Do any of you use the foam pad when sanding as shown in the 101 videos? Is it possible to get a pad like this to hook up to a drill? If not what is a good alternative? I have an orbital sander and a 2800 milwakee(sorry spelling) drill. Thanks in advance. -Jeff-
You can get those at any fiberglass supply company. They are made to fit a couple of different arbor sizes (this is the threaded shaft coming out of the sander or grinder). It will be difficult to use a drill set up. You want to keep the majority of your sanding flat to the board. It seems to me that a drill will be hard to control. You can get a circular sander for around $125 up. Grinders are cheaper ($50 up). A grinder with a foam pad on it is a cheap alternative but you have to be careful because they run at a higher RPM than a Circular sander (10,000 vs. around 3,500). It is real easy to smoke through your sanding layer with a grinder. The more expensive ciruclars have a variable speed on them which is nice, but you can always just bump the trigger (instead of running it wide open) on a cheaper one. Your orbital will be good for buffing the board once sanded, but wont do you much good when it comes to full on sanding.
Try Harbor freight’s Chicago Electric polisher, $40.00: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=41213 Fiberglass supply or most auto body supply houses have foam sanding pads: http://www.fiberglasssupply.com/Product_Catalog/product_catalog.html
DONT GET THE DRILL ATTACHMENT. i tried that on my first board, i spent like 25 bucks for it and it didnt work at all… you cant hold it steady, it just goes all over the place and makes a mess. go to harbor freight tools (good and cheap) and get yourself a good sander. i got some red milwaukee sander (not sure of the model) but it can also be a grinder and polisher. anyway, it wasnt too expensive and it works really well. as far as the foam pads… any fiberglass supply store has them, and most places where you buy your surfboard supplies will have them to. i got mine at Crystalliner. but i know foam ez has them (www.foamez.com) good luck -steve
Do any of you use the foam pad when sanding as shown in the 101 videos? Is > it possible to get a pad like this to hook up to a drill? If not what is a > good alternative? I have an orbital sander and a 2800 milwakee(sorry > spelling) drill. Thanks in advance. -Jeff- As noted by the brethren, the drill attachment is a bad scene for finish sanding – however, it can work good for pre sanding laps that have been coated with sanding resin. If you do not want to spend a lot of money, get a manual hand sander, one that clamps the paper at each end – some drywall sanders will work nicely. Hand sand your board with Wetsand paper and water, starting with 100 grit and ending with 220 or 320. Wetsand and water will lift out the dust that will normally clog and slow the hand sand process. Hand sanding a board is not as big of a deal as you may expect – assuming you have a pretty good glass job to work with. But the Milwakee sander, a power pad, and 3m stickits, is the total bomb! If you want to go first class. Shine http://users.leading.net/~shine