• January Turning Challenge: Thin-Stemmed Something! (click here for details)
  • Conversations are now Direct Messages (click here for details)
  • Congratulations to Gabriel Hoff for "Spalted Beech Round Bottom Box" being selected as Turning of the Week for January 6, 2024 (click here for details)
  • Welcome new registering member. Your username must be your real First and Last name (for example: John Doe). "Screen names" and "handles" are not allowed and your registration will be deleted if you don't use your real name. Also, do not use all caps nor all lower case.

Power Sanding heads up

T

Tom Lewis

Joined
Jul 2, 2005
Messages
130
Likes
0
Location
Carlsbad NM
Several years ago I bought a Souix close quarters drill to use for power sanding. It was a dust magnet and even though I used compressed air to blow the dust out on a regular basis I had to take it apart and work on it several times to keep it running. Finally it quit running.
I noticed Harbor Freight Tools had a 3/8 close quarters Drill on sale for $19.99. I had paid around $170.00 for the Souix.
I bought four of the Harbor Freight drills and have been very happy with them. I have used one of them for over a year with no problems.
Harbor Freight again has these drills on sale for $19.99. The Item number is 92956-9USH, and the Catalog number is 583-E Spring 2008.
 
Tom

My Harbor Frieght drill has been sanding for two years now. It had a weird noise last summer and I thought it was about to die but it somehow cured itself and keeps going.

Frank
 
Some of the tools come in two qualities with no real indication in the form of a different model number or name. One company does this with one of the outer plastic parts in a different color. If you buy the tool in a commercial supply store instead of a discount store it will have better bearings and other parts that wear out. I assume their assumption is that someone buying the tools at a discount store isn't going to give them much use. A drill that we do our sanding with gets a lot of use.

Malcolm Smith.
 
I talked to Rex at Craft Supplys about the Sioux. He said they changed the bearing a while back to a different kind and they had so many come back that CS quit carrying them. Luckyly, I have the older model which is still going strong.

As far as the question of disk pads and sandpaper, well I will admit i am a bit biased to my own products. If you go to the symposium, as me for a sample of Abranet, it rocks.
 
It Lives Again

I bought one two years ago and it just gave up the ghost. But it was under flood waters three times in two years. I thought it over and removed the motor parts. I now have a self-powered sander with great bearings which holds any and all pads.
IT LIVES AGAIN>
 
powersanding heads up

I have the Sioux and love it. I blow it out frequently, but it still stopped turning a couple weeks ago. I simply switched it to reverse and continued to blow it out with compressed air. I never blow it without the drill running at full speed. Had it 4 yrs now and that was the only problem with it. Max
 
Have two of the HF drills. In the first one the power cord was apparently slightly mis-routed just after it enters the case, too close to the commutator. After a year or so of regular use it finally melted insulation on the power cord and shorted out. It was relatively easy to solder the cord back together, reinsulate, and reroute the cord. That was maybe a year ago, and have been using it ever since. The bearings are getting a little wobbly, so I bought a second one, just in case the first one craters in the middle of a job. Acceptable value for me for 20 bucks a copy. I do vacuum the dust out of it from time to time. The motor bearings are still fine. It's the spindle bearings (which are enclosed in the little gear case) that are getting sloppy.
 
HF 3/8 VSR drill/Ryobi

I have bought ? 5-6 of the 3/8 regular electric drill from HF. On sale for $12.99. I seem to have trouble with the forward/reverse becoming useless. I think I have thrown 3 of these away the last 3 years. I use them alot. Now using a ryobi from H Depot, and it keeps shedding black on my left hand from changing the discs-gets on the white wood. Should I apply something to prevent this??? Gretch
 
I have 5 of the Sioux/Milwaukee drills, and one is pneumatic. I figure I get 300 plus bowls (from 18 to 3 inches) from each one before they need the bearings replaced. I will blow them out frequently. I got some bearings from a bearing place that were 'air craft' quality, and they don't seem to last any better than the stock ones, but I am still testing that out. I have worn out 3 of the plastic tool casings as well. Dust is the major problem. That, and they are drills, not grinders which is closer to what we are doing with them.

