Official Luthiers Forum!

Well I must confess that I have had this tool for a while and today is the first I have used it. Wow, what a sweet little tool. This thing is perfect for sanding the waist area and for neck work. Connect it to your cordless drill and sand away.

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tim...
http://www.mcknightguitars.com

I think i'm gonna use that idea for neck no2, less dangerous than standing over my drum sander!

I've been thinking about getting one for a while. Just seems a little clunky using a drill to power it. Anyone use an (inline)pneumatic tool with this yet?

I have been thinking about that tool as well. Thanks for the reference Tim

Grizzly is the only place that I've seen that sells them and they won't ship directly to Canada....bummer.

Yes, it is a Grizzly, sorry for omitting that. They have two diameters and mine is the larger size. Here is a link:

http://www.grizzly.com/catalog/2005/main/139

Pneumatic may be to fast and the air hose would be clumsy to drag around. The VS drill runs plenty fast to sand and not too fast to burn and load the paper.

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tim...
http://www.mcknightguitars.com

Previous Discussion on Pneumatic Drums
It's amazing how controllable these are. I think it's partially because they are held with both hands spread quite a distance apart.
I would recommend a reversing driver as there are times the tool works better in reverse as Barry mentioned in the December discussion above.
Happy New Year all!
Nelson

A word of advice/caution on using these drums: When sanding in the cutaway area, or any area of the ribs for that matter, it's better to over-inflate rather than under. Picture an under-inflated car tire with it's concave tread. What I'm trying to say here is that it's easy to sand too much off the binding if not careful.
Nelson

I bought one and a pneumatic driver but found that I prefer using my variable speed drill. In the winter that air power motor gets real cold after holding it just a few momemnts and I find that the electric drill allows me better control of the speed. You have the be carefull especially when sanding your thin guitar sides as this thing can be pretty aggressive and I agree with Nelson about using plenty of air pressure to keep the drum hard espesially on your sides. It makes quick work of shaping up a neck though.

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

I wonder if it can be had with a buffer attachment.

Also wondering if we can get it with an oscillating feature. TIC
Seriously, John, the buffing is an interesting thought.
Nelson

Any suggestions for other than Grizzly or Sand-Rite where one of these can be obtained? Grizzly doesn't ship to Canada and the Sand-Rite ones are really pricey.

[QUOTE=Tim McKnight]
Pneumatic may be to fast and the air hose would be clumsy to drag around. The VS drill runs plenty fast to sand and not too fast to burn and load the paper.[/QUOTE]

Good tips, makes sense to me, especially not having one. Thanks!

What do you use for dust collection - downdraft table, or a shop assistant holding vacuum?

Happy new years. This is going to be one of the best years of my life. Partly due to all my friends here who teach, correct, and train me!

Thanks to all!

Tim,
I have both diameters and I actually like the bigger one better ( most of the time). My only problem, and I am sure I am just doing something wrong, is that I am using a 1/4" air grinder to run it and it bogs down real easy. I can litteraly stop the thing while in the middle of a neck grind. Maybe a leak or? or perhpas using a different powering source i.e. drill or something.

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Dave Bland

remember...

"If it doesn't play in tune...it's just pretty wood"

Dave;
You're not doing anything wrong. Most air tools rely on high pressure & RPM to achieve torque. If you reduce air pressure to lower the RPM, you end up with very low torque. I think an electric tool would work better than a standard die grinder.
I was just playing with my wife's little cordless screwdriver. It has a straight handle (not a pistol grip) & has plenty of torque at a nice slow speed. If I could figure out how to chuck the drum sander, I think it'd work great.Daniel M38718.6258101852