Sand Flee

bkhop · Post by **bkhop** » Tue Oct 16, 2007 9:05 pm

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reible · Post by **reible** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 9:07 pm

Hi,

I guess I missed the bit about it becoming a shopsmith "tool". I've seen a LOT of posts at other sites about this but so far you have posted the only one here.

I liked the idea and loved the demo video I saw but when the subject got to price......... ahhhhh I think it was like $700. That was a while back so maybe I got this mixed up with something else I wanted???

I can see this being easy to adapt to a shopsmith. My fear is that it will be well over my value/price point. As simple as this thing is it should sell for like $200 and at that point I could see one coming my way next summer. If it goes over $300 it would be very unlikely to be in my plans.

The second fear is how much the sandpaper is going to cost....... it is a rather one of a kind design at this point so they can charge what they want and you have no choice but to buy it. I'm really supprised that tool makers haven't got the idea like other companies to sell the item cheap and make your money on supplies... got a color printer? case in point. Cell phones for $50 with the works??? yea and what is your monthly bill??? Yea sell me the sander for $200 and then sell me $100 worth of sandpaper every year...

OK enough of this. If they make them and the price is right I will buy one.

Ed

bkhop · Post by **bkhop** » Wed Oct 17, 2007 9:45 pm

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dusty · Post by **dusty** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 8:45 am

The Sand Flee - an expensive tool. I went to the website last night. It looks like a cool tool. I would really like to have one in my shop but then there are a lot of other tools that I would really like to have.

The price is prohibitive for me. The machine starts at $600+ and then there are the sand paper refilles. Something like $30 each.

However, the Sand Flee that I saw on the Website might be somewhat different than what SS has to show us. If you look carefully at the devise pictured in the Sawdust Session, it is driven by the SS headstock. It appears to be resting on the tubes like the SS driven surface planer attachment.

The Sand Flee shown on line has a direct drive motor built in.

We still may have a chance. The "Shopsmith" version just may be affordable. Guess we just have to wait and see on October 27.

bkhop · Post by **bkhop** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 9:56 am

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Ed in Tampa · Post by **Ed in Tampa** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 10:13 am

dusty wrote:The Sand Flee - an expensive tool. I went to the website last night. It looks like a cool tool. I would really like to have one in my shop but then there are a lot of other tools that I would really like to have.

The price is prohibitive for me. The machine starts at $600+ and then there are the sand paper refilles. Something like $30 each.

However, the Sand Flee that I saw on the Website might be somewhat different than what SS has to show us. If you look carefully at the devise pictured in the Sawdust Session, it is driven by the SS headstock. It appears to be resting on the tubes like the SS driven surface planer attachment.

The Sand Flee shown on line has a direct drive motor built in.

We still may have a chance. The "Shopsmith" version just may be affordable. Guess we just have to wait and see on October 27.

Dusty
I saw the Sand Flee demonstated at the last Woodworking Tool show here in Tampa. It was an interesting machine and seemed to work as the inventor claimed it would. I was sold right up until the guy pitching the machine gave the price. After I closed my mouth I looked around and everyone had the same reaction. WOW!!!!! Then everyone turned and walked away.
I think people were floored that something that contained a roller, couple of bearings, a motor, a sheet or two of steel and sheet of stainless steel, a switch, and cord could/would cost that much.
I don't know how the sales of the machine were that weekend but I know I didn't buy one.

Frankly for that money you can get real close to a Performax thickness sander. Certainly you can built one of ones already discussed on the forum in earlier threads. A real interesting one is the one just published in Shopnotes Jig and Fixtures. That one is designed to be driven by a table saw arbor and just quick glance, I took at news stand, it looked to be a perfect match to Shopsmith.

Ed

scottss · Post by **scottss** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 10:27 am

I have considered the sand flee for some time now thinking it was my answer to a wide belt sander and I was talking to a cabinet maker friend of mine just the other day about one. He has a 20" wide belt sander that I can use when I need it but he is 5 minutes away and well uh I want my own. After watching the video at
http://www.rjrstudios.com/
I was impressed but not sure that I could actually sand wide stuff. I first was interested when I was doing a lot of scroll sawing clocks and other small stuff. But now I have been building more big stuff like cabinets and tables and would need it for sanding glue ups of panels. I guess I will wait and watch Nick in the sawdust session.

dusty · Post by **dusty** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 11:54 am

If I get ready to spend that much on a sander, I'll have to give searious consideration to some others as well. Example:

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_p_4_9 ... APerformax

Bruce · Post by **Bruce** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 4:41 pm

scottss wrote:I have considered the sand flee for some time now thinking it was my answer to a wide belt sander and I was talking to a cabinet maker friend of mine just the other day about one. He has a 20" wide belt sander that I can use when I need it but he is 5 minutes away and well uh I want my own. After watching the video at
http://www.rjrstudios.com/
I was impressed but not sure that I could actually sand wide stuff. I first was interested when I was doing a lot of scroll sawing clocks and other small stuff. But now I have been building more big stuff like cabinets and tables and would need it for sanding glue ups of panels. I guess I will wait and watch Nick in the sawdust session.

It would not be possible to sand wide boards evenly across the board since you can't put even pressure across the width of the board. This may or may not be important, depending on the tolerances you demand in your projects. I'm with the rest of you. It's way too expensive!

Nick · Post by **Nick** » Thu Oct 18, 2007 5:55 pm

I have to admit, I had exactly the same reaction to the Sand Flee that you guys are reporting. When we received our first one here at Shopsmith about 6 months ago, I thought, "What's the big deal? It's a drum sander in a box." But Drew and I dutifully put it through its paces. As we became more familar with it, we warmed to it.

Engineers often talk about the "elegant solution" to a technical problem. Usually, the elegant solution is not just effective but deceptively simple. And more often than not, it's elegant because of its simplicity. This is the case with the Sand Flee. It's a simple drum sander in a box that makes a very effective finish sander for flat surfaces.

It's the only sander that I have found (other than my own two hands) that offers both the gentleness and the control needed to sand plywood and other veneered surfaces. Pad sanders are gentle enough, but have little control. They won't sand a surface flat; they tend to round over corners and edges. Random-orbit sanders give you more control, but they are too aggressive. It's very easy to go through a plywood veneer with a random-orbit sander.

The Sand Flee is also a unique tool. You can't comparison shop for a drum sander in a box the way you can a biscuit jointer or a router. The reason for this is that not only is this an elegant idea, it's a new idea. Bob Raffo has patented it and, to my knowledge, he has not licensed the patent to any other manufacturer. The Hegner rip-off you may have seen on the Web is not available in the States. Bob has what used to be called a "patent monopoly" on the concept and this partly explains the price. The fact that he is manufacturing it in America explains the other part.

So there you go. Yes, it's pricey but it's also a capable tool and I imagine it will find its niche in the pro-sumer tool market. I would not hestitate to recommend it to someone who sands a lot of flat surfaces such as a cabinetmaker or a furniture maker, particular if they do a great deal of work with plywood or veneers.

With all good wishes,