Official Luthiers Forum!

   I was watching the Taylor Factory Friday videos (the one on binding) and I saw Ben using what he called a Balata Sander... On his hand drill he had a long barrel sander (wide enough to cover the whole side) that had a handle so he could operate the drill, sand the side, and hold on to the other end...
   So I got to thinking, Man! that's a wicked little tool... So my question is: Where can I get me one of those?!...
   I aslo saw Mike Baranick using the exact same barrel sander on a hand drill as well... Thanks in advance.

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Grizzly
This tool has been discussed around here a few times. I have one and use it for several operations like sanding the waist and cutaway of a guitar, Sanding the heel, neck and headstock transition. It has an air bladder inside the drum to regulate the stiffness.

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

John! You rule man! Thanks a lot... That tool is going to save me a lot of grief sanding out cupped sides....

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Just be carefull with it because it can be pretty agressive too.John How38737.6611689815

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

Thanks John, will do! I noticed on your site that you'll be in Montreal in July. I hope to make it out to see you there... Cheers

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Alain

I'm not sure about this but I don't think Grizzly ships direct to Canada. Maybe someone can clarify this.

Josh

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Josh House

Canadian Luthier Supply
http://www.canadianluthiersupply.com
https://www.facebook.com/canadianluthiersupply?ref=hl
House Guitars - Custom Built Acoustic Instruments.
http://www.houseguitars.com

Alain, I'm trying to be there. I'm just not sure if I'll have any guitars ready. After quite a dry spell, I've got orders for several and not a lot of time.John How38737.7031481481

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

What's going in Montreal in July, and when? I'll be in NY in July. Bout 2 hours from Montreal

Josh, you are correct, below is a fairly recent "how many ways you can say no" response I got from Grizzly when trying to order something:
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"Unfortunately, we cannot ship orders into Canada. However, if you wish, we can ship an order to the U.S. address of a freight forwarder of your choice. You would then need to arrange for them to import your order into Canada,and to deliver to your final destination. A small list of freight forwarders can be found at www.freightnet.com. Please note that all duties, taxes and freight charges beyond the United
States would be your responsibility. Please also note that the only customs document we can provide is a commercial invoice showing the countries of origin of the items on your order. We are unable to provide any other assistance with customs clearance. We also cannot provide you or your freight forwarder with our Federal Tax ID number.

If you are interested in placing an order, please provide us with your complete billing address in Canada and the address in the United States you would like us to ship to. We will then provide a quote to the U.S. address of your freight forwarder.

If you decide to place an order, payment may be made by bank wire transfer for an additional $30.00 fee. We can only accept a credit card as a form of payment if we can obtain electronic verification of the card holder's billing address through our credit card processor. We use this electronic address verification instead of your signature, and cannot accept your
credit card without it. We have found that unfortunately, many banks outside the United States do not provide this electronic address verification service.

The other option available to you, would be to visit one of our showrooms,located in Muncy, PA, Springfield, MO and Bellingham, WA. [Ya like I drive through Pennsylvania/Missouri and Washington state all the time from Toronto] We can accept your credit card as payment in our showrooms, assuming that the card holder is present to sign for the transaction. If you wish to visit one of our showrooms, please call or e-mail us to confirm product availability before you make your trip.

If we can be of further assistance, or if you would like to place an order, please do not hesitate to contact us. Your interest in our products is very
much appreciated!
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I've emailed them twice since receiving this e-mail and NO RESPONSE! (And their President calls himself a luthier .. shame on him )

I know a number of you folks in the U.S. like Grizzly - but I sure am not impressed with their customer service.
Anthony Z38737.8465393518

It doesn't make sense to me. They have got a lot of great tools that I would certainly buy if they would just ship things direct to me. The hassle is more than I care to deal with. So I guess I will just continue to make due with what I can get over here.

JoshJosh H38737.9421527778

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Josh House

Canadian Luthier Supply
http://www.canadianluthiersupply.com
https://www.facebook.com/canadianluthiersupply?ref=hl
House Guitars - Custom Built Acoustic Instruments.
http://www.houseguitars.com

Terry, it's the Montreal Jazz Festival. Should be pretty wild...

   Anthony, that is really too bad about Grizzly not shipping to Canada.
   I googled 'pneumatic drum sander' and 'rolling-pin type sander', and many other variations and only the Grizzly one came up. Time to hit the drawing board and cook one up from some stuff I have lying around the shop (notice the recuring theme here )

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I'd like to be able to prove, just for once, that money wouldn't make me happy...

Just thought I would throw this idea up in the air for the blue collars. A much cheaper, but more time consuming replacement is buying one of those 3 inch diameter $2 dollar long colored foam swimming pool floaties from walmart, cutting them into whatever length you need, and wrapping them with sand paper. (The veterans are laughing right now!)

Hey Terry and John, i'd sure be interested in meeting any of you guys in Montreal, it's only an hour and a half drive from me and Alain's Place. If you do, just PM one of us and we'll set a meeting place!

