Drum Sander or Flap Sander?

[CreativeName]

Which would be better for evening up the edges of something like a wallet?  And what is the most economical edge treatment for a wallet?

[TonyV]

Most of the time I sand by hand.  Don't usually need much to even things up after a knife trim.  On occasion though, the stars just don't align any better than my eyes.  In that case, I use a small drum sander on my drill press.  

The most economical edge treatment is a little bit of water and vigorous slicking with a bit of canvas or white denim.  Ain't fancy, but you can make it shine.

[kgg]

59 minutes ago, CreativeName said:

Which would be better for evening up the edges of something like a wallet?

I use a 3" round sanding disc and a wooden burnisher disc on a viable speed bench mounted buffer I got from Princess Auto. Works decent enough for my needs.

kgg

[DieselTech]

I use both a drum sander & a belt sander if things got crazy with construction. 

[TomE]

The drum sander can smooth/even out curves and flat edges.  There is a reason why most burnishing machines include a drum sander.  I use a drum sander frequently to ease the transition from a strap edge to an end point made with a strap end punch.  The end punches are usually a bit uneven or not quite the correct width.  I make items with 2-3 layers of 9-10 oz leather and the drum sander makes quick work of leveling out the layers prior to hand sanding and burnishing.

[CreativeName]

Would buffing rouge on a felt wheel work well or make a mess?

[Dwight]

If you want an inexpensive "best of both worlds" go to Harbor freight and spend 50 bucks for this little sander.

Round sanders have a habit of digging in . . .  and you have to really spend a lot of time learning how to not allow it to do that . . . and even then . . . if you are not paying attention . . . if you run into a hard bit of leather it will not take off what you wanted . . . if it gets soft on you . . . you will have a half moon indentation in your project.

This little belt sander does not allow that to happen any where near as bad . . . especially if you use 120 or higher grit belts.

You can remove the little clear plastic piece on the top of the top pully . . . as I did . . . and if you have an inside curve piece that needs sanding . . . that little curve will do it nicely . . . 

Plus . . . it has a hole in the side for a power vac . . . sucks the sanded leather (mostly) out of your way.

I own two of them . . . have never seen anything any better.

May God bless,

Dwight

[DieselTech]

50 minutes ago, CreativeName said:

Would buffing rouge on a felt wheel work well or make a mess?

I think that would make a mess of your leather. But I am not 100%sure on this. 

I would put a sanding drum on 1 side of the buffer & a cocobolo burnishing wheel on the other side. 

Or the old fashion way with waxed canvas, a touch of water & some saddle soap & elbow grease.

[CreativeName]

@Dwight Harbor Freight = disposable tools

[Hildebrand]

@CreativeNamesometimes Harbor Freight tools are disposable but a lot of time they do just what you need for a good price.

[AlZilla]

9 hours ago, CreativeName said:

@Dwight Harbor Freight = disposable tools

In your first post you asked for "economical". You got the answer for which you asked.  Re-read the first line of his response.

At the hobby level, I bet that thing would last 10 years.

I think the point was, that style of sander gives you great control for what you said you wanted to do.

Edited Monday at 03:53 PM by AlZilla

[kgg]

12 hours ago, CreativeName said:

@Dwight Harbor Freight = disposable tools

The problem these days is an awful lot of equipment regardless of price or it's label is coming out of Chinese factories producing the same or similar items with similar specs. Your Harbor Freight is very similar to our Princess Auto or Canadian Tire products up here in Canada. I have equipment from Harbor Freight, Princess Auto and Canadian Tire and it works quite nicely for a hobbyist without the hefty price tag of the supposedly better brands. Basically it comes down to the amount of use you plan on doing with a particular piece of equipment. Items that I'm are going use occasionally I will go the cheaper route and make do. 

Example:

I just ordered a set of 10" End Nipper Pliers as the 8" inexpensive Chinese ones I have are hard on the old hands when cutting #9 rivets. The 8" work just fine on #12 rivets. I ordered the 10" off Temu for $9.99 with Free shipping. I could have gotten the same ones right down to the color of the handles from Canadian Tire for $45 plus sales tax or bought the brand name Channellock 10-in Construction Cutting Pliers from Rona for $67 plus tax. Since I rarely have to cut more then 20 rivets at a sitting the inexpensive ones will probably do.

2 hours ago, AlZilla said:

At the hobby level, I bet that thing would last 10 years.

I agree.

kgg

 

 

[RockyAussie]

On 10/11/2024 at 6:09 AM, CreativeName said:

Which would be better for evening up the edges of something like a wallet?  And what is the most economical edge treatment for a wallet?

If you are wanting to do this as a business then this video may help. Skip to about the 5 minute mark to see a machine I have been using for 20+ years with out problems. Because I do a lot in crocodile leather I can not use burnishing methods so the rest of the video is about edge painting. Some wallets I've made can be seen in it.