A few more sanding "friends"

I posted a blog entry a few days ago about some different sanding aids I use in carving that I thought might be helpful to others. I of ten see products in catalogs and wonder how/if they actually work, so I thought a semi-review of the products I have used might be helpful. Apparently it was useful info for some, so I decide to mention a couple more that I don’t use frequently. But one of these might be especially helpful to Spoontaneous and other spoon carvers.

I occasionally carve spoons, usually for my wife or as gifts, and I like the bowls to be easy to wash and clean. Which to me, means it needs to be smooth! I discovered very quickly that sanding spoons can be a laborious project if done entirely by hand. I have admired the Guinevere inflatable ball sander but never had enough need to spend the money for it. So I built something that works in a similar fashion. Basically it is a small ball knob from the hobby store that has a flat on one end with a small hole. I used an extra screw mandrel from a Dremel accessory and glued into the hole with epoxy. I used a compass to draw a center circle the size of the ball and then drew a larger circle around that. The outer band is cut into flaps that are folded up in sequence around the ball and secured with tape or a rubber band around the shaft. Voila! A $1 ball sander for my spoons that works quite well to remove gouge and knife marks very quickly! Which leaves more time for the fun parts of spoon carving!

Next is an inflatable drum sander that I can’t seem to find sleeves for any more. I believe I probably purchased it from Woodcraft about 20 years ago and it is approximately 3” x 6”. It fits into my lathe and inflates to the desired hardness with a bicycle pump or air compressor. I loved it for shaping handles and different shapes with some type of curve or radius, such as chair legs and cane handles. I have tried several times to get something that fits from Klingspor and have had no luck. Apparently, people measure things differently and I have little success in getting the correct size , despite providing circumference and diameter measurements when ordering! My other drum sanders somewhat fill the gap, despite the lack of inflatability. I still miss this guy at times.

-- Mike P., Arkansas, http://mpounders1.blogspot.com