Make Your Own Small Scale Flap Wheel

When I am working at TechShop San Jose, I sometimes find myself in a position where I have to sand in nearly unreachable places. Whether it is inside of piping, or in the center of holes that i have drilled though, it can be extremely frustrating to get my sand paper into these places. In addition, I will usually be in the middle of a project, and I do not want to loose my momentum on my project. You can buy pre-made kits that can be expensive, but you are a maker, so why not make one yourself. The beauty of this simple design is that can be used with any grit of sandpaper, allowing for versatility that manufactured kits do not offer.

Supplies:

A dowel (or pencil in my case)
some sand paper
something to cut with, such as a jewlers saw, a scroll saw, or a dremel (i used a dremel, watch out though, the groove created may be a little big)

Using a cutting tool, cut a groove into your piece. This will create a slot that you can fit your sand paper into. Fold your sand paper (cut down so it is small enough to fit) length wise (hot dog style) so that there is an abrasive surface on both sides. Insert the sand paper into the slot, with an equal amount of material on both sides.

And that is it, you now have your very own, home grown flap wheel. You can insert this into anything that has a big enough chuck!
Happy sanding!