Official Luthiers Forum!

Anyone use this for a thickness sander?
sand flee

I was looking at this as it is much quieter and less of a mess then a
conventional sander. Any opinions

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Zac

Anchorage Alaska

Finshed my 1st! See #1 here

ok how about this one

MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=83507">mi cro
sander

keep in mind I build ukes so I dont need much more then this.

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Zac

Anchorage Alaska

Finshed my 1st! See #1 here

You can probably come out cheaper building your own and even then I'd probably go with a true drum sander design for easier control of sanding depth. I'd be afraid that the small diameter drums (2") might be more likely to burn the wood. You might check out this site which sells do it yourself drum kits which could be used for either application (and much cheaper). Drum sander kits

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Don Atwood
Arlington, VA

Here is one I have seen in action, and it is outstanding.  The company has developed a drum that does not create static electricity, so the dust just falls into the box.  It is really incredible. The only adjustments required after setup are changing the grit of the paper.  The sanding itself occurs by centrifugal force so there is no heat generated, to speak of.  You can stop the work on the drum and it will make a dent in the wood, but it is limited, and can be sanded out with a couple of passes.  Because there is no heat, the paper lasts a long time, regardless of the types of woods sanded. Disadvantage:  you can't set the thickness like a top-drum sander.  You just have to sand until it's right. They also have good prices and some interesting other sanding items that are useful.  Stockroom Supply

Disclaimer:  I am neither an employee of, or have any interest in the above company.  I just like their product.  I don't even own one yet.

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

Ive looked at both of those kits and while they are like 1/2 the price I would
still hace to find the motor and I am not confident in finding and wiring that
thing I tried looking for a sutibke motor and was discouraged since I
dont know much about them the prices I saw would make the kit maybe
20-30% less then just buying a sand flee and more expensive then buying
the nicro sander...albiet the micro would only be able to do ukes and not
guitars...but one the occasions I do a guitar I can always have it down at a
cabinet shop here in town...for me the motor is the problem plus small size
of my workshop( good thing im building ukes)

Thanks Guys

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Zac

Anchorage Alaska

Finshed my 1st! See #1 here

I looked at the price of the sand flee and it is comperable to a performax 10-20 drum sander. That is comparing their 10" model sand flee to the performax.

I'm not quite sure how you could get accurate thickness sanding with the sand flee. I'm sure it gives smooth surfaces sanding the way it is shown in the video, but as far as accurate...... It would be a wild guess at best.

The neat thing about this tool is the add-on's that are available for it. You could get several tools in one  by getting the attachments. All of the attachments are expensive though.

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Reguards,

Ken H

An old washing machine motor would work fine.  Only needs a 1/4 horse motor for the 18" and down.  There is very little load, so capacitor start wouldn't be necessary.  Grainger has them for about $60.  But if you have concerns about wiring and such, maybe a pre-built unit is better.  If interested here is a 1/4 hp Dayton at Grainger.  I'm sure they are available many other places - ebay?

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Waddy

Photobucket Build Album Library

Sound Clips of most of my guitars

http://www.ares-server.com/Ares/Ares.asp?
MerchantID=RET01229&Action=Catalog&Type=Product&ID=83507

Micro mark has this thickness sander which is all I need for most of my work
(ukuleles) what do you guys think?

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Zac

Anchorage Alaska

Finshed my 1st! See #1 here

Although the micro mark sander is nice and small, my thinking is that it will burn out rather quickly if you plan on using it for sanding exotics rather than balsa and other soft woods. This tool is designed for model makers and usually they are not running EIR or Koa or other hardwoods that will really put a oad on the machine. You don't want to throw $$ out the window. I think it could work for a while but it won't be long till you wish you had something with a bit more HP than 1/3 HP.

Zak have you looked at the mini drum sander from Grizzly?



It's on sale right now for $495

Check it out, it may be what you need.

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Well at that price I could just go with a performax 10-20 that so many
others here seem to like but I was hoping not to spend too much on it since
its still a hobby and I figure my max output for a while will be in the under 6
per year and more likely the 2-4 per year level at least until I can find a job
that keeps me under 50 hours a week..sigh I also like the micros size I am in
a shop space that makes Hesh flushtone shop look spacious its about 5'
square with one edge cut out for the door swing...pretty small and in an apt.

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Zac

Anchorage Alaska

Finshed my 1st! See #1 here