Detail sander

[david123]

Looking for a small general purpose detail sander that is under 5" in height and standard sized sanding pads that are readily available. Preferably under 100 quid as I only need it for a one off job. Needs to be off a high enough wattage to be useful, say over 100 W.
any advice would be welcome.

Cheers

 

[Mrs C]

I have got a black and decker mouse sander which was all of £20. I am normally wary of cheap tools but for the money this was amazing - although using abranet and a vacuum did it a lot of favours.

It’s not as powerful as you have requested but it was fine for the jobs I have used it for.

 

[rafezetter]

When you say "detail sander" do you mean one with a pointy end?

The B&D "Mouse" is pretty good for light work- doors and basic DIY, has a pointy end for corners and attachements for certain shapes too - I've have about 4 or 5 over the years.

£25 ish - argos, amazon etc.

For sanding pads DON'T buy the B&D mouse pads, they are extortionate, you can get mouse shaped pads from ebay for a lot less, or buy 125mm ROUND pads, the mouse won't care it's round (if you need the pointy end.... scissors)

If you are talking a "one off " job of some pretty heavy sanding I think you're going to struggle to find a random orbit type sander lower than 5-6 inches - but check specs of some of the cheaper varieties from makers like VonHaus (german), Einhell.

If it's small stuff, there used to be detail sanders that had a long body and small pad on the end, that might get you into a smaller than 5" work area and do what you need.

HtH.

 

[david123]

Yes, a detail sander,which are normally triangular for getting into corners, at least that is what I've always assumed they are. So a palm sander is not a lot of good for what I need,The mouse I think is only 55W whitch is not man enough for what I want. The Erbaver EDSL 160W is about £40 and the right size, but I can't find any after sales replacement sanding pads for them. I've been down that route and the dedicated bits have ended up costing me more than the machine.

I need it for renovating a large 5 Bar gate that I don't need to strip down, and it's only the corners that I need to clean out, hence a decent wattage.

I appreciate your reply's
Thank you

 

[Inspector]

Scraper.

Pete

 

[david123]

Hi Pete
I use scrapers quite a lot ,but I have had a problem with my thumbs for the last coupe of years after lot of serious renovation work, hence the need for the sander.
Scrapers save a fortune in sandpaper and most of the time do a better job I must agree.

 

[Mrs C]

How’s about a multi tool jobby with a sander attachment?

 

[Inspector]

I was thinking of handled scrapers for the bulk of the work and then a cabinet scraper for the last couple passes. Or sandpaper and a stick.

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.a ... 3040,43041

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.a ... 3456,43390

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.a ... 3456,43390

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.a ... ,310,54886

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.a ... 3040,43041

http://www.leevalley.com/en/wood/page.a ... 3456,43390

If you don't want to buy then make one along the lines of the above or create your own.

 

[rafezetter]

Yes, a detail sander,which are normally triangular for getting into corners, at least that is what I've always assumed they are. So a palm sander is not a lot of good for what I need,The mouse I think is only 55W whitch is not man enough for what I want. The Erbaver EDSL 160W is about £40 and the right size, but I can't find any after sales replacement sanding pads for them. I've been down that route and the dedicated bits have ended up costing me more than the machine.

I need it for renovating a large 5 Bar gate that I don't need to strip down, and it's only the corners that I need to clean out, hence a decent wattage.

I appreciate your reply's
Thank you

Well peoples terms are different so I hedged my bets, your request was a little light on information. - the mouse while only 55w isn't doing the work, the paper is. Start with a harsh grit like 60g, that'll get rid of the muck in the corners in pretty short order, then work up the grits to smooth out the marks from the previous grit.

The mouse WILL do that sort of work, and last long enough. It also comes with "finger" attachments for various shapes and a flat one thats about 1inch wide and 40mm long (also with a point) for getting into the smallest of crannies.

Looks to me like the erbauer is also taller than the mouse.

Velco sanding pads can be bought almost anywhere, and as stated ebay is a good source of them, you don't need to buy the ones sold for a specific machine, just buy round ones and cut them with scissors.

Once I've used a ROUND pad for my orbital on a job, I then keep it for my mouse, the grit has "gone off" so it's not as aggressive, and I can cut the pad to suit the mouse base.

It's as simple as that.

 

[david123]

Good reply and nicely explained. I will look at the mouse again. Normally if my hands were in good order I would just used A scraper and finished off with sandpaper as inspector suggested in his reply.

Thank all of you for your suggestions and enjoy the weekend.