looking for tiny drum sanders

[Brian Sommers]

I'm looking for 1/4" and even 1/8" - but 1/4" would really work well.

I need them about 3" long or so, most of them are short.

Any such thing?

[George Bokros]

Not really sure what you want? Hand sanding, lathe sanding, machine sanding, drill press drum sanders?

[Brian Sommers]

drill press and/or hand.

[Stan Calow]

Dremel tool? they have small sandpaper drum bits. You can mount a Dremel in a stand if you want steady.

[John K Jordan]

1/4" is pretty small for a drum sander. For hand-held sanding I cut strips of sandpaper and glue them to a metal rod or dowel.

[Dan Hunkele]

Google--- 51 piece drum sander. Amazon has a set for rotary tools with 1/4 inch drums.

[John K Jordan]

The OP said he needs drums about 3" long.

But I like those little ones, maybe I'll buy the set and throw away the larger, I have plenty of those.

JKJ

[Andrew Pitonyak]

I don't think that I have seen a sanding disc that small before. My gut instinct is that you may have to make them yourself. The tricky part is that they will not likely have easily changeable paper. I would probably get an appropriately sized steel bar and then wrap and glue sand paper to it. Not sure how to then change the paper (use chemicals to remove it.... then start over). Yuck!

[John K Jordan]

I don't think that I have seen a sanding disc that small before. My gut instinct is that you may have to make them yourself. The tricky part is that they will not likely have easily changeable paper. I would probably get an appropriately sized steel bar and then wrap and glue sand paper to it. Not sure how to then change the paper (use chemicals to remove it.... then start over). Yuck!

You mean "drum" instead of "disk"? What I do is for hand use on carvings, not for spinning. When I glue sandpaper to wooded dowel rods I just throw them away when finished. When I use a metal rod I use a flexible adhesive-backed sandpaper which peels off. Clean the rod well first. The coarser grits don't stick so well since they are thicker and stiffer. Perhaps a bit of CA glue to hold down the edges would help.

I have some small sanding drums in the shop that have slots machined to hold sandpaper tight but I forgot where I got them or what to call them. I'll try to look later.

JKJ

[Brian Henderson]

Nothing says you can't make your own, you know. Get a dowel the appropriate size, drill it for a bolt, adhere sandpaper to the outside, mount it up and use it.

[John K Jordan]

I forgot where I got them or what to call them.

This is what I bought:

https://thesandingglove.com/Sleeveless-Cushioned-Sanding-Drums.asp

Not three inches long but longer than the Dremel drums. I have two diameters, 1/2" and 3/8" which I bought at a local woodcarving store. I don't see the smaller size on the Sanding Glove web site.
JKJ326788

[Stew Hagerty]

For something that small, I wrap sandpaper around a dowel. If you use hardwood, you can chuck it into a drill or drill press. The softer poplar dowels crush and break too easily.

[Dan Hunkele]

Delta 31-850 1/4" X 6" spindle sanding sleeves. Cut them to size

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=chrome-instant&ion=1&espv=2&ie=UTF-8#q=DELTA+31-850

[Brian Sommers]

Thanks for all the links and tips, this will get me where I need to be.

I remember many years ago, like 1995 around there.. I think it was ACE model airplanes, several of us guys built and flew rc planes and you could buy an assorted size dowel rods that were dipped in glue and then rolled in sandpaper grit. The guy I flew with passed away and you can no longer get them. They were perfect. I guess I could go hunt down some sandpaper grit myself...

[John K Jordan]

You can buy loose silicone carbide grit in any grade. Jewelers and rock tumblers use it. I have jars of it from 800 down to grit so coarse the particles are huge, close to 1/4" across. (The note taped on the side indicated the coarse grit was used by a jewelry maker as a bed to hold things while silver soldering.)

Epoxy coated stick might work.

I didn't see where you mentioned your application. Sometimes that helps get useful suggestions.

JKJ

[Brian Sommers]

I make toys and sometimes I have a small opening inside of something, like a hole or an opening for a "window" etc and I cut those out with my scroll saw and then would like to sand down to the "line"

[John K Jordan]

I usually have good luck with good quality round files and fine rifflers for that.

[Larry Frank]

I do similar things....I take a 1/4" dowel and cut a slit lengthwise and put the start of a strip of sandpaper in it. I chuck the dowel in my drill and the paper winds around the dowel and does a good job sanding the hole.

[David L Morse]

Would something like this (http://www.woodworkingshop.com/product/cc25180/?inMed=GSTORE&gclid=CjwKEAiAhaqzBRDNltaS0pW5mWgSJADd7cYDkemEPdVL 4ujuS16JBpc3cvM0S2Y5b4e-N7o1j06LzxoC3BPw_wcB) work?

[Charles Lent]

They make 1/8, 3/16, and 1/4" diamond coated drum shaped bits with 1/8" shanks for Dremel and Foredom tools, but they aren't more than about 1/2" in abrasive length. Places that carry these tools should also carry them.

Charley

[Steve Peterson]

Does it have to be sandpaper? I would just use a chainsaw file. They come in 5/32, 11/64, 3/16, and 7/32 sizes. Fairly cheap.

Steve