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I was looking at 2 sanders the shop fox from amazon or luthier tools . One is 115 $ and the other i from luthier tools is $ 150. Have any of you used either one ? and if so what is your opnion ? which one is worth buying tnx in advance ernie. Card scrapers are good but my fingers get tired now.

Over a couple years I ended up with both of these and they work great.

They are pneumatic so not a hard drum.

https://www.woodworkingshop.com/search/?search_query=hand%20drum%20sander

And it looks like the bigger one dropped in price by $30 since April when I got that one.

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Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED

I have the one from Elevate and love it.

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-Marcus
http://www.bailieguitars.com
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Brian those 2 look like the shop fox on amazon? or are they from a different co. ?

Nothing on the tool indicates a brand and neither does the ad at Woodworkingshop (Klingspor). They all look identical to me. I get almost all my abrasives from Klingspor.

The smaller one must be on sale too. Cause I know I paid about $100 when I bought that one.

Looks like a pretty good deal to me.

I just checked the catalog I got in the mail today and they are $99.95 and $129.95. So I'd jump on them or one.

They make the hard parts of neck making a breeze. Well, almost.

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Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED

Just be careful with these sanders. It is REALLY easy to sit in one spot for a few seconds and remove too much material, DAMHIK. You should always keep them moving and stop every few seconds to check your progress.

I Just got the Elavate one and I love it!
Really nicely made and works perfectly.

I have the Shop Fox and it works well. I used to run it with a pneumatic in-line grinder, but it really ran too fast even at low air pressure. Now I use it on my cordless drill and it's good.

As Barry said, you've got to be careful with it because it can cut very quickly.

Dave

TNX everyone. I prefer slow an steady with corradi rasps, for working on the heel. It was ms guthrie that suggested them. I have 6 now, and they are an excellent tool. I tried using my clayton spindle sander , but with radiused back an top its too easy to make a mistake, and while using a scraper is traditional. It gets old fast . Going to take everyones advice an be super careful. !

I find the neck/head junction and heel the places with the biggest pay off. Like Dave, I use a variable speed cordless drill on the low speed setting and have a soft inflation of the bladder. Of course keep it moving. But I find it super controllable. With 120 - 220 sleeves I can take off sub thousands of an inch using a real slow rotation speed. The sleeves seem to last longer than they should too, good because they are not cheap. I don't think I could achieve the control or accuracy with my hand and sandpaper. Short learning curve too. Saves my old sore finger joints a bunch.

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Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED

The larger Grizzly pneumatic in a battery powered drill has been a big part of my heel shaping for a long time.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

I've got the large (2.75") Grizzly and have used it mostly to level sides before binding routing. Takes a light touch.

Brian,looks like your call sign at the bottom ? formerly ve2avq, VE7AQF /w5. ernie .Ttnx for the tips abt the sandpaper. I was wondering abt that. Someone mentioned klingspor. . who else is a good source for the sleeve sandpaper ? . I see a co . called maverick come up often on my fb profile. Anyone use them?. I have been using keystone abrasives. TNX everyone!!!

You’re the first to notice Ernie. I included the call sign in the signature on a couple Luth sites. I listen to some HF, but am really only active on uhf/vhf and help out local clubs with repeaters. I retired from Nat Park service where I was telecom specialist for the later part of that career. Isle Royale NP. We were closer to Canada Than the US, and used to make occasional trips to T Bay by boat. Fun times.

73

Seems like there was a thread here a couple weeks back where sleeve sources were discussed. I get mine from Klingspor and like their quality.

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Brian R, Wood Mechanic
N8ZED

TNX for the update brian.I got my license in montreal in 1964, when I turned 16 , I spent quite a bit of time doing arrl field days, and other events with the montreal amateur radio club in the 60/s. When I joined the army . It was the same lugging around heavy radio equipment and setting up portable field radio stations. But it was fun 73.. I sold all my hf gear. and my 2 mtr mobile needs to be mounted in our vehicle. Just saying the name thunder bay. gives me a chill. !!