Thread: flap sanders

They're great for knocking the sharp edges off mouldings and CNC cut raised panel doors.

I sort of lean toward your side. If you are really desperate you can get flap sanders that are a drill attachment.
As for taking the sharp edges off, I usually take a piece of 220 grit folded a bit and do it by hand. In a production environment I might go for a separate machine if my arm was twisted just right.

When you have a few hundred or thousand metres, hand sanding gets old reaaaaaly fast

Originally Posted by elanjacobs

When you have a few hundred or thousand metres, hand sanding gets old reaaaaaly fast

After 10 metres, I wouldn't wish that on my worst enemy.

That's why apprentices were invented

Originally Posted by Tonto

saw an old blowfly brand sander at a garage sale (they should have paid me to dispose of it) but got me thinking...
do people still use these?
what other brands are there?
pros an cons?

When they first came out I bought two Blowflys (was thinking, one for coarse and one for fine grits) and used one a few times and I think the other is still in its box.

I never got much out of the blowfly style. I think they were relevant in the days when power tools were expensive and we didn’t have the proliferation of cheap sanding solutions we have now.

Flap wheels I use all the time - in an angle grinder.

The angle grinder style is intuitive for shaping, the blowfly in a drill is counterintuitive.

Ideal for hogging off waste timber in the early stages of doing a carving. I do a few pond yachts and half-hull models and they are ideal. Not as aggressive as an Arbotec but still quick.

I use them for carving foam rubber when doing upholstery, especially where you need a three dimensional curve.

And for quickly cleaning up my messy, splattery welding.