Black and Decker "Mouse"

[sailaway78]

If you have never used one of these, just want to report that they really do a good job. Not a big fan of Black and Decker tools, as I have found that they are usually a little under par. However, I had some louvered interior doors to do, and just no way to do much of a job sanding them by hand, or with any other little sander I have found that was reasonably priced. Since I only had a fairly small amount to do, figured why not. The thing may not last long, but if it finishes the intended job, will be well worth the money. Amazing how tight of a corner it will get into. Would not recommend it for big jobs, but for smaller jobs they are worth the bucks.

 

[Steve Dion]

One of the Bosch Corner Sanders or a Ryobi Detail Sander may serve you better when trying to sand louvers

The Ryobi stuff is usually a lot cheaper. I have used one of these and they work well for the small corners and tight stuff. The paper is self adhesive that stick on to the working surface.

 

[r.w.landau]

A skilled hand on a sharp scraper can not only give something a planed finish but in a fraction of the time with a bit more effort.
r.w.landau

 

[sailaway78]

A skilled hand

The skilled hand, I must admit, I do not have. Might be something worth experimenting with and learning though. But the little mouse does it pretty quick and effortless. Fortunately or unfortunately, depending on your point of view, I do not require the same standards of excellence that those such as Mainesail do. Nearly perfect is good enough for me.

 

[Napa Ed]

Black & Decker Mouse

I keep on on my boat and think it's pretty good also. Not for tearing into things, but a good manageable size with control. I have DA, disk and belt sanders for more aggressive stock removal. The mouse is great for taking down a weathered finish before varnish.

 

[Tim R.]

Try the Fein multimaster. This has a few sanding attachments that work great. A little pricey but it can also do a lot of other jobs very well. And it is a very high quality tool.

I have used mine to trim bungs, sand very tight areas, remove old floor linoleum, cut wood floors, cut nails and screws.

http://www.fein.de/fein-multimaster/us/en/main/

 

[Dan Johnson]

Ryobi tools...

I'll second Steve's comment about the Ryobi product line. I have a carry box dedicated to the various sanders they make that I bought. They all work very well and are reasonably priced so you can buy different kinds for different applications.

Last spring I bought their small swivel-head grinder to make short work of grinding down the rust spots that form on the steel keel of my H34. It worked great!

Don't pass up a Dremmel tool for the small work--it is handy to cut off small SS bolts that are too long for their application or where they stick out too far.

 

[larryw]

Hmmm, power tools, hmmmm!!

 

[oldiesrocker2001]

Well, According to the Admiral, I have more tools of all kinds than Sears OR Roebuck. I still vote for the mouse. Have used it for taking down the finish on a weathered tiller and hatch guides before refinishing, buffing on corners that my polishing tool(just for the boat)wouldn't reach, and even corners and spot areas that the huge floor sander didn't get while refinishing a floor.

 

[TimCup]

I agree, and I agree with the "disagree-er"!

I have a Mouse, and like it. It's the right tool for the right job, and works every bit as good as I was hoping for.

Then R.W. talked about a scraper, which until a few months ago sounded crazy. Then I had our 90 year old floors refinished. Drum sander, then edge sander. In the corners, and between the stair ballaters, the guy had a curved blade with a razor edge (think tiny rake with blade instead of tines). He'd scrape for a minute, then spend 5 seconds sharpening, then back to scraping. When he was done it looked every bit as good as the sanded wood. Amazing.


cup

 

[r.w.landau]

A well planed surface is actually smoother

than sand paper. He sanded it to match sanded areas. It is faster and though more effort /minute, easier.
Thanks Cup! Your verification helps my sanity rating here
r.w.landau

 

[TimCup]

R.W.- don't give Phil any ideas!!!

We've got sitezen ratings, reputation ratings...if he institutes your "sanity rating", they'll take away my computer!!


cup

 

[Chris Burti]

A bit of clarification might be in order on scrapers. The technique predates the invention of sandpaper and other than taking some care not to dig the corners into the wood, it really does not require a lot of skill. A good finishing scraper is not the Red Devil paint scraper from your workshop, it is typically a thin piece of rectangular spring steel often about 6 inches wide by three or four inches tall. The blade is held at the outer edges with two fingers on each side and the thumbs pressing in the middle bowing the steel outward slightly.

The bowed steel is tipped at a slight angle and held at a slight angle as it is pulled accross the wood with the grain. Too much bowing will make it hard to keep the surface flat. rocking it will let the corners dig in, I round my corners a bit as a precaution. You can buy a handle to hold the blade correctly bowed from any good woodworkers supply company. You can buy some curved edge scrapers for concave and convex surfaces such as moldings, but they are very difficult to edge properly.

The hardest part is in 'sharpening' the blade. The edge is filed flat like the end of a screwdriver blade. Then a burnishing iron is run over the edge to curl the metal back towards the top of the blade. It is this fine curl that does all the work as the blade is pulled across the wood. Too much curl and it will just slide across the wood, too little and it dulls too quickly.