How does one use an oscillating sander?

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rlharding

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I need to sand the inside of a deep and narrow goblet. I thought the oscillating sander would work, however, the sand paper keeps slipping down the rubber mould. I have too many black rubber marks on the inside that I now have to sand by hand -which I wanted to avoid.

Any tips?

thanks.
 
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Hi Ruth,
I sand all my turnings by hand because (1) I don't have a sanding tool other than a big belt sander and a small mouse type that won't fit inside (2) I'm sorta of a nut any way and like to sand by hand - even though my hands will usually cramp before I'm done (3) I've been concerned that I could have the same problem you're having.

All that said, if you find a solution, pass it along, I'll probably try it because my hands usually cramp from all that hand sanding.
 
Hey don't try that with a Oscillating sander------darn to late.
Sanding the inside of anything is a job----small round 2 inch disk work----I have seen sanding mops---never tried one. I have even used a drill with a extension and a disk---just to beat down the big stuff---didn't do a very good job.
By hand can be a real bear and hurt like heck---DAMHIKT
 
if the goblet was still attached to the chuck, get a dowel, and wrap one end of the dowel with sandpaper, and at low rpm stick the dowel with sandpaper in it, and do it that way
 
Ruth ... Check out the Guinevere Sanding System over at Woodcraft. I use one for my bowl turnings and have never been more pleased.

The system is pricy if you get the entire setup, however, you can get the inflatable round bowl (I have yet to use the straight one). This round unit is No. 147535 and sells for $39.99. Expensive yes, but it will save you hours of time and aching muscles if you do it by hand.

You can also get a flexible cable from Lowes, Home Depot for a lot less money. Just mnake sure the tool shaft fits the flexible shaft chuck.

I do not inflate the rubber bowl at all and have yet to need to do so. I doubt that you would ever use the inflater tool so that's a little more money saved.

The inflatable unit DOES need to use the mnolded sanding pads so you can spend the money saved above and get a stock of them. They last a long time if you take care of then in using them. I use them until there is no grit left on the cloth almost.

While at Woodcraft get yourself a few different sizes of round buffing bowl wheels made by Beall. They make polishing deep interior hollow forms a breeze and quick and can be used on the flexible shaft as well.

Go to Woodcraft's linK: http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=20037 and go down a bit and look at No. 147535 and then the sanding pads all grits.

If you want to make life easier get the total system for $116.99. You will still need the motor and flexible shaft. I have used my flexible shaft with a heavy duty drill and had few problems in doing so.

Be sure to watch the Woodcraft video at: http://www.woodcraft.com/family.aspx?familyid=20037&mode=videos#tabs

I believe this will be your answer and will definitely save you time and a bunck of busted knuckles. :biggrin:
 
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Thanks Fred.
I am in Canada with no Woodcraft. I also can't wait the 3 weeks & the additional customs duties.

Thaks anyway. It looks like a good system.
 
Ruth ... Can't you get to a Woodcraft or have a US friend pick the rubber bowl part up for you and come see you? (Bribes work quite well - A fresh baked apple pie might make the idea come to be.) Maybe they could dirty it up a little and 'tell' customs they were returning it to you? I will deny making that statement if it is repeated ... :eek: Also, you can call Guinevere directly and see if they have any Canadian distributors. I bet they do!

Chuck ... No problem. Is that not what we are here for, to give others ideas and such not? At least I gave you some money saving ideas to go along with it. Although, the littler motor unit IS a great idea and it works oh so well when dedicated to this system. I have mine mounted on the wall shelf directly behind my lathe and use it all the time on everything I turn. I think I have gone through about $250 dollars worth of the sanding sleeves since I started using it over a year ago. BUT, it saves me time, does a much nicer job of sanding inside everything, saves on valuable flesh being burned off my hands, etc. The list goes on and on ... :cool:

If anyone gets this unit two important hints I can give you ... Have the piece being sanded turning in reverse to the direction of the sander. Otherwise the sander will just spin with the wood. Another hint: Don't inflate the rubber unit. I just use a tiny breath of air. Then you can get it to slightly mold itself to the shape of the wood you are sanding. Just be careful and not let the rubber come into contact with the wood else you will burn it and it will leak. ... DAMHIKT! Yep, been there and done that to! :frown:
 
Ruth, their is another way that won't cost you much and will work to some degree, especially on the smaller openings. Take a piec of hardwood dowel that will chuck in your drill. Saw a slot in the end of the dowel around 7/8" to 1" long.. Cut strips of sandpaper in various grits about 3/4" in width. make these around 2-2and 1/2" long. Insert the sandpaper strips into the slot approximately in the middle of the 2" length. Double check that the grit will be in the direction of the rotation of your drill. Insert this into your drill and begin sanding. This will produce an inexpensive "flapper" type sander that will work fairly well (beats the cramps from hand sanding) to get the roughest portion sanded. Then you just need a little hand sanding to finish.

Hope this helps! :wink:
 
Fred, I have called the Canadian distributor.......and by the time I added up just the basic sanding sleeves in 3 grit sizes my total was over $400. I think it is a great looking system but for now I am going to try Rob's advice. It's not the price of the system that is the problem, it's the sanding sleeves!
 
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