Dano13

Not sure if this belongs here or in the tips section, but here it is.
What do most of you use for general purpose sanding and shaping? I found a sanding "sponge" at my local Home Depot, designed for drywall work. It is a VERY stiff and dense sponge center, with fine grit on one side and course grit on the other. I would think these could last quite some time, being only used for balsa, spruce, etc. Anyone using these?

TIA

Dano13

dicknadine

whats wrong with sand paper wrapped around a wood block, shaped to your contour. its a multi purpose tool and you can have all diffent kinds of special shapes available. why buy when You can make. save your $$ for balsa. also have you contacted any of the local flyers/builders for help?? they have the most of the problems already solved. dick

Dano13

First of all, you must have missed "general purpose" in my message. I KNOW I can MAKE just about any special shaped sanding device I may need. I am asking about simple sanding/shaping of say a wing LE and blending in the balsa sheeting behind it. Or taking the rough edges off of a series of ribs after gluing in place.

Anyways,
To anyone with a more helpful answer, I appreciate you.

Dano13

probligo

I looked at these myself and decided against using them. Why?

The fact that they are flexible.

If you want to get uniformity along a three dimensional shape such as a wing leading edge, then you should use something that will even out all of the humps and leave the hollows - like a long sanding bar. Hence I use a 30" and 15" sanding bar for solid hlg wings (the little fellas not rc ones ).

If you use a pad it will follow the existing shape and tend to take near equal amounts off everything. BTW the same argument applies to sanding plaster skinned drywall. The guy who plastered our lounge out used a 1.5m x 0.2m sanding bar for exactly the same reason.

Hope that helps.

BTW I also use small blocks for finishing - like 1/4"mdf with 400 grit glued on for "polishing" sheet wings, down to "moulds" like those mentioned earlier. But they are fairly specialised...

dicknadine

you are welcome. guess you have the bull by the horns. dick

Dano13

probligo,
thanks for your input, the flex part makes sense. guess it's time to go spend more money.

dicknadine,
I appologize for coming on so strong. My problem is that my selection of power tools consists of a cordeless drill, a Black and Decker Wizard (dremel type tool) and a dual heat soldering gun. Trying to make anything is very challenging, at best. My "workshop" consists of a 10X10 room in the house, shared with a home office computer and network system. My "workbench" is a solid wood coffee table with a piece of 1/4 inch glass on top for straightness, then a piece of celing tile on top of that to build. I sit on the floor to work at my "bench".

On a more positive note, the wife and I have started planning a combination storage shed/workshop. With any luck, we should have a 12X14 slab poured by Tuesday!

Appologies, and "Cheers!" to all,

Dano13

dicknadine

you are welcome, continue to ask- it sure helps and is easier than trying to reinvent the wheel. make sure that the door in your building is extra wide and high , wings need extra room. all kinds of custom sanding blocks can be made by you, triangles,ovals, round, etc. keep it up. dick