Reciprocating Sanders

[Accidental Loggie]

Has anyone bought small reciprocating sanders for modelling use?  I've seen a couple advertised, including the DSPIAE Electric Reciprocating Sander.  Before I actively consider buying one - so far my consideration has been largely passive - I thought I'd ask the collective.

In my head, the exam questions are:
a. Are they any good, and if so how?
b. Are they any better or faster than sanding sticks or paper?
c. Which are models to be considered and which to swerve?
e. Are they worth the money and the addition of another gadget to the modelling desk?

All information gratefully received, please👍

[zenrat]

I would have thought that any power sander is likely to take it right down to bare plastic on the edges before you can blink.
They might be OK for shaping and PSR but I wouldn't chance one on paint.

[Weaver]

I too am curious about these things. As I see it, the main advantage is the ability to sand in nooks and crannies where you can't get an angle to move normal sanding tools. I'd imagine they are more for PSR than paint as well, and I'd hope they could be turned down to a slow enough setting to make them controllable, just as the test for a useful electric drill for plastic modelling is not how fast it can go but how slow.

[Weaver]

There's a bunch of review videos for the Dspiae one on Youtube. So far, all the one's I've watched have been... mixed. It's also worth pointing out that all of them have had people in the comments strongly disagreeing with whatever the video maker's conclusions were.

Another thing I notice from these videos is that some of them are comparing the Dspiae to similar but MUCH cheaper products that are made for manicure work. If you're not sure about needing one, it might be worthwhile trying one of these cheaper options first in case you decide this type of tool's not for you.

[Gondor]

I bought one of the Dspiae sanders. I will probably only use it on large or thick areas rather than small or fiddly areas where I can easily use a file or sanding stick. Good for repetitive work, not good for fine or small-scale work.

[Andrew Gorman]

I turned a battery operated toothbrush into a sander a long time ago.  Worked pretty well on inaccessible ejector pin marks but a little weak otherwise.  Lots of how to do its on the web!

[McColm]

I tried using a device for removing hard skin on the heels of my feet, it was battery powered,  l think that it would have a USB port for charging these days.
Heat is the main worry when sanding large areas of filler and unless you have access to a dental machine there's nothing small enough for anything under 1/72.

[frank2056]

HOZO is coming out with a sander/cutter  - no price yet, but probably expensive, I'd imagine other Chinese makers will come out with a cheaper knock-off within months.

[Mossie]

I've used an electric sheet sander before to create an oversize rotorblade. Glued together several sheets of plastic card then shaped it, worked quite well. I used the slowest speed and a relatively coarse sandpaper. Left some marks, but they could be polished out manually.  IIRC, the design of the sander allowed me to clamp in a standard sheet of wet and dry so I could work with smoother grades.

I'm sure I tried a detail sander too which gave me more control but can't remember what with or how it turned out.

[zenrat]

HOZO is coming out with a sander/cutter  - no price yet, but probably expensive, I'd imagine other Chinese makers will come out with a cheaper knock-off within months.

I had a look at that.  My initial thoughts are big fat body will be hard to manoeuvre and a pain to hold after a while, and they are so keen to show it not doing any damage that they seem to not have noticed it isn't actually removing very much material.

[Mossie]

HOZO is coming out with a sander/cutter  - no price yet, but probably expensive, I'd imagine other Chinese makers will come out with a cheaper knock-off within months.

I had a look at that.  My initial thoughts are big fat body will be hard to manoeuvre and a pain to hold after a while, and they are so keen to show it not doing any damage that they seem to not have noticed it isn't actually removing very much material.

A flexible shaft might be a useful accessory for them to develop to counter the fat body.

[frank2056]

A version with the motor on a flexible shaft and the battery/controller at the other end makes more sense. They seem to like that body styles, but I'm sure someone will clone it and come out with a more sensible unit.

I have their ultrasonic cutter and it's pretty comfortable for extensive cutting despite the size and weight; I find it more comfortable than a Dremel, even though it's bigger. But this sanding/cutting unit would benefit from a lighter head.

[The Rat]

If the arthritis in my hands gets worse, they're definitely an attractive investment.