As far as sanding discs go, I prefer the ones from Vince. Price is right, they are cut over sized (3 3/8, and 2 3/8 inch), and they outlast almost everything else I have tried.You do have to but them 50 at a time, or you can also buy sheets and cut your own. I can sand a 3 bowl cored set with one set of discs. The only ones I haven't tried are the purple ceramic discs from 3M which Mike Mahoney uses. The green ceramic discs that are sold through Packard, and Craft Supplies are a very close second, but cost twice as much, and are only 3 inch. The Abranet mesh discs are good as well, but I had trouble getting the 80 grit discs to stick on the pads. The discs from Vince, the green ceramic, and the mesh discs are funny in that they can feel dull to the touch, but still cut very well. Also, I prefer the film backing to the paper. A lot tougher, so if you catch the edge of the disc, it will bend and crinkle a bit, but not tear.

robo hippy
 
I must be lucky or something. I bought a Sioux way back in 2001 or so, and it is still going strong. I had a problem right off the bat with the trigger, but that was fixed under warranty, and it has been good ever since.

I will confess I have a Grex air powered RA drill on order after watching one perform in another turner's shop. It is smaller and lighter, and I have enough compressor to make it go, so I thought I would take advantage of its size - being that I am getting old and feeble and all. 😉
 
Power Sanding

Bill,
I heard that the turning muscle diminishes with age...or with usage over time. Well, whatever, at least the mental muscles keep growing!😀
Kurt
 
Let's see... the Sioux is 8 times the price of the HF.
If the HF lasts say 18 months before I have to toss it, my Sioux would have to last 12 years without any need for service to pay for itself.

Even if I have to replace the HF every year I would have to wait eight years for the more expensive one "pay for itself."

Since I am not a brand snob, I think I'll stick with the HF. In fact, while it's on sale, I think I'll go pick up a spare.

Thanks for the tip.
 
If your lucky you will get sparks with the HF

Let's see... the Sioux is 8 times the price of the HF.
If the HF lasts say 18 months before I have to toss it, my Sioux would have to last 12 years without any need for service to pay for itself.
Click to expand...
My thoughts exactly. My Sioux lasted 3 years. My two HF's are past 2 years with more use. My first one worked great but disconcertingly spit sparks, so I tried HF return system via email with very low expectations. Surprise: I got a prepaid mailing label within a few days, sent it off and forgot about it. A long month later a new one arrived that worked just as well, but no sparks. Boring. I believe the HF holds up as well or better because the air intake is at the bottom, below your hand and the dust doesn't run thru the bearing in the same way. I will always have at least one extra working HF on hand, otherwise I think it is the way to go. Picked up a used Sioux pneumatic at an estate sale. Light, handy works great but is high pitched noisy and wakes up my sleepy compressor a little too often for my wife whose studio is nearby.
 
I found with my pneumatic, that the compressor would run non stop (60 gallon, Campbel Hausfeld). I figured that the electric was a lot cheaper to run. Also the compressor added a lot of heat to the shop. Not bad in the winter, but not good for summer use.
robo hippy
 
It took @ six weeks and a little over $40 (not counting shipping) for the Sioux repair people to put a new cord on my drill. For the life of me I don't see why Porter-Cable, DeWalt haven't come up with a model to compete with Sioux. My experience tells me that the Sioux people are terrible to deal with.
 
Drill bearings

If you replace the bearings in the Sioux drill, be sure to get double-sealed bearings, not double-shielded bearings. They don't cost much more and they last a LOT longer. Dust has a much harder time getting into sealed bearings. Most drills come with double-shielded bearings.

For what it is worth, my 12-year old Milwaukee close quarters drill is still going strong. I have a set of replacement bearings on hand... just in case.
 
Brian, I have a Milwaukee close quarter drill that's similar to the Sioux. I've only had it about a year and have already had a new power switch installed (no charge from Milwaukee's service center) But now it's starting to make a lot of noise. I think the bearings are going. Where do you get the bearings? I was thinking it may be cheaper to get a the HF drill. than replace the bearings on the Milwaukee.
 
