Sanding:
If you can, we encourage you to do sanding in the woodshop. We recognize however that there is limited table space to do so. If necessary, you may sand in the general area outside woodshop. If you’re going to do so, please use the festool vaccuum (which you probably want to use anyway) to reduce dust, and frequently check your paper to make sure you’re not damaging the pads. Typical rules about cleaning up after yourself and be excellent apply.
We’re using the Festool ETS 150/3 EQ, for which you can check out Tools - Dallas Makerspace to get more information. (It’s hook and loop.) You can buy paper from the sanding table for $1 a piece; pay using the tall black box or ipad checkout. Please do not use undersized discs on the sanders as it will destroy the pads.
Finishing:
In my opinion, if you can swing it, doing this at home will always be a better experience than anything else right now. That said, here are the actual rules:
Absolutely no, none, 0, nothing can be sprayed on DMS property. Not in the general area, not in the parking lot, not in your car in the parking lot. Not even a clear shellac primer. We have no HVLP. Longer answer/reason: if we spray anything at DMS, we have to track its exact amount and report it to the city. Every exception to list that we don’t submit is a massive fine. Because we can’t depend on members to report their spraying accurately, its absolutely not worth it to have a spray booth.
Right now there is no storage space at all. Leaving items overnight is technically a violation of that rule. If you’d like to seek exception to that rule for curing of finish, talk with @PearceDunlap.
We don’t currently have paper to protect work surfaces as its a consumable and expensive for the space to provide. Hopefully this will change in the future as the space stabilizes post expansion.
You may paint, rub, wipe, any finish you want… again be excellent applies- please don’t paint a noxious substance and leave it for others to breathe for 3 days while it cures. (This more applies to fiberglass / resin off gassing while in storage).
Finishing Advice:
There are as many opinions on the proper way to finish any given project as there are woodworkers in the world. Everyone’s got a trick, you’ll figure out what works for you over time.
Best advice: pick something and do it. You’ll learn and try the next thing. At the end of a few years, you’ll have an odd assortment of half used bottles of finishing supplies and you’ll know what you like when. You’ll probably come down to 2-4 finish techniques after that once you know what you like.
What I would do on your described projects:
knife block- cutting board oil/mineral oil/beeswax. Non toxic, easy to keep up, cheap, and matches the use case of knives. Second option would 3xcoats rub on poly for same reason as spice rack. (Both can also be applied at DMS)
Spice rack- 3x coats rub-on poly. High use surface to me immediately says poly. rub-on poly is just my personal preference for ease of use. Alternate options are BLO, walnut oil, Malouf’s.