$10 Electric Pen Sander

[JohnB40]

Greetings to all,

I have been doing a lot of sanding lately fairing the hull and constructing the stern on the Confederacy. For fine details like the lintels and sills on the windows I thought a detail sander would be a help. Besides the expensive prices,I found MicroMarks on back order and Proxxon's PS 13 to have quite a few bad reviews. Whilst looking on line I found the idea on U tube of using a n electric toothbrush. On my next trip shopping I found an Oral B rechargable one for $10 and decided  to give it a try.

What else was needed was some double sided tape,sandpaper and gasket making punch kit.

I used a smaller headed brush my wife had than the one that came with the unit although that one would work fine,it is just a bit larger .Then removed the bristles with pliers

 

 

I used the 7/16" punch from the gasket making kit I punched out some some tape and sandpaper discs.

Mount the double sided tape to the head ....mount sandpaper disc to tape and detail sand away. It works surprising well

Edited November 2, 2017 by JohnB40

[Tom E]

Absolutely bloody brilliant!

Does the neck of it stand up to the downward pressure applied while sanding?

 

Tom E

[JohnB40]

Yes you can indeed......I am really chuffed with the way it works. I can use a fair bit of force and it keeps sanding away without problems. The long neck and small head can get into some really small places with ease. I have been using these Oral B brushes for years on my teeth.they are powerful,last  a long time per charge and go on  for years.

I wish I could use  it to sand away those extra pictures that are not supposed to be there,as I can't edit them away

[Gregory]

Can everyone else see the images?

[Tom E]

All I see are the toothbrush pics, and boxes that show where a pic/jpg should be but no pic.

 

 

[JohnB40]

I'll post the pictures again. It has not been a good digital day.

[BLACK VIKING]

Wow what a brilliant idea, thanks for sharing. I will definitely be pinching this one 

 

Martyn

[Gregory]

Thanks for the pics... 

 

Love the idea!

Edited November 4, 2017 by Gregory

[Derek C]

Brilliant !!!!  I will be making one of those. Thanks for the Tip 

[BETAQDAVE]

    That's what I like to see, re-purposing a tool to do something that it was never originally intended to do!  I have also tried it with one of my new Sonic Pop Dental units that my wife picked up from QVC as one of their special picks.  I didn't like it for my teeth but after reshaping the head with a bend added to it, it makes a good vibrating sander.  I don't know about you but, I can't sand by hand at 30,000 vibrations per minute!  As it has a very compact stroke it can really get in some tight spaces.  The only drawback is your hand seems to keep vibrating after you finish.

[Bill Morrison]

Besides the expensive prices, I found Micro Mark's on back order and Proxxon's PS 13 to have quite a few bad reviews. 

 

To be fair, I have used the Proxxon pen sander for years and I love it. I also use Craftsman's 3D sander for help shaping hulls.

 

Bill

[Nirvana]

I will definitely try this as well.

Good for cramped spaces.

[javajohn]

Great idea! I will definitely try this. I have dozens of those toothbrushes for my Oral B (bought in bulk). Multiple-grits easily changed, and the little round color plastic circles meant to tell which family member the brush belongs to can be the indication of grit size 🙂