?? sanding interior of bowls and other odd shapes

[fzz]

thank you for your time.

i am wood sculptor living in an isolated area of the country without much access to workshops, etc.

i am trying to set up a powertool system whereby i can sand bowl-like shapes [inside the bowl] and other odd shapes that a palmsander, beltsander and discsander cannot reach the contours of.

i have been looking at online sources and have seen options but it's hard to make a choice without feedback from experienced experts.

i wonder if there are countless ways to go about it? or a few simple methods to choose from?

I have a budget but it is limited.

any thoughts?

 

[Griesbach]

fzz,

I'm not quite sure what it is you will be working on but you may want to check out any number of turning supplier catalogs for a wide variety of sanding systems. Here are some suggestions:

Packard woodworks http://www.packardwoodworks.com/
Craft supplies http://www.woodturnerscatalog.com/index.html
Klingspors Woodworking Shop http://www.woodworkingshop.com/

I hope this helps.

 

[CTutor]

Sanding interior shapes

You might want to look at the close quarter drill. They are regular 1/4 or 3/8ths drill with the head offset about 58 degrees or so. Made by Souix or Milwaukee and many copiers. The copies run about $30 on ebay the named brands about $70. You use a mandrel of 2 or 3" with the sandpaper . Usually hook and loop paper is best. Thy ebay or ubid and search for close quarter drill...

 

[MichaelMouse]

I use a variety of items for the same purpose. This is a great one-hand scorp for leveling : http://www.swedishknives.com/woodcarve.htm

This little guy is a great way to get into smaller radii areas as well as a great way to clear areas of fuzzy grain. I use him all the time, even with turnings, to scrape the last bit of nub off the base of a turning after carving it with the curved knife. http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=32641&cat=1,310,41069

For power sanding, look carefully at the Power-Lock system on the sites recommended. The flex edge is especially versatile, and can take a lot more abuse than a velcro system, ending up actually being cheaper to use. I use an old washing machine motor and this flex shaft, which allows one hand for the carving and one hand for the sander, versus the drill motor mount, where you have to secure the piece by other means or juggle dangerously.
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=31030&cat=1,130,43409 The induction-run motor is a lot quieter than a screaming universal type, too.