'rolling pin' sander?

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phavriluk
Posts: 554
Joined: Mon Jul 09, 2012 9:49 pm

'rolling pin' sander?

Post by phavriluk »

Has anyone found these worthwhile, i.e., do they offer improvement in time or results over shoeshine sanding on neck shafts and headstocks and pad sanding on heels?

Thanks!
peter havriluk
Bob Gleason
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Re: 'rolling pin' sander?

Post by Bob Gleason »

I have a couple of them that I've used for woodworking other than instruments.They can be useful to shape part of a neck heel, but I don't use them much for that. If I do use it for a heel, I run it in the drill press.You can deflate them a little and use them for the neck shaft, but a random orbit sander works just as well for me. So, all in all not that useful IMO.
yellowesty
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Location: Petaluma, Calif.

Re: 'rolling pin' sander?

Post by yellowesty »

There seem to be multiple ways to accomplish every aspect of guitar building -- and sanding, leveling, smoothing are certainly among the tasks that have alternative approaches.

I use a "rolling pin" sander for one thing or another on every build. I use it for leveling sides (more effective than sandpaper on steel shim stock -- especially at the waist) and when shaping the heel (keeps the sanding marks parallel to the grain). But I don't use it on neck shafts (too easy to dig a transverse trench). I don't use "shoeshine sanding" on neck shafts either (to avoid transverse sanding marks), but bandsaw close to shape and then carve (drawknife and small planes) until it's time for hand sanding along the shaft with foam-backed sandpaper (80, 100, 120, 150).

Not saying my approach is "better," just convenient for me. But I do think the rolling pin sander is a worthwhile addition to the toolbox.
nkwak
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Re: 'rolling pin' sander?

Post by nkwak »

I’ve found that sanding is best a method for surface props and finishing only. I’m impatient and find it time consuming though. I feel that scrapers and files are a better way to go for shaping the heel of the neck then switch to about 100 grit to get rid of any marks - the exception being an opened roll of 100 grit to use “bootstrap” fashion to blend in the neck profile between where I file out at the 1st and 10th frets. I especially like card scrapers better for truing sides, and I find that the little curls of wood are much tidier to clean up than sawdust.
~ Neil
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