Still using the 1/3 horse fan motor and flex shaft after twenty years. I replace the shaft every two-five years. Nice, because it can sand beautifully on the lathe with no wrist fatigue, or the piece can sit in my lap as I work a weird shape. Weighs next to nothing at the business end, which is a great advantage.

No limp-wristed jokes, please.
 
Thanks for the tip...

I bought the magnesium model for $30 and so far I like it.

I was using a HF var speed drill and the bearings were about shot. Then again $9.99 and two years of hard work is a good deal.

This model looks like it is pretty rugged and I like the way it moves air from the bottom of the handle as previously noted.

While I was there I snagged a fractional digital caliper that was on sale. I was surprised to find out it does metric, decimal and fractional.

Guess now I don't have to think at all 🙂

I will post pictures on my site in a few days if you want to see this model drill and caliper.

www.turnedoutright.com
 
Bruce McElhaney said:
Brian, ... Where do you get the bearings?
Click to expand...

Bruce,
I got the bearings from McMaster-Carr, but any good industrial supply house should have them. I like McMaster-Carr because they carry quality items at a good price.

My drill uses R4 bearings which currently are $4.98 each. But check the bearings on your drill just to be sure. The standard bearing designation should be stamped on one of the bearing's side shields.
 
Garmar said:
Michael, You Have A Picture Of Your Fan Motor Sander?
Click to expand...

Think Foredom, now think slow and powerful. http://s35.photobucket.com/albums/d160/GoodOnesGone/?action=view&current=150Sand.flv

Be sure and get the ball-bearing variety flex shaft. The cheapo sleeve bearing types get warm, seize if not lubed and collect dust when lubed. Someone else is marketing the idea now as part of a package http://www.woodcraft.com/family.asp...ode=06INGOOG&gclid=CLvrnMugiJQCFROHQAodNgKTWQ where the $50 flex has become $80, though you'll note it's the same. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=18ZkcW95K80
 

Attachments

  • Flex-Edge-2.jpg
    Flex-Edge-2.jpg
    30.7 KB · Views: 49
Last edited:
MasterCarr & question

I use MasterCarr for all my metal and tooling needs, they are a class outfit, ship quick and their website is actually useful.

I use their sealed bearings on my shop made vacuumn system.

How the heck do you get a picture to display in the body of the post, is it by adding and attachment?
 
Power sanding

Turnedoutright,
You should be able to post a reply, and then, before you actually submit the post, go down below and click on manage attachments. It should bring up the browser, so you can select which photo you want to use. Make sure the file you want to attach is 39kb or smaller. 🙂
 
Last edited:
Kurt's advice relates only to attaching the picture. To move it elsewhere, I think you use the paper clip icon in the reply window before hitting "Submit." I don't know enough about it to suggest a procedure. But there's a forum for users of VBulletin, which should be helpful. To find the specific topic, try Google [vbulletin forum edit attachments], or similar keywords.

Joe
 
Misery does love company

Sioux drill I bought about 2-3 years ago lasted 8 months--gave screaming sound I assume were bearings. I had it repaired locally under warranty and the guy hinted it was a lousy product. He was right. It's screaming again and will go in the trash.

Sad to hear about the Milwaukee too. My son has been telling me for a while that brand names mean nothing these days--he's right. My Harbor Freight rechargeable 14v. drill has lasted an incredible 8 years--screwing in chucks etc.

I feel better now about wasting the $170. Thanks...
 
My 6 month old Milwaukee has been in the shop 7 weeks now waiting for a new switch. It's made in China. I could have bought 6 HF's for what I paid for it.
 
I bought two of the HF close quarter drills a year or so ago. Kept one, and sent the other to another turning buddy of mine. Within about a month, his had shelled out gears or bearings and ended up in the trash. Mine is still running like new. Unfortunately, he's in Tokyo, so taking it back to HF was not a viable option.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top