Accidentally discovered that a hairdryer speeds up grain raising before sanding

4 comments

4 Comments

Saw someone mention this on a woodworking forum once. The idea was that the heat dries out the surface fibers really fast, which makes them stand up. Might work but you gotta be careful not to cook one spot for too long. Letting it cool completely before sanding seemed to be the key step.

josephmartin3mo ago

Sounds like a great way to warp the wood instead.

rowan6583mo ago

How long before that warping starts, hey @josephmartin?

emery_black1mo ago

Oh the warping thing is real but I think it depends more on the moisture content of the wood coming in than how long you blast it with heat. If you take a board straight from a humid garage and hit it with a heat gun, the surface layer dries out way before the inside does, so it shrinks faster and pulls the fibers. That's gonna warp almost no matter what. But if the wood has been sitting in your shop for a week or two and is already pretty stable, you can get away with more time before that starts. I've actually seen some guys use maps gas torches for this same trick on reclaimed barn wood, and the heat is so intense it chars the surface before any warping can even set in. You gotta move fast and keep the gun moving constantly, never stay still for more than a second or two. The trick is to work in small sections and let it rest between passes so the wood can equalize a bit.