AskWoodMan

314/365: I am a terrible cord twister on power tools, and nothing takes more abuse than my half sheet sander. I had shortened the original cord several times but it was too beat up to do it again. I cut the end off one of my twist lock Festool cords and installed it. Almost all American replacement power tool cords with a formed male end are 9’ long. Too short in my opinion. This Festool cord is 4m which I think is the minimum that is useful before having to go to an extension cord.

292/365: Love a half sheet sander and VSM Vitex sandpaper for sanding a table top flat.

218/365: Finishing up my edge sanding of the six cabinet doors. Today I posted two short videos on AskWoodMan.TV showing more detail of this low tech edge sanding setup. This setup is simple, efficient, very accurate and especially great for those with small shops.

218/365: This my favorite low tech way to edge sand very accurately with my half sheet sander. I have the drawer fronts clamped together with spacers so not only can I produce a clean flat edge, but can break and soften the edges as well without having to expend energy holding them in place. A setup that just lets me get on with it.

187/365:  Figuring out how to hold the work for the task at hand is a big part of woodworking. Here I am sanding the top edges of 6/24 drawers on my perforated (20mm holes) work table top. I have boards clamped making a boundary on two sides and spacer blocks and boards between the drawers, but all the actual clamping is being done by just the two Festool horizontal clamping elements. The big half sheet sander just rides on top and straddles the pieces and does a really quick and fine job. I can even cut the speed down and use it the break the edges inside and out. 

180/365: I ordered a new pad for my Festool RS2E half sheet sander and put it on this morning. The old one is at least 5 years old and had hard miles on it. Festool products last and perform. They are really in a class by themselves. Note the really clever side protectors that keep the sander from clanking when sanding into corners.

155/365: This is the best overall sanding setup my small shop has. A good half sheet sander, in this case a Festool R2E attached to a tool triggered vacuum (Festool CT33E). This sander accepts any brand of sheet sandpaper and removes stock with almost no dust. The steel plate with the points is for perforating the attached paper with the appropriate dust collection hole pattern. I can’t stand hook and loop sandpaper. What I love about this setup is the absolute relaxed control. I can sand with one hand on the sander and one managing the hose. The sander does not tip or gouge and just does the best job to make pieces flat and straight with almost no exertion.