Originally Posted by f4rrest

Instead of sanding, try a hand scraper. You'll be surprised at how it reveals grain detail.

I used to build a lot of furniture, including pro audio speaker prototypes -- until it became my job. It took all the fun out of it.

Originally Posted by BillyD

That was my experience with programming. It was great fun when I was in school and could do creative things with it, but I wisely avoided the opportunity to do it for a living. I would've hated it.