Before the Box is Closed

There are a few little items to finish up prior to closing up the top. One I completed last night. The inside back was sanded down and looked great when I installed the braces, but after sanding the braces down I noticed a lot of sanding marks on the back plate. I think it was because I was sanding against the grain with 220. So last night I sanded between the braces with 220 going with the grain. I think because this is such a hard wood it shows any little imperfection including fine sanding marks. So I went up to 320... after a while of sanding with that I decided to give scrapping a try... Bingo! That worked perfect – wish I had done that from the start.

This method makes the wood look awesome, even without any finish applied...

I probably will do a little more sanding on the braces before I close but I will tape the back plate before I do that this time.

Super Smooth. I also tried to scrape the inside sides but realized there isn't enough room for the scrapper. So I sanded that instead. you can't see the sides very well once this is closed so I don't think I'm going any further than 220 sanding with the grain. It looks great.

I plan to do the rest of the finish sanding on the inside tonight and may sign and close this thing up this weekend.