Trim destruction-- what sanders to buy... or am I crazy?

[DanesRFun]

I have a difficult project, and I am not a professional. I'm not even really a hobbyist, so I might just be a bit overly optimistic. But I've always been pretty handy, and a DIY'er in general, with several completed woodworking projects over the years. The project: the short version is that a young Great Dane destroyed a good deal of the trim in my 1914 Craftsman house, along with the edges of several pieces of furniture. I've attached some pictures of the trim damage. I'm looking to repair/restore it if possible. I would enjoy doing the work myself if it doesn't require more serious expertise than I can quickly acquire. If you think this is potentially doable, what sanders would you recommend? I'm currently in need of a new general sander, because my 20yr old Porter-Cable disappeared when I loaned it out... but in trying to figure out what to buy to replace it, I started thinking about this looming trim project, and that I might need more specialized equipment. Or maybe I'm seriously deluded to think I can attempt it. Nonetheless, I've been reading with interest the many posts regarding possible choices-- from the difference between 2,3, and 5mm sanding stroke, 5" vs 6", and some of the potential benefits of the Rotex RO90 DX. I would greatly appreciate any and all comments, warnings, and advice... even if it's "forget it, you're crazy, go hire a professional for the trim restoration, and just get a general ROS for daily life and maybe attempt the furniture restoration." If you do think this extensive trim project is doable (and won't kill me from frustration in the process), what sander or combination of sanders would you want/need to complete the project?

 

[usernumber1]

buy whatever sander you want to toy with then call a pro. that restoration is going to require an artist not a woodworker

 

[ear3]

Oof, sorry for your loss. That's much more than a sander can do -- the sill will have to be cut to reproduce some sort of clean edge, then be capped to extend it back out to original size. Good news is that it is painted, like the wall trim on the stairs, and so any reconstructions can be blended in and painted over to match. The one place where maybe a sander might help is on the stair post, though it will produce some sort of alteration in the shape. I don't see how you rectify the doorway casing without eventually painting it over to blend whatever filler you have to use, if you don't end up replacing the boards entirely.

Glad my wife and i are cat people.

 

[mino]

As other have said - most of the problems will require cutting off the damaged material, then gluing-in and/or filling-in new material, then blending it all in (here a sander will be useful).

As for sanders for hobby use, I would highly advise the upcoming ETSC 2 125 cordless sander as the optimal "universal" sander for home repair/tuning. It comes with a bag and has an integral impeller, making it useful even without a proper dust extractor for small tasks.

Most importantly, there is a hard pad available for it which is a must for any repair work when blending-in is needed. So, make sure to get both the hard and soft pads alongside the included medium one. Then take some piece of wood and play with repairing and sanding it, to get a hang on how soft/medium/hard pads work differently.

...
While you may end up with the RX90, eventually, you really want to start with a sander that is suitable for finish-sanding as that is what most small repairs entail.

The difference in orbits is about efficiency. On a big job the speed-up from a 5 mm orbit sander does matter. On small repairs, not so much. Especially so if one is not on the clock ..

On the other stuff, I would advise you get a small chisel set .. something in the $50 range for 3-chisels. You will be surprised how useful those are for small repairs. Then take a look at the Vecturo. Another tool that is a godsend for repairs/in-place work.

 

[Vtshopdog]

What ear3 said, sorry for your damage.

I'm always one to favor addressing the source of a problem before treating symptoms. In this case that would mean getting your offending pupster in line so he doesn't repeat elsewhere.

 

[Cheese]

You should change your user name to DanesRExpensive.

The good thing is all of those painted pieces can be relatively easily repaired ...the newel post not so much.
However you'll need more than just a sander, add in a Vecturo, hand saw, hand plane, hand sanding blocks, chisels and lots of patience with lots of wood filler. The ETSC 2 125 that MIno suggested would be a great starter as it appears there are a lot of other trim pieces that need to be sanded, filled and painted.

The newel post needs to be replaced or the damage disguised in some manner. Through the use of very thin moldings, you may be able to hide the damage and turn it into a Craftsman style and in this case, paint is your friend.

 

[DanesRFun]

Thank you all so much. You are all saving me a lot of headache. I seen an episode of This Old House genre with Tom Silva walking the homeowner through cutting out and replacing a rotted window sill a while back... and got overly ambitious. The stair post-- yeah that worried me the most... and so did the likely need to use filler in places,. So thank you Usernumber1 for using the term ARTIST. I think that brought my ambition back to reality, as I recognize that while I may be competent (and even a perfectionist) for many a project, I really am not a true artist... never have been, and never will be. I'm much more the math and straight lines and logical problem solver type, rather than a real artist. Ear3, we've had 6 Great Danes and 2 cats over the years... only one Dane was the out of control "separation anxiety" chewer... but the cat hair was never ending! LOL. That 20 years with cats did however teach me about great vacuums, and subsequently about the step up from my shop vac to great dust extraction, and I was able to pick up a used Festool extractor along the way. With Great Danes, and hardwood floors come many giant toenails to be kept trimmed/sanded short ... so I've had a multitude of Dremels over the years, but never had a Vecturo type tool. With more time to tackle projects now, that and a proper chisel set are great ideas. Thanks Mino! My original thought was one of the 125's to replace my old Porter-Cable, but in reading about the various models, I saw a comment here about the cordless versions having half the power. While I can see the cordless part being pleasurably handy on occasion, would the decrease in power the rest of the time outweigh those few times of really wanting/needing a cordless? Or for my level of work, would it just not matter? And does the hybrid have less power when plugged in? I would like to at least try and tackle the several pieces of furniture repair where my lack of artistry can be better hidden. And the third project on the list is to repaint our kitchen cabinets. I will probably hire out the painting part, but was thinking I could at least help with the sanding prep. I'll post pictures of the furniture and kitchen cabinets later this morning. Gotta run to an appt now. Thank you all so very much!

 

[DanesRFun]

VTshopdog, yes, the young offender in my profile pic thankfully outgrew the chewing, and went on to many non-destructive years of joy. Cheese, you are SOOO right on the EXPENSIVE part! But with trouble sometimes brings unexpected positives... After many a non-so-great trainer, I happened upon a godsend, who made everything EASY, and even turned me into a great trainer myself.

 

[Vtshopdog]

VTshopdog, yes, the young offender in my profile pic thankfully outgrew the chewing, and went on to many non-destructive years of joy. Cheese, you are SOOO right on the EXPENSIVE part! But with trouble sometimes brings unexpected positives... After many a non-so-great trainer, I happened upon a godsend, who made everything EASY, and even turned me into a great trainer myself.

My friend's German Shepard adolescent destroyed the entire dashboard of his F-150 while left alone for about 75 minutes. Also ate holes in the sheetrock at his house.

It can happen fast and unexpectedly.

 

[leakyroof]

My friend's German Shepard adolescent destroyed the entire dashboard of his F-150 while left alone for about 75 minutes. Also ate holes in the sheetrock at his house.

It can happen fast and unexpectedly.

Yes, I worked for a previous Dealership group, whose owner family often had Border Collies. One infamous member of the Canine group like to chew through expensive modern seat belts when she was left alone in a vehicle. Looked like a razor blade had cut them where she chewed, very much the artist....
After a couple of those chewing events, they finally wised up and stopped leaving her alone in a car. Those seat belts were appox $1200 a pop back then.

 

[DanesRFun]

Vtshopdog-- ouch!... Caa-ching$$$$!
Here are the rest of my to-do project pics. The bed frame will be mostly hidden with bedding, and really only peaks out to find my shins on occasion, so I'll start there, and just sand smooth and try to match the stain rather than redoing the whole thing. The two nightstand top corners (yes, he got both) I'm thinking to similarly just round out the corners and re-stain the top to match. The tops are usually covered with a kind of thick placemat cloth thingy anyway. And I can always go back and repaint them to change the look of the room at a later date. The hall chest I'll have to spend more time on. I'll probably need to replace the top, and paint the whole thing. I can't think of a different kind of top (eg marble) that I could put on it that would look good enough where I wouldn't end up having to repaint the whole thing. But I'll leave that for last while I figure out what kind of look that space will need. Maybe I can find a local artist to do some sort of top layer interesting paint. And if I wait until after doing the kitchen, I can pick colors to tie in. The kitchen cabinets are solid, but need new paint to match a new solid-surface counter (probably a white quartz/carrera marble look). That 80's blue tile counter has got to go!. Plus the 36 year old appliances are on their last legs. I'll hire out the painting, but I was hoping to help with the cabinet surface prep... there's a lot of surface... so will need an appropriate sander for the job. Does the ETSC 2 125 mentioned by Mino and Cheese still sound good for all that? Will I just do those shelf internal corners by hand? Or will I need something more specialized? The last pic is a random pic from online, but shows the basic coloring I'm planning.

 

[DanesRFun]

Yes, I worked for a previous Dealership group, whose owner family often had Border Collies. One infamous member of the Canine group like to chew through expensive modern seat belts when she was left alone in a vehicle. Looked like a razor blade had cut them where she chewed, very much the artist....
After a couple of those chewing events, they finally wised up and stopped leaving her alone in a car. Those seat belts were appox $1200 a pop back then.

Wow! Thankfully, none of my Danes ever ate the cars! When the trim chewing started, he was young and teething, but I got the sense that he continued because he somehow liked the taste of the old paint... as he never chewed in the part of the house that was added in the 1940's. So of course I worried about the possibility of LEAD, though it all surprisingly tested negative.

 

[Packard]

[…] the short version is that a young Great Dane destroyed a good deal of the trim in my 1914 Craftsman house, along with the edges of several pieces of furniture. I've attached some pictures of the trim damage. […]

On the plus side of the ledger, the best dog I’ve ever owned (a German Shepherd Dog) did the most damage of any of my other dogs. I think there is a direct correlation between the puppy-destruction and how good the dog is as an adult.

The best decision I made for ending that destruction was to get a kitten to keep the dog company. A companion cat will have a very positive effect on a dog. It has for all my dogs.

(Though with my Doberman, I was the “odd-man-out”. That is, when the cat and dog were together, I was “invisible” to them. They were a self-sufficient pair. I was there just to feed them and to walk the dog.