Easy and Cheap Long Board for Sanding

Submitted byJohn VanBuren onSun, 07/05/2020 - 10:27

Hi!

    I am in the process of closing the "football" on a Wee Lassie II canoe I am building. And I found myself in need of a longboard sanding device.  

    Since this is the first Strip-Built boat I have built I decided I did not want to spend a lot of $ on a longboard. (I am unsure if I wat to build more boats using this process.)  And I did not want to take the time to get the pieces and build one.

    So I purchased a 17" long sanding device for autobody work for about $6 from Harbor Freight, carefully peeled the rubber from the base, removed the handle by removing the 4 screws, cut out the middle section of the handle, reattached the two separate pieces of handle using one screw each, and reattached the rubber strip onto the base. The Al body seems like it will be flexible enough for the curves on my canoe. 

I will keep you informed on how it works out once I have used it for a while.

Keep Smilin',

John VB

JohnAbercrombie

Sun, 07/05/2020 - 11:46

Thanks, John - Good tip!

I wish I had Harbor Freight nearby!

This uses the pre-cut 17" sanding sheets for auto body?

 

I am not sure about the use of pre-cut sheets. I assume they work as the tool was originally designed for autobody work. I have some large sheets of sandpaper I am cutting up and using.

John VB

JohnAbercrombie

