Flapping in the Breeze

I make and sell a lot of cutting boards. 50% or more of the time involved is sanding so I am always looking for ways to cut the sanding time down. It gets downright tiring sanding the round-over edges with a ROS, especially when I am finishing 10 boards at a time. I had heard about flap sanders, but didn’t know much about them. What amazed me when searching the Internet I found very few companies that make them. What I did find was the Grizzly G8749. I have used this for about three months now, and I find it has cut my sanding time in half for round-over work.

This sander is big, very heavy, and all motor. The sander comes ready to run except for sliding the flap sander on the spindle and tightening the bolt down. It also comes with two different diameter inflatable drums to use on the other side. Both spindles are the same so the flap and drum can be placed on either side.

The flap wheel was already assembled with 180 grit paper. There are 12 brushes with one strip of sand paper between each brush. The brushes have wood ends that are captured between the two end caps. This lets them move freely. The sand paper strips are held between the brushes by a metal strip that is held down with phillips head screws.

A flap sander is one of those tools that takes a little practice to become effective with it. The first thing I found was that 180 grit paper is too aggressive for most projects. You can eat up a piece of wood real fast with one of these machines and the wrong paper. Fortunately, I ordered 220 grit with it and when I replaced the strips with 220, it became a lot more forgiving. You also have to pay attention during use because if you get too close to an edge, it will grab the work piece right out of you hand and throw it across the room. I learned to have a good grip on the work piece before proceeding. Yes, been there, done that a couple of times. It also kicks up a wind storm which cools me down.

I haven’t really had the need yet to use the inflatable sanding drum. Grizzly strongly recommends not to use a compressor to air it up, but to use a hand operated pump. You would think that they would provide one, but they don’t.

I really love this tool. I use it regularly and even though it has a single purpose, it does it very well and has saved me a significant amount of time for certain projects. It removes router bit burn marks with ease.

Motor 1 H.P., 110V, 1725 R.P.M.
Toggle On/Off Safety Switch with locking tab
Flap sander supplied with 180 grit paper
Inflatable drum sizes are 4-3/4” x 7-7/8” and 3-1/4” x 7-7/8”
3/4” Arbor
Benchtop footprint: 6-1/2” x 9” (base only)
Net Weight 57 lbs.
Shipping weight approx.: 65 lbs.

-- I don't make mistakes, only design changes....