Regards

Serge

To my fellow Canucks, I tried to bu a knife grinder from them a month or so ago and the very same responce. Being in the investigation business with a lot of years of tool buying experience behind me I had to get to the bottom of this. It took me about 5 minutes. THey can't sell into Canada because someone else likely markets from the very same over seas manufacturer. That company is Craftex, sold by Busy Bee Toolsin Canada. I looked throgh their website and they do not list any of the large industrial machines that Grizzly sells or this pneumatic drum sander. It might be worth a call or e-mail to the store to see if they have it and just don't list it.
Oh ya, that knofe grinder I was looking at, was WAY cheaper at Busy Bee than what I was going to pay at Grizzly, same machine!

Good Luck

Shane

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Canada

Grizzly isn't the only company to sell inflatable drums. You might have to add your own handle, but should be able to find the rest of it easily.

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Scott Thompson
Port Townsend,WA

"In a perfect world we'd all sing in tune
But this is reality so give me some room"
-Billy Bragg

Way to go ShANE, I completely forgot about busy bee and could have told Alain to sneak up on their website!

Thanks BRO

Serge

Alain,

    I don't recall anyone pointing out that what Ben said wasn't, in fact, a "Balata" sander, but a "bladder" sander describing its inflatable bladder that provides a flexible but consistent backing for the sanding cylinder that is over it.

    The one from Grizzly works great and I have three of tem in my shop all with different grit papers on them and in the chucks of their dedicated hand drills for quick access while sanding.

   I built a small rack that holds all three drills next to one another with the bladder sanders in order according to their 100, 150 & 220 grit sleeves. They are real time savers for hitting the sides especially in the cutaway area and waist bends.

Regards,
Kevin Gallagher/Omega Guitars

I just wanted to jump in and say that I like mine, too. I bought the Grizzly tool after I read a review about it in American Lutherie magazine written by R.M. Mottola.
Works good!

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Mark Swanson
Swanson Guitars
http://www.MarkSwansonMusic.com

Shane

I had thought that Busy Bee could be the cause of Grizzly not shipping to Canada. BB doesn't carry near as much stuff as Grizzly and the quality of the BB stuff doesn't look as good (in my opinion). I have the complete BB catalogue and it is missing a lot of the neat luthiers tools that Griz has. I went and visited the local show room a while back and was just not impressed with the BB stuff. BB stuff is identical to Toolex, another low-end brand you see a lot here in Canada (don't know if it is in the US). BB and Griz may be made in the same factory but the Griz tools seem to be a notch above BB. For now I plan to stick to the name brand stuff, like Canadian made General tools.

Josh

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Josh House

Canadian Luthier Supply
http://www.canadianluthiersupply.com
https://www.facebook.com/canadianluthiersupply?ref=hl
House Guitars - Custom Built Acoustic Instruments.
http://www.houseguitars.com

[QUOTE=Kevin Gallagher]   
   I built a small rack that holds all three drills next to one another with the bladder sanders in order according to their 100, 150 & 220 grit sleeves. They are real time savers for hitting the sides especially in the cutaway area and waist bends.[/QUOTE]

There goes the rest of my tax return. Thanks a lot Kevin!   

Josh,

I tend to buy Candain amd US made tools as well. My table saw is a uni-saw and I have an 8" jointer, lathe and 15" bandsaw that are Canadain General. But I also have a re-saw, 20" planer and 24" double drum sander that are General International. I have used a 20" Craftex Bandsaw for a bit and it seemed pretty good actually. I even tried to buy it off the guy but he didn't want to sell it. When you look at the wieghts and specs on the Grizzly and Craftex tools you will see that they are identical, I would bet that the quality is also identical. As for the Luthier specific stuff that comes from the President of Grizzly have a keen interest in guitar making. I will give Bust Bee a call on Monday and see what tey say about the sander. If not, I have another idea for getting them into Canada for those that want them.

Shane

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Canada

I am not sure who might want to step up, but why doenst some one offer to have a tool shipped to them, then just redirect it to the canadian address via USPS ??? I have a couple buds in the US and they do this whenever I need. Obviously it would be best for the US person to be close to the border, like Detroit or Buffalo area.

I would think it would add very little to the cost, and the tool is fairly small so shipping wouldnt be much of an issue.

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Tony Karol
www.karol-guitars.com
"let my passion .. fulfill yours"

That was exactly my thought Tony. But I will call Busy Bee on Monday as I may be interested also.

Shane

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Canada

Not shure but I can probably have them here for one third the price. They are quite common in ski setting shops; I'll check my tool supplier and let you know.
Group buy?
Luigi

Hey, 99 posts, I'm challenging Sergeggdelazzer38738.8061574074

Hey Luigi, you would have to quit your job and type very quick messages to beat me at this, not counting the millions buttons to press down on each post! I'm the Wayne Gretzky of he shoots he ,

Congrats in advance for numero 100!

Serge