Pen Sander - Yay or Nay ?

[ColonelKrypton]

I have been seeing some postings here and there about pen sanders.  Pen only in the sense that they are small and can usually be held like a large pen but otherwise are electric powered and have changeable sanding tips.  David Union is one brand name an Proxxon another and a couple more from Micro Mark but there don't seem to any others. 

 

Searched Britmodeller for "pen sander", "power sander", and a couple of other variations but found nothing which was surprising. Found a few postings on a couple of other forums for the David Union sander and it seems to be well received.

 

Seems popular with the Gunpla crowd. Most of the online sources I am finding for the David Union sander are primarily Gunpla retailers rather than the more general hobby stores.

 

So - Yay, Nay, good, bad, can't live without it, or expensive gimmick?

 

cheers, Graham

 

[colin]

Have to David union one, and have used to a few times and it did the job I was using it for. Could I have managed the jobs without it, yes.

Would probably be more beneficial for larger scales.

[G.E.SAUNDERS]

 

                 hi  GrahamCC,

                                                     🛩️  🖋️😘

 

                                            I bought a PROXXON Micro Sander Kit #28 707  $143aud Post Included before Christmas from HOBBY TOOLS AUSTRALIA.

 

                    The Tool is a sturdy Appliance and supplies (4) different shaped Sanding Heads and (2) grades of Precut Adhesive Backed Wet'n' Dry sheets .

                    the Transformer has (5) Speeds .

 

                   The Sanding Heads are made of a soft Plastic and can be cut to any special size the the User might require. I found that a modified Head could

                    be used to sand down a Wheelwell Bay Ceiling on an Aircraft I am building and of wot I would'nt have a hope of doin' otherwise.

                    The Head motion is side to side not Orbital.

                    It's very good for sandin' down those mega  Wing Trailing Edges , Raised Panel lines and applied Filler, as the Modeller can sand exactly where

                    He/She wants to in wet or dry mode.

 

                  Replacement Wet 'n' Dry can be stuck to the Tips with Thin Double Sided tape or better still INFINI  Adhesive backed Sand Paper of wot I highly

                 recommend as well .

 

                     It just gets betterer 'n' betterer for the Modeller !      👍 ✈️

 

                                                                                                                   cheery "stay safe 'n' Model " mumbas !

 

                                                                                                                                                       Geoff

                   

                  

[ColonelKrypton]

I went ahead and purchased a David Union D400 pen sander after much thought and more poking around some online forums.

 

I had considered purchasing it from Troy at T-Rexx tools in the US. He sells on eBay as well as direct. I don't know if he is on Britmodeller but for full disclosure I originally saw postings for this tool on the Large Scale Planes forum:

 

https://forum.largescaleplanes.com/index.php?/topic/84303-new-tool-for-sanding/

 

Troy's prices are reasonable but ordering from the US or overseas these days incurs considerable wait times unless one uses the likes of FEDEX or Purolator. I prefer to buy locally when I can and if not locally at least regionally ( i.e within a few hundred miles ) before I start to consider out of country. Unfortunately it is not always easy or possible to find a local or Canadian retailer for some things but after some poking around I found a few retailers in Canada:

 

https://www.msmnstudio.com/products/david-union-d400-ergonomic-pen-sander/

 

https://niigs.ca/collections/more-tools/products/davidunion-david-400-ergonomic-pen-sander

 

https://www.lightbringer.net/products/david-union-d400-ergonomic-pen-sander

 

All of these stores cater to the Gunpla / Gundam crowd. 

 

The first one is almost local and I got my new toy within a couple of days of ordering.

 

First impressions are good. Seems to be well made and feels good in the hand and is relatively quite in use.

 

However, it is not the Holy Grail. It is a detail sander after all which it does quite well - it is not a bulk removal tool. It does takes some time figuring out what grit to use and how fast to run the sander in order to accomplish what you are setting out to do. You have to remember to let the tool do the work and to not try and force it to do more than it can. In other words, you do not need to apply a lot of downward force - just the right amount so that the tool can work, it you hear it start to load up then it running too slow or you are applying too much force. Also, you ( I ) need to resist the temptation to move the whole thing forwards and backwards as if I were sanding with a sanding block - you need to let the tool do the work ( I keep reminding myself  ).

 

A bit pricey and not for everyone but for now I think this new tool will have a place on my workbench.

 

cheers, Graham