accommodate such a large slab. Note: This was my error completely: No one from THS ever represented that they could sand something that wide.
I asked where else I might be able to go, and they suggested that Steve Wall Lumber Co. (SWLC) might be able to help. I then went into THS warehouse and picked out a few pieces of 8/4 black walnut that I needed for the table’s trestle base. By the time I had selected, paid for, and loaded the wood it was about 8:40. I then checked online with my phone and discovered that SWLC did not open until 9:00. I tried to confirm that they sold sanding as a service and if so what were their limitations but was unable to do so online. Being unable to confirm, I waited until 9:00 to call rather than heading that way because it was an additional 55 minutes northwest, which, of course was directly opposite of where I needed to go. It turned out to be a good decision as they do not offer sanding as a service.
So, it is 9:00. I have been at this since 6:30, I have a large slab of wood in the truck that requires sanding, I have no idea where to go. So, what do I do next? I reached out to NCWW friends for help. Thanks to Mike Matthews and Phil Soper I ended up calling Scott Smith. Scott said that he could not sand anything that big but gave me the number for Billy, at Raleigh Reclaimed. I called, and they didn’t open until 10:00. Based on Scott’s recommendation, I took a flier, and drove from the Hardwood Store, in Gibsonville, and arrived at Raleigh Reclaimed in northeast Raleigh at about 10:45.
The good news: They have a drum sander that can accommodate up to 52 inches! The bad news: They were a lot more expensive than the THS. The good news in this case far outweighed the bad news because getting the slab sanded saved me a tremendous amount of finishing work.
There were two projects for the drum sander ahead of me. While we waited in the queue, Billy gave me a tour of the facility. It is quite impressive, and I would recommend that anyone in the area drop in and familiarize yourself with all of their offerings.
Raleigh Reclaimed Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/Raleigh-Reclaimed-479441205444082/
My original plan was to be back home by 9:45, but as it turned out, I didn’t get home until after 2:00. That said, I did get the sanding done saving myself countless hours.
You can see the photos attached to note the progress of the project. The photo labeled Table 6 is of Billy posing next to the slab after it came out of the final pass on the 52” drum sander.
