Fake beams in ranchburger tract houses emphasize the rough timber gouges of the primitive builder to strike a note of “Early American” authenticity. We shouldn’t insult our ancestors. Early American builders were not primitive. They took as much pride in their work as our boatwrights. If the old fellah’s toolbox was basic, you might detect the faint patterns of crosscut sawing to a struck line and smoothing with a broadax. But if he had an adze, the surfaces would be clean and even. Adzemen seldom kept all their toes but had a keen sense of finish.
Like your ancestors, you want your work to reflect your skill, and since much of what you do will be visible trim and cabinetry, you have a high standard of smoothness. Sandpaper resolves a multitude of sins.
