Sanding inlay work?

[minowevie]

Ok this is something I never done before. but it is on the old SSW forum on the sanding mop. your friend Evie Making a sanding mop---
sdon't forget to check the #2. impho. that would be by Sharon. thanks sharon.

[lucky788scroller]

I dont own a sand flea, but I know a few that do own them, and I have seen it in action many times.Those that have it seem to like it.I have seen some really fragile pieces sanded on them, and it does a good job.For sanding your inlays and such, it would be a handy tool.If one buys one expecting to do heavy duty sanding on it, or any kind of sanding where precise wood dimentions are required, they would be disappointed.By sliding the wood over the rotating drum, if doing multiple passes, it wont totally uniform in thickness anymore. Much like passing a board over a jointer, no matter how exact your tables are, infeed or outfeed, the board will not end up a uniform thickness. If sanding inlays is your main intent, I would suggest a tool like a Performax sander, where the wood is fed on a conveyor under a rotating sanding drum.Because your piece is sitting flat on a moving conveyor, it will remain uniform in thickness if the sander is set up right.If you find my pictures of the ratcoon in a previous post, the back was sanded through a performax after gluing up. I sanded multiple passes until all of my recessed pieces were sanded off until it once again was flat on the back (almost 3/8th inch). I know I didnt help much, but, its another toy for you to consider. Dale

[lucky788scroller]

Here is the back of the ratcoon i mentioned. The frame part WAS about 3/8th of an inch farther out from the rest of the project until I sanded it like I mentioned in the previous post. Dale

[Marcel in Longueuil]

Hi Gill,

I believe the actual reason is that the hook&loop sandpaper doesn't rest on a solick background: it floats at the end of the loop that holds it to the roller. That way, it flattens to the proper level and doesn't require a lower feed table.

Yes, tha's it: it flattens. Sounds reasonable...That's my story and I'm sticking to it.

Honestly, I don't know... It probably doesn't: I mean you adjust how much you take off by changing grit (Have a look at the demos)

If I put out the cash and buy one I'll let you know. So far the people I have talked to have enjoyed theirs and find it very usefull. But I'm not betting my house without trying one first

Regards,
Marcel

[lucky788scroller]

This is the sand flea! I think some of you are thinking of something else maybe. If not, excuse my misunderstanding. Dale http://www.rjrstudios.com/

[Marcel in Longueuil]

Hi Dale,

The V-drum sander is similar to the sand flea sander: Both use hook & loop sandpaper attached to a roller drum that has a table on top of it with a slot through which the sandpaper rises slightly above tabletop level when spinning.

The sand flea has an added flex shaft, but I'm sure someone could add that to their V-drum sander with slight modifications.

The centrifugal force of the roller causes the sandpaper to go to the end of the hook & loop holders, creating an air cushion between the sandpaper and the drum when running. This causes a "soft" air cushion under the sandpaper, and also permits the paper to stay cooler helping to prevent pitch, gum and residue buildup. I believe the air cushion probably gives the sander properties closer to a pneumatic sander rather than, lets say, a sanding belt.

And although I liked the info on the sandflea, I thought the guy in the video with his dog looked more like a car salesman than a user of the tool. I could have done with less "Southern hospitality" and more technique. Don't get me wrong: I love dogs (Got 2 GSD myself) but I want info on a sanding product not the company owner's (or whatever that guy is ) social life. Sorry for the ranting, he tripped one of my switches I guess.

Regards,
Marcel

[Gill]

Thanks for your thoughts, Marcel. It looks to be a very interesting system and I'd love to see either a V-drum or Sand Flee in action. However, I think I'll have to settle for the thoughts of an owner instead, and preferably not one who puts so much emphasis on how much fun they are to use . I quite agree with you about the video; the word fun is hereby banished from my house for the rest of the night . Instead, I'm going to turn to a thesaurus (sorry guys, but there isn't a shorter word for that) every time the potential for that word crops up and say, pleasure or happiness or enjoyment or... you get the message.

Anyway, the f** word isn't terribly important to me when I'm thinking of buying a tool. For $700 I'd be wanting the salesman to use words like dependable, sturdy, low maintenance, and economical instead of f**. I'd want a serious piece of kit in return for a serious cash outlay - not f**.



Gill

[Rolf]

Marcel,
the guy in the video is the owner and developer of the sand-flee.
He had a booth at our last woodworking show. I never had a chance to check out the machine (too busy demonstrating scroll sawing to the public)
He is quite the character.

[lucky788scroller]

I will agree, the use of the word fun is pretty well used up in that somewhat strange infomercial, but yes, that is Bob Raffo, and he isnt a car salesman (although there is a striking resemblence),and he does travel all over demoing the machine. The reason I posted what I did was because the link for a mop sander topic got put in here, so I thought it might be steering some folks the wrong way. Dale
PS: But remember, you will have FUN with that machine!

[Marcel in Longueuil]

Dale,

The link I posted to Stockroom Supplies' web site is to their home page. The first item is the V drum sander, and the second one is mop sanders.

They also supply sandpaper (Klingspore brand) feather wheels, and other nice items.

But my intent was to inform on the V-drum sander.
The other stuff they sell, if you are interrested in looking at their website, is just icing on the cake. They have nice stuff at good prices and although Canadian they do ship to the States and have a US price list on their site.

Regards,
Marcel