What is a guitar finishing sander? Actually I am referring to a neat little hand held sander that takes the grunt work out of sanding. It isn’t made exclusively for guitar, but one of the first uses that I had for it was for working on guitars.
Watch the video below where I sand down an inexpensive Ukulele fretboard. I was impressed with the level of control that this little sander has. It’s like having power steering in a car, compared to not.
Incidentally, about 20 years ago, I traveled back to the UK and rented a small car with no power steering. It was a shock when I tried to park it! Even though my first cars in the UK had no power steering, I had forgotten what it was like. I certainly don’t miss that!
Back to the sander… check out the features and see how this Black and Decker “mouse” sander performs.
See the Sander in Action
If you want to know how I took out the four frets before sanding go here: https://www.guitarbasement.com/how-to-pull-frets
Get the sander here: BLACK+DECKER Mouse Detail Sander, Compact Detail (BDEMS600)
Use the correct sand paper that has holes in the right places. These also have the extra diamond shaped pieces to use on the nose of the sander: Sanding Sheets for Black and Decker Mouse Sanders, 50PCS 60 80 120 150 220 Grit Sandpaper Assortment with Extra Tips for Replacement, 12 Holes Hook and Loop Detail Sander Sanding Pads Sand Paper
Finishing Sander Features
At the time I bought this one, I didn’t want to pay much money. There were other no-name-brand choices that I could have bought. Black and Decker is a brand that I have used for years and they have well designed product. Comparing features, this one has an extension piece that I didn’t think would be much use (but it was!). Some people complained that this breaks easily but if you are careful it shouldn’t break. If that was the only reason for negative comments I decides to try this.
The other feature that I thought would be good is the detachable plastic dust chamber. This uses an internal fan to draw up the wood dust through holes in the base that also corresponds with holes in the sandpaper provided.