One of my crutches is the 6" orbital Bosch sander, I don't smoke or drink so I have to have something. I don't like it. I would rather hand plane a frame than sand it. I use it as an eraser at times. I have been sanding wall planks of late in lieu of setting up the planer, just taking the fuzz off.
A worse crime would be to sand an axe handle. I just made one and finished it with the spoke shave. Nothing is smoother than a clean cutting edge. It has ridges along the handle which I like. I finished 20 rafters, they had an adzed reduction at the foot followed with the spoke shave. Every time I handled the ends they left me surprised with the glossy feel. For some reason the surface made me think of white chocolate, another crutch.
I have never experimented with Oxalic acid or bleach for improving a timbers looks. Something to keep in the theoretical tool box to use later. Tim
