Topic: Sanding concaving (Read 3922 times)

Kulli · « **on:** April 04, 2018, 11:32:21 AM »

I like refurbing bats and will happily do teammates for free, but I hate hand sanding. A random orbital sander does a great job on anything flat or convex but is no use on concaving, and most bats have at least some.

I'd love an inflatable drum sander but can't really justify spending 100's on one and don't have a permanent workspace at the moment either.

has anyone ever tried these, or similar?

https://youtu.be/IlNHeiogwfc?t=18s
Available on ebay for around a fiver a pop, I guess one might be a near lifetimes supply.

P.S what are these called in english, and do they do the job?

Gurujames · « **Reply #1 on:** April 04, 2018, 12:00:53 PM »

A random orbit sander won't help you sand a concave surface. They are used where grains are at rt angles to each other (e.g. A picture frame where the grains run left to right on the horizontal pieces and up and down on the vertical ones) as they don't leave sanding marks when used across the grain.
Overall they are an excellent method of sanding and produce fantastic results with little effort. Festool tools are v expensive and unnecessary unless you do 1000's.

If you mean the polishing attachment then I've used one for the past 20 years and are fantastic. It does a good job applying wax to the car too.

Kulli · « **Reply #2 on:** April 04, 2018, 12:09:59 PM »

Quote from: Gurujames on April 04, 2018, 12:00:53 PM

A random orbit sander won't help you sand a concave surface. They are used where grains are at rt angles to each other (e.g. A picture frame where the grains run left to right on the horizontal pieces and up and down on the vertical ones) as they don't leave sanding marks when used across the grain.
Overall they are an excellent method of sanding and produce fantastic results with little effort. Festool tools are v expensive and unnecessary unless you do 1000's.

If you mean the polishing attachment then I've used one for the past 20 years and are fantastic. It does a good job applying wax to the car too.

Your reply thoroughly confused me. until I saw I linked to the wrong video like a fanny. have changed it now.

Gurujames · « **Reply #3 on:** April 04, 2018, 12:33:57 PM »

They are called flap sanding wheels.

No they won't work well.
You may want to try these. Not had any experience of them myself.
https://www.axminster.co.uk/flexipads-sanding-pads-ax835839

Alternatively elbow grease.

Kulli · « **Reply #4 on:** April 04, 2018, 12:38:07 PM »

Cheers, elbow grease is very much a plan Z. It's grand for one bat, but i usually do 5-6 at a time every few months and then it's a ball ache and I get lazy.

Northern monkey · « **Reply #5 on:** April 04, 2018, 12:38:50 PM »

I�ve used and do use a random orbital for concaving
I�ve used one to do scoops as on a gn
I also use it to do the shoulders on a bat
To me it�s a do it all tool,,cost me about 30quid from b&q

I also have a festool rotex, which is a fantastic bit of kit, that can do everything from major wood removal to a highly polished finish. That cost me a hell of a lot more

Kulli · « **Reply #6 on:** April 04, 2018, 12:41:40 PM »

Quote from: Northern monkey on April 04, 2018, 12:38:50 PM

I�ve used and do use a random orbital for concaving
I�ve used one to do scoops as on a gn
I also use it to do the shoulders on a bat
To me it�s a do it all tool,,cost me about 30quid from b&q

I also have a festool rotex, which is a fantastic bit of kit, that can do everything from major wood removal to a highly polished finish. That cost me a hell of a lot more

Do you just angle the pad? I have had pretty limited success with any attempts at this.

Northern monkey · « **Reply #7 on:** April 04, 2018, 12:44:42 PM »

Yeah
Like I said, if I can put a gn scoop in a bat, you can follow a concave profile easy enough
Just steady away

Neon Cricket · « **Reply #8 on:** April 04, 2018, 12:50:50 PM »

Same here, all the refurbs I've done have just been using my orbital. Just angle the head to the same angle as the concaving - so long as you take it slow & steady then it does a good job IMO (had nothing but positive feedback so far so must be doing something right!).

Kulli · « **Reply #9 on:** April 04, 2018, 01:12:59 PM »

Thanks gents, maybe the key is more patience and better quality sanding pads. Not the quick fix i was looking for

edge · « **Reply #10 on:** April 04, 2018, 03:06:08 PM »

Agreed with the above, careful tilting with an orbital does the job for me. It's definitely more difficult compared to sanding a flat surface, but it's also definitely better than hand sanding or spending loads of money on a big drum!

Gurujames · « **Reply #11 on:** April 04, 2018, 03:08:02 PM »

Do you mean orbital or random orbit? Orbital sanders are generally rectangular and vibrate in a circular motion. Random orbits have a circular base.

Kulli · « **Reply #12 on:** April 04, 2018, 03:39:51 PM »

It�s a random orbital I have.

avkrish · « **Reply #13 on:** April 04, 2018, 05:12:26 PM »

Quote from: Northern monkey on April 04, 2018, 12:38:50 PM

I�ve used one to do scoops as on a gn
I also use it to do the shoulders on a bat

Know of any videos that can help? This is something I would like to do on bats myself.

Northern monkey · « **Reply #14 on:** April 04, 2018, 05:59:29 PM »

Videos not gonna help much I�m afraid
A lot of patience, a steady hand, a bat to copy, and careful marking out will tho.

And after all that, I found it didn�t save much dead weight, picked up rubbish and was certainly not worth the effort.(I did two variations)
Nice to have scratched the itch, but not something I�m going to repeat.

Author Topic: Sanding concaving (Read 3922 times)

Kulli

Sanding concaving

Gurujames

Re: Sanding concaving

Kulli

Re: Sanding concaving

Gurujames

Re: Sanding concaving

Kulli

Re: Sanding concaving

Northern monkey

Re: Sanding concaving

Kulli

Re: Sanding concaving

Northern monkey

Re: Sanding concaving

Neon Cricket

Re: Sanding concaving

Kulli

Re: Sanding concaving

edge

Re: Sanding concaving

Gurujames

Re: Sanding concaving

Kulli

Re: Sanding concaving

avkrish

Re: Sanding concaving

Northern monkey

Re: Sanding concaving