Ed Reiss
30th October 2009, 02:44 AM
If your like me, sanding is not one of your favorite pastimes...especially the inside of a hollow form, and even worse when the access hole is on the small side :~
Well, I came across a solution for sanding the inside.:D
Last evening when I was "surfing" the web, I came across a sanding product called a "mini-mop ( :: Stockroom Supply - Mini Mops (http://www.stockroomsupply.com/The_Mini_Mop.php) ) which is sized for use in a Dremel tool.
Hmmmmm...way too small for a normal size hollow turning (unless your making flea houses, of course), so I made a reasonable facsimile of the "mini-mop" to try out on my current turning project.
First I had to find a suitable size mandrel to hold the sanding strips and long enough to get into the bottom of a 150mm turning...so after searching my tools, I found just the right thing, the handle from an X-acto knife. The blade holding portion, which is not needed, unscrews completely, so after locating a screw with the matching thread pattern, we were in business!
So, here's whats needed for the shopmade mini-mop:
1) A suitable mandrel
2) A screw to secure the sandpaper strips
3) Two flat washers
4) One lock washer
5) Strips of cloth backed sandpaper.
( I cut 6 strips of 150 grit, 12mm x 120mm for the test on a piece of CL with an inner diameter of app. 80mm )
OK, after cutting the strips, stack and secure them with a spring clamp at either end, mark the center of the strips with your Sharpie, then drill a hole (slightly larger than the diameter of the screw) clear through all the strips.
Place the strips in a fan pattern on the screw so that the sandpaper side will face the mandrel. Secure the screw to the mandrel, chuck the mandrel into the drill...your all done.
Since the strips are very flexible, there was no problem getting them through the small opening. OK...now the moment of truth. After about a minute of power sanding the area around the top in to about 60mm deep, I stopped the lathe and powered off the drill, then checked on how good or bad it worked. It was excellent...completely removed the ridges left by the tool bit:2tsup::D:D:D:D:D
Proceeded to do the rest of the inside and got the same result :2tsup: so now am going to cut more strips down to 600 grit to finish off the inside.
It just made sanding interiors much less work.
Well, I came across a solution for sanding the inside.:D
Last evening when I was "surfing" the web, I came across a sanding product called a "mini-mop ( :: Stockroom Supply - Mini Mops (http://www.stockroomsupply.com/The_Mini_Mop.php) ) which is sized for use in a Dremel tool.
Hmmmmm...way too small for a normal size hollow turning (unless your making flea houses, of course), so I made a reasonable facsimile of the "mini-mop" to try out on my current turning project.
First I had to find a suitable size mandrel to hold the sanding strips and long enough to get into the bottom of a 150mm turning...so after searching my tools, I found just the right thing, the handle from an X-acto knife. The blade holding portion, which is not needed, unscrews completely, so after locating a screw with the matching thread pattern, we were in business!
So, here's whats needed for the shopmade mini-mop:
1) A suitable mandrel
2) A screw to secure the sandpaper strips
3) Two flat washers
4) One lock washer
5) Strips of cloth backed sandpaper.
( I cut 6 strips of 150 grit, 12mm x 120mm for the test on a piece of CL with an inner diameter of app. 80mm )
OK, after cutting the strips, stack and secure them with a spring clamp at either end, mark the center of the strips with your Sharpie, then drill a hole (slightly larger than the diameter of the screw) clear through all the strips.
Place the strips in a fan pattern on the screw so that the sandpaper side will face the mandrel. Secure the screw to the mandrel, chuck the mandrel into the drill...your all done.
Since the strips are very flexible, there was no problem getting them through the small opening. OK...now the moment of truth. After about a minute of power sanding the area around the top in to about 60mm deep, I stopped the lathe and powered off the drill, then checked on how good or bad it worked. It was excellent...completely removed the ridges left by the tool bit:2tsup::D:D:D:D:D
Proceeded to do the rest of the inside and got the same result :2tsup: so now am going to cut more strips down to 600 grit to finish off the inside.
It just made sanding interiors much less work.