The Ship Model Forum

The belt sander (I was looking for a power tool in the pictures!) is called The Detail Sander and it's from Northwest Shortline (NWSL). I got mine from Caboose Hobbies, which obviously does not particularly cater to ship builders, but Micro-Mark at least also has them. There are four colors and I think as many as six different grades of belt.

[quote="Harquebus"]I use plain old emery boards; the two-sided/two-grit kind sold in the cosmetic section of dept stores. I cut the ends to specialized shapes with scissors depending on the job. As they get old, clogged and/or lose their grit, they're still useful for finer work but when new the brown side is nicely aggressive on styrene. The soft padded emery boards can also be used for models and are a great deal cheaper than the "hobby grade" type. I've heard of using a paper hole puncher to make sandpaper disks to glue onto pencil erasers (good for sanding gun tubs) but have yet to try.

[b]merriman:[/b] I like the sharpened brass tube sandpaper cutters. Genius(!) but of course no different from a leather punch.
What is the name of the red plastic belt sander in your last photo? I have one but I don't know what it's called nor how or where to order new belts. They work great for narrow areas though.[/quote]

The only markings on that tool is a patent number (4730.430) and 'made in the USA'. That's it, no logo. Nott'n! Sorry. A very useful tool. You would think those dopes would emblazon their name all over the thing!

David

Thanks David, a treasure trove of good ideas and suggestions there.

I use plain old emery boards; the two-sided/two-grit kind sold in the cosmetic section of dept stores. I cut the ends to specialized shapes with scissors depending on the job. As they get old, clogged and/or lose their grit, they're still useful for finer work but when new the brown side is nicely aggressive on styrene. The soft padded emery boards can also be used for models and are a great deal cheaper than the "hobby grade" type. I've heard of using a paper hole puncher to make sandpaper disks to glue onto pencil erasers (good for sanding gun tubs) but have yet to try.

[b]merriman:[/b] I like the sharpened brass tube sandpaper cutters. Genius(!) but of course no different from a leather punch.
What is the name of the red plastic belt sander in your last photo? I have one but I don't know what it's called nor how or where to order new belts. They work great for narrow areas though.

Once we learned how to employ a stick to coax ants out of the mound, there was no stopping us.

David

[quote="blw"]I think you may expend more energy making tools to build your models - than I expend to build the models at all! [/quote]
I think you're right...at least for the first few models.

Dave,

I think you may expend more energy making tools to build your models - than I expend to build the models at all! :worship_1:

...............

Don't remember the thread, but I just get a bit of basswood (say, 1/8" x 1/8") strip and whack off the end in an angle that is compatible with what you want to sand. Then cut off a little piece of sandpaper (I usually use wet/dry) and either glue it on or maybe cut a little slot onto the non-business end and shove the paper into it to hold it.

If you have some really tiny spots, you can use some sanding film - basically sandpaper but on mylar. I have a set from K&S. You can bend that stuff around much smaller radius than real sandpaper.

I recall a thread on DIY sanding sticks for tight spots using cheap paint brush handles, wood strips and glued-on sandpaper strips, but I didn't save it. Can some one point me to it...or a similar one for an inexpensive means of sanding narrow (1/8" -1/4") areas?