Not every tool is something you have to buy. Sometimes you get to build them. One of the most useful homemade tools we have in our shop is a set of these sanding dowels. Nothing more than sandpaper glued to different diameter wooden dowels. They might not seem like much but they are priceless when you need them.

Homemade tools like this aren’t just easy on the wallet but they can be fun to make. There is a satisfaction from building them yourself that you just can’t get when making a purchase. Making a full set of 6-8 different diameters will take less than a half-hour and you can use them over and over for months. Naturally, they aren’t truly free. You might have $8 in wood and sandpaper involved but the time they save is worth it.

This picture shows a cutting board that was brought to us recently that needed repair/reconditioning. The original problem was some marks from an enthusiastic application of a pizza cutter. However, we quickly found two other issues. First is that the wood used was poplar. This is generally too soft of a wood species for cutting boards. The other issue is that someone had used stain on the poplar. This is generally not advisable on a food prep surface. After talking to the owner they agreed that we should sand it down to bare wood and oil it.

Part of that in-depth sanding process is using our homemade sanding dowels. A little time and TLC and we’ll have this heirloom treasure looking brand new, food-safe and back in its home ready for another few decades of use.