angle sander advice

[Acharya Kumarswami]

Can anyone advise me on a good angle sander for bowls?
I see the Apprentice pneumatic; but 82db seems pretty loud. Is there an electric version at this scale? I have a woodturning video in which the instructor is using what looks like a corded electric version, but I don't get any hits when I google for that sort of tool.
Thanks!

[Prashun Patel]

A good value is the Neiko 3/8" right angle drill. You can get it on Amzn for less than $50. Mine has not yet burned out. The trigger is easy to control the speed with.

[Dennis Ford]

Try searching for "Close quarter drill". They work very well for this job.

[Richard Allen]

The power sanding drill of choice was the Souix close quarters drill. Milwalkee also sold this drill in red. Then there were knock-offs of this drill found in most of the cheap locations like e-bay... The knock-off used smaller bearings and smaller armatures.

Get the Milwaukee close quarters drill model # 0370-20. There are knock-offs which can be had from places like e-bay. Please note that the knock-offs are made with smaller bearings and tend to have a shorter life. The life expectancy of the Milwaukee is a couple years if you are careful to keep the drill clean. The bearings on the old Sioux (Milwaukee) drills were shielded and susceptible to failure when used for prolonged periods in a dusty environment (guess what power sanding is). If you catch the bearing failure soon enough you can cut off the dyeing shielded bearing and instal a new sealed bearing. If the failing bearing gets to hot it will melt the plastic housing for the bearing and you can't fix the drill. Perhaps the new milwaukee close quarters drill has sealed bearings.

[tom martin]

I must have had one of the old Sioux drills, the bearings went out after 6 months. It was under warranty so they fixed it and it lasted another 4 months. I ended up buying the cheapo close quarters drill from harbor freight three years ago. I bought several actually thinking that when it broke I would just replace it. Well the original is still going strong after hundreds of bowls. I may be set for life! You can buy them today( cyber Monday) for around 30 bucks.They usually go on sale several times a year. The Sioux cost $150.00!!!.
Tom

[Jamie Donaldson]

I believe the Sioux is no longer in production, and I'm not sure about the Milwaukee, and yes they cost more than $150! I've been using my 3 for more than 15 yrs. and keep them running well by frequently blowing out the sanding dust. The cheap knock-offs do work, but they sound like they are grinding their bearings every time I turn one on.

[Curt Fuller]

Acharya, these drills from Harbor Freight are relatively inexpensive, relatively quiet, and the one I have has been going strong for several years now. But at that price you can even burn a few up over your lifetime and not be out much.

http://www.harborfreight.com/3-8-eighth-inch-close-quarters-drill-with-keyless-chuck-95877.html (http://www.harborfreight.com/3-8-eighth-inch-close-quarters-drill-with-keyless-chuck-95877.html)

[Bernie Weishapl]

I bought 2 of the angle drills from Harbour Freight and paid like $29 for them. I bought two thinking they were so cheap I would get a spare. Well the one I am using is 1 1/2 yrs old and so far it is still going good.

[Reed Gray]

Pneumatic drills will keep the compressor running non stop. Way more cost than running the drills. I have 4 of the Sioux/Milwaukee drills, 2 high speed, and 2 low speed. I prefer the slow speed ones. I did try one of the $30 specials from one source, and the casing on the drill wore out after about 3 weeks, not sure how many bowls that was. I couple of others who got the same drill had trigger problems. I will get 400 plus bowls from the bearings before they are shot, and I have put double sealed bearings in them. They are drills, not grinders, which is essentially what we use them as. Vince Welch of Vinces WoodnWonders carries what looks like a fairly good drill, and I need to get one and do a demolition test on it. When I sanded at full speed, I would get maybe 300 bowls before the bearings wore out. By sanding at slow speeds, I got way more use out of them. I do use 3 inch discs and pads almost all of the time.

robo hippy

[Michelle Rich]

check out Klingspor Woodworking..they have a drill and accessories ..about 59.00

[Paul Singer]

Very happy with the Harbor Freight one mentioned above. I have two which have different arbors installed so I can switch back and forth. As already stated they are cheap enough to make them disposable but I have had mine for over a year and no problems so far. HF does offer a service agreement for a few dollars extra which will provide a free replacement if there is a failure but I am not sure of the duration. I see they are listed for $34.95 right now and you can use a 20% off coupon to get another $7 off.

[steven carter]

Got the cheap HF angle drill and it didn't last 2 months, bought one from Vince at http://vinceswoodnwonders.com/drills-and-pnuematic-sanders/ for about 50 bucks, and it has been going for a cuople years, so far no problems.

[Scott Hackler]

Another vote for the cheap Harbor Freight one. I bought one 1 1/2 years ago and have dropped it (cracked the houising) and its still going strong. I paid a bit more than Bernie, at $39... but I have easily gotten my moneys worth. With all the dust around sanding a turning, I went against my gut instinct of buying the best and went el cheapo. When this one quits, I will go right back to Harbor Freight and buy another one.

[Bill Bulloch]

I use the Harbor Frieght 3/8 Close Quarter Drill with Keyless Chuck. They are always on sell cheap; I think I paid about $30.00. Had it for about 5 years and it is still running fine.

[David Gilbert]

I went the Neiko 3/8" right angle drill route and my first one lasted about six months. I bought a second one on e-bay and within a couple of months it was making a lot of noise and vibrations. What I really didn't like was the noise that they all made. With the lathe, my dust collectors, and the drill all going I needed hearing protection.

I am trying a different route. I recently visited the Penn State Industries store outside of Philadelphia and picked up a flexible shaft tool (http://www.pennstateind.com/store/SPSFLEX.html). I installed this on an old sump pump motor that I hung from the rafters with a robust bungee cord. I initially hung it directly on the rafters and the noise and vibration were very impressive. Since my wife already complains about my noise levels, I insulated the vibrations with the bungee cord. It seems to work very well for the outside and most of the inside of my bowls. The one place where I still need the close quarter drill is for the top of the inside of my partially enclosed bowls.

I looked into buying new bearings and they would have cost me about $50 for a set. Since the drill only cost about $40, I didn't go for the new bearings.

Cheers,
David

[Dan Hintz]

Least expensive I've found to date... Neiko for $27. Comes to about $31 or so shipped:
http://www.surpluscomputers.com/349508/neiko-close-quarter-drill.html

[Acharya Kumarswami]

Dan, thank you for the tip. I bought one of the Neikos and just tried it out. Very comfortable, quiet and effective. That's a lot of drill/sander for $27! Much appreciated!

[Acharya Kumarswami]

HI, I am starting to experience what appears to be mechanical difficulties with the Neiko, some electrical charge coming out of the side of the sander, which I can feel on my hand, and excess noise. I think it's about to die. It may be the way I have been using it. Anyone have advice on the best way to use such a sander? I've been running it with the lathe on, and sometimes up to 700 rpm, going forward, the same way as when turning.

[Reed Gray]

Yes, it is getting ready to die. Bearings, brushes, and maybe the trigger. They do need to be blown out after each sanding session. I have found that running them at slow speeds, for me about half speed, and slow speeds on the lathe (I am at around 20 rpm, and had to have the low end speed lowered, and can't keep a drill on my warped bowls at any higher speeds) will let the drill last a lot longer.

robo hippy

[Thomas Canfield]

I will also say that the cheapo close quarter drill from Amazon, HF, or wherever is probably the way to go. I am on my second, but like the cheapo as well as the Milwaukee. The keyed chuck is smaller and you do not change the disk that often to make the larger keyless necessary. I would also suggest getting a Stanley 1/4" drill bit extender (8 or 12" extension) to use with a piece of PVC tubing over the extension to help get into deeper bowls or hollow forms. I usually keep one drill standard and one with extension mounted.