Tack Cloth - a Long and Noble Tradition

 

   As Fazinni said in "The Princess Bride" being hired to start a war is part of a long and noble tradition.  

 

  
   Tack Cloths http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tack_cloth also have a long and noble tradition, and one that is very nearly as sticky as international politics.     


    Making cutting boards means I do a great deal of sanding.  I will show you my sanding set up in the next blog. My boards are sanded down to 320 grit before I apply the finish. (more about that in another coming blog entry).  Regardless of the care with which I run my dust collection system there is always a fine skim of dust left on the boards when I am done sanding.
    
   To remove that skim of nearly invisible dust I have tried the traditional tack cloth made of cheese cloth soaked in varnish and then squeezed to death.  I have also gone super mod. and vacuumed the boards after sanding.  To be honest, both methods work well but I have found a method that has the quiet ease of the tack cloth combined with the easy storage and clean hands of the vacuum cleaner.

merino wool sweater material.

     A couple of seasons ago I discovered merino wool sweaters. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Merino  Actually it was when my kids lived in New Zealand, the home of many of the aforementioned sheep.  The wool is wonderfully soft and can be washed with your ordinary clothes, though it shouldn't be cooked in the dryer with your ordinary clothes. ( I was to learn that too late in the game).  Having cooked my wonderfully soft merino wool sweater one to many times in fell apart.  It made me sad and angry because it had not been a cheap purchase, rags go to the shop in our house and that is were the sweater ended up.
   
   Totally  by accident I discovered that the old sweater material make for a super tack cloth.  I just run it dry over the sanded wood and it gathers in the fine dust just perfectly.  It can then be shaken out and used again. Occasionally I run in through with the laundry just to be sure it is truly dust free.  It works great, there is no sticky fingers or special storage.  My sweater was blue and so the dust shows up clearly, enabling me to see what has and hasn't been rubbed down before I move to the finishing stage of the project.