Scoll Saw Sanders - Simplify sanding

I don't think anyone minds a little hand sanding, or you probably wouldn't have chosen woodworking as a hobby, Right! But, maybe you were working on a difficult project or had a bad day, and the edges of your project look like an endless mass of ripples. A dauntless task at best for plain old hand sanding. Do you know about Scroll Saw Sanders? They're small sanding belts that fit in place of the blade on your scroll saw. these belts come in two widths 1/4" & 1/2"and for pin end and pin less type scroll saws, with git selection from 80# on the low end up to 320#. Although they will never replace your stationary belt or drum sanders, they make an excellent addition to your shop for sanding small and thin parts.

I have a Craftsman 16" scroll saw that accepts either pin/pin less blades. I like to use the pin less type of sanders as they're easier to fit into the blade holders. Neither the of these two fit into the blade holder without modification, it seems easier to make the flat part of the sander thinner, than to reshape the barrel shaped end to fit the pin type. Before you buy any, you may want to check if these will fit your saw, as I don't believe that they will fit every machine.

When you install the sanders don't go wild on the tension, it doesn't take much, you can leave about an 1/8" - 3/16" of slack to get good results while sanding. The sanders last a long time and you can flip the belt end for end to get more use out of them. You can also use crepe rubber belt cleaning tools on these, like on their larger cousins, to extend the life even farther.

If you're not already familiar with using these belts; I think you will be pleasantly surprised at how easy it is to clean up the edges of you're work with them. I get mine at Menards, but they are available from Sloans and can also be ordered from Wildwood designs.