A Rotary Sander Kit Designed by Vic Wood

by Fred Holder

When Vic Wood was in the United States last spring and summer, I purchased one of his Rotary Sander Kits from him. I was impressed with how well he made it work and found that it worked just as well when I used it.

This device consists of a velcro faced sanding head, the shaft of which is attached to a right-angle hand piece housing two sealed bearings. A fairly simple device that a person could make up their self if they didn't have the $40.00 to spare to buy one. This comes with two sets of "velour" backed 75mm (3 inches) diameter sanding discs of the following grit grades: 2x80, 2x120, 2x180, 2x240, and 2x320. If you want to sand finer than 320 grit, you'll have to make up your own discs or order 400 grit discs from Klinkgspor's Sanding Catalogue (Telephone 800-228-0000). They have Kling-On (Hook and Loop) Discs in 400, 320, 220, 180, 120, 100, 80, and 60 grit to fit this unit. A package of 5 will cost a bit over $2.00 depending on grit.

This unit does a great job without the need for a drill motor or electrical power. I believe it does a better job than my drill motor powered unit. Vic recommended laying out the disks with the grit number written on the back so that you can just press the tool down on the disk and pick it up. This works great. Start with the lowest number grit. With the work still on the lathe and the lathe rotating at a moderate speed, bring the rotary sander face into contact with the surface to be sanded in such a way that it rotates on contact. A little practice and you can get first class sanding action. Rotation is controlled by the pressure you apply and the variation of contact angle. Simply step through the grits and you're done. I didn't have too good of luck with inside sanding of bowls, but then most of my bowls are under 8 inches.

You can buy this tool from Jeff Wood, Vic's son, at 1172 E. 130th Place, Thornton, CO 80241. TEL: 800-903-1245. FAX: 303-252-7844. He sells them to clubs or vendors at $30.00 each plus shipping for five or more and will sell a single unit to an individual for $40.00 plus $2.50 shipping and handling.