Pin sander recommendation

When Dominic posted a thread a couple of months back about the pin sanders he made, I bought the spare one right away. I had wanted one for some time but kept putting off building one. And to be honest I couldn't have made one as good as the one Dom sent me.

The pin sander is like a rolling pin for baking, attached at one end to your cordless power drill. If you never thought of one, get one. If you can't find or build one, ask to buy one from Dominic.

You won't see it in the pics but I was laughing when I sanded the sides of a tenor uke, it was just that perfect.

Blog post:
http://www.argapa.blogspot.se/2013/04/new-pin-sander.html

Pic of me laughing:


Fanx! I don't think I'll use my MRSG much anymore.

thanks for posting that.. interesting idea. What is the abrasive? How does it attach to the drum? how hard is the drum and what is it made from?

I have an industrial rolling pin sander from Grizzly with an inflatable canvas drum. Chris Paullick has the manufacture of a solid wood pin one in his video series...

Sven, I hope the pin sander serves you well for many ukuleles to come. I'm glad I finally made one.

Chris, the sander is made from maple. How hard is it? I don't know but I dropped one on my toe (wearing flip flops) and it hurt like hell. I just use stikit adhesive back paper attached directly to the pin for mine. Not sure what method Sven used.

Pete Howlett said:

Chris Paullick has the manufacture of a solid wood pin one in his video series...

Click to expand...

Pete, I made a jig similar to the one Chris used, but out of MDF. I've not worked with aluminum in 1/2 thickness before so using MDF, that I already had in hand, was the easiest way to go to have a crack at the process.

I'd have bought one but Chris isn't making them anymore.

That's an interesting tool and I can see where it could come in handy. If I didn't already own a reciprocating drum sander with many different diameters drums, I might make one of those. I seem to remember someone using a similar tone, but it was pneumatic and used a long hose for easier movement, like a Foredom drill, and there was no need to hold the drill.

BlackBearUkes said:

That's an interesting tool and I can see where it could come in handy. If I didn't already own a reciprocating drum sander with many different diameters drums, I might make one of those. I seem to remember someone using a similar tone, but it was pneumatic and used a long hose for easier movement, like a Foredom drill, and there was no need to hold the drill.

Click to expand...

Is the reciprocating drum sander you refer to the same as an oscilating spindle sander? If so, I've tried that before but, for me, the pin sander provides much more control over the operation.

I use my 4x36 belt sander... The roller fits the waiste of the instruments

I attached the paper with some double stick tape. I gave the pin a couple of coats of shellac first so the tape shouldn't stick too hard to the wood.

To me, a hard pin is better than an inflatable one. I feel it gives me a better and more direct sense of control. I sanded this one really quick before cutting a binding channel so I shouldn't have to sand too much once the binding is there.

The position you see me in, with the uke between my knees, is one I use a lot. But I'm looking at various fixtures to hold the uke to a bench.

Again, fanx Dom. For the tool and your efforts to ship it.