There is such a thing as bad sand paper. I bought a pack once that just shed it's sand after a minute or two of sanding. It is worth buying decent stuff. I've never been satisfied with sanding for getting rid of drips. Like others have said, use coarse stuff. Also use a stiff sanding block so you can concentrate your efforts on the high spots instead of having the paper ride over the drips.

I have been very happy with a "shinto wood rasp". This is a series of hacksaw blades riveted together into a plane like tool. It is very agressive against drips.

You can also use a paint scraper. Work on each drip individually and scrape along the length of the drip instead of across them.

: I've been working on sanding all the bumps, drips, and other imperfections
: off my two Pygmys, and man is it ever going S...L...O...W... .

: (Again, lesson to new builders: scrape off those drips while green! you'll
: regret it otherwise!)

: To exacerbate the problem (I love that word), my sandpaper seems to get worn
: out very rapidly. I'll put a new quarter-sheet in my palm sander, and
: it'll last for maybe one square foot of sanding, if even that.

: It's just generic multipurpose stuff (not garnet though, which I think I
: heard is quite soft), 120 grit. It doesn't tell me what material the
: abrasive is made out of.

: Is there a different type of paper I should be using instead? perhaps
: aluminum oxide, as I read in the old "scary sharp" posts?