Anyone use the Mirka DEROS 350XCV 3" sander for bowls?

[Roger Wiegand]

My WTW angle drill released the magic smoke this morning after only a couple years of light use, so I'm once again looking for a bowl sanding solution. The Sioux angle drill that preceded it lasted 15 years in much heavier use, was a lot nicer to use, but is, as far as I can tell, no longer available. The Metabo 400SXE was fairly widely recommended but is also no longer sold, at least in the US.

So despite the price and seeming inability to use 2" disks, and some worry about reaching into bowls, I'm looking at the 3" Mirka DEROS. The 6" Mirka DEROS is my everyday sander which has performed extremely well, so, despite the ridiculous price, I'm thinking about it. Is there another choice I'm overlooking? I think I'd like a RO sander, but straight rotary would be OK. I'd much prefer a tool designed to work with sanding dust around rather than another drill, I hate the idea of using throwaway HF angle drills even though it's a low cost option. Something else I'm overlooking? I've googled fairly extensively.

Upgrading my compressor from the Borg-derived 60 gallon single stage one I have is another, even more expensive, option, but I'd really prefer an electric sander. With my current compressor and the little Grex sander, which I really like, I have to stop every few minutes to wait for the compressor to catch up. The main hangup is that I'd probably need to hire riggers for about $1500-2000 (what they charge to just show up) to get my old compressor out and a new one in to the lower level of my barn where it lives.

 

[Ron Solfest]

Cheap HF angle drills shouldn’t be overlooked. I have two, both of which have lasted longer than the previous Sioux I had that cost a lot more.

Additionally I have the WTW RO that I’ve had to take apart a couple times to clean out but it’s still working. A year ago I also got a Grex RO when I thought my WTW might be dead. Not sure what your compressor supplies but my 30gal Kobalt upright tank on wheels does 5.5scfm@90psi and runs that fine.

 

[Kent Jaffrey]

I had a WTW angle drill that died an earlier death than expected, I also found it a little uncomfortable to use. I have since gone to a regular drill for the inside of bowls and a Makita DA3010F right angle drill (which is a true 90 degree angle drill) for the outside. The Makita was expensive but is so much more comfortable to use I would have trouble going back to anything else.

​

 

[John K Jordan]

I have a different take than some on sanding bowls and platters. I won't use a close quarters angle drill unless it's for drilling holes. Long ago I tried sanding with it but didn't like the clouds of dust and what it sometimes did to some specific pieces and wood species. I may use small, gentle pneumatic ROS sanders but only after smoothing on the lathe with NRS, then off the lathe with hand scrapers, and hand sanding, After that, I usually can start with 400 grit or finer.

I have three small air-operated ROS: two Grex for 1" and 2" disks, and a 3" palm sander from WTW. The Grex are little pistol grip sanders and I can press the trigger part way for low speed. The palm sander has a great feature - a built-in valve that lets me cut the air supply down so pressing the palm valve all the way still results in gentle sanding. (The Grex doesn't have such a valve I guess I could add an external in-line valve.) One very nice thing about the Grex is long extension are available so I can reach down and smooth the bottom of a vessel.

I'm sure your aware of this, but for those who don't all air tools need a few drops of oil added to the air intake. I do this before every use.

A friend also has the same palm sander and uses it with coarser grits but it makes far more dust. His quit working earlier this year so I disassembled and cleaned and oiled inside and it's like new.

As for various close quarters/angle drills failing when used for sanding, I read that it might be from wood dust building up inside. Some said they solved this by periodically blowing the dust out through the ventilation slots. We have the same problem with shears for the llamas and alpacas but the short hair strands are harder to remove so I take just them apart and clean as needed - bearings, brushes, etc.

We do almost all sanding, both by hand and with a small ROS with the piece off the lathe, mounted on a carving/finishing stand from Best Wood tools:



This is the Grex. I bought one years ago then got the second one for almost free at a club silent auction - apparently no one else knew what it was or worked worked differently.


I'd hate to be without a big compressor, both inside and outside the shop for working on equipment and such (I have outside retractable hose reels).
I bought a 60gal vertical Ingersoll Rand 2-stage when I was building my shop and it was fairly easy to move into place by myself. Would have been even easier if I removed the motor and compressor first. If I had to get rid of a big old compressor and didn't need to save it, instead of hiring riggers I might be tempted to take it apart then cut the tank up with metal cutting disks, recip saw, or plasma cutter.

BTW, if looking for a better angle drill, my experience is the 110v corded Milwaukee is excellent. I've had one for decades.

JKJ

 

[guy laizure]

I got tired of burning up cheap drills.The Makita works great.

 

[Doug Freeman]

I have 4-5 Neiko 55* angle drills that lasted 2-3 years each - pretty sure these are the same as the WTW drills. 3-4 years ago I got the HF Bauer drill. Only $50 and holding up well. I blow my drills out every so often. I use a router speed control and hold the drill switch fully closed to control speed.

https://www.harborfreight.com/35-amp-38-in-variable-speed-close-quarters-drill-57148.html?_br_psugg_q=close+quarter+drill

Also use an electric random orbit polisher as a sander. The orbit is a bit large at 8mm but it works well. I put together 2 & 3” extended mandrels to get into bowls.

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[Richard Coers]

I’ve been really pleased with the Metabo 3” sander. Not sure they still make them. I do about 90% of my sanding off the lathe.

 

[Steve Tiedman]

If I had to get rid of a big old compressor and didn't need to save it, instead of hiring riggers I might be tempted to take it apart then cut the tank up with metal cutting disks, recip saw, or plasma cutter.

JKJ

Or, if square footage in the room isn't a problem, abandon the old one in place. Leave it as a permanent feature of the barn.

 

[Bill Blasic]

I have the Grex (don't bother unless you have a 6 foot tall 3 hp motored air system), The Metabo 3" sander (very good but I can't find it for sale), Zota mini polisher (works well with light pressure and is available).

 

[John K Jordan]

I have the Grex (don't bother unless you have a 6 foot tall 3 hp motored air system), ...

Yes, they certainly use plenty of air. So do the other shop and equipment air tools. My 5hp compressor just chuckles at air consumption. I have small compressors too but they are mostly good for tires and nail guns.

Here's an idea - when building a shed 500ft from a power source and want to use a nail gun with a pancake compressor, instead of running a series of long extension cords (a bad idea), run long air lines instead. That effectively increases the volume of the tank for more nails per cycle. Cordless tools make such things easier now.

 

[robo hippy]

Milwaukee no longer makes their angle drills either. As for the random orbit drills, they work okay for the finer grits, like 220 and above. I found them inadequate for coarser grits. For the pneumatic drills, they kept my compressor running non stop, so I gave up on that because the hand drill was far cheaper to run. I have found out that the angle drills last several times longer if you run at slow speed, like half speed, and use only enough pressure to let the abrasives cut. My old ones have hundreds of bowls on them. I did get a cheap Harbor Freight drill ages ago, and it lasted a week or so before the trigger wore out. Not the bearings for once. We do tend to use them for grinders more than we do for sanding and since they are actually drills, they are not made for what we do with them. I did try a flex shaft from some carving place, oh, memory fails, but Lancelot??? Anyway, there are a number of "attachments that mimic the angle drill, and I had thought to put it on a mini lathe and use that for variable speed. It did work, but I needed a better articulated arm to mount it on so I didn't have to hold it. That may be the future. I remember they had a motor that was designed to run the abrasives, but it was high speed, which I thought was too fast for sanding since I am a slow speed fan. Interesting that Tomislav runs at high speeds most of the time....

robo hippy