Sand-O-Flex

One of the cool things about working in a used tool store is finding some “diamonds in the rough” between the usual stuff. We have had this cardboard box sitting in the corner of the shop for several months now. It was filled with some sort of flap sander paper but none of us knew what it was for.

Then one day I was watching The Woodworking Channel and I found a video on how to make a “Bombay” style jewelry chest. This, by the way, is a pretty cool bandsawn box if you haven’t seen it yet. From the above link, use the horizontal scroll bar and scroll to the right and click on “The American Woodshop.” Then you will see the “Bombay Jewelry Chest” video.

Anyway, in that video, Scott Phillips endorses his favorite contour flap sander, the “Sand-O-Flex.” Well, I made the connection to that dusty old cardboard box in the corner and looked it up. Sure enough, it was full of 85 Sand-O-Flex refill rolls.

So I bought them from my store for a steal of a deal and just ordered the Sand-O-Flex head from Woodcraft. I have actually been wanting something like this for a while now.

My question is this: Assuming my relative light-to-moderate use of this sander, how many of these do I need in one lifetime? How long do they last? Do I really need 85 refills? Would 25 or so be enough?

I am thinking about selling the rest on Ebay. They retail at $12.99 each and I could probably make a small fortune selling the extras for about half price or even less (based on what I paid).

My other question is this: Anybody need any Sand-O-Flex refills?

-- Dust collectors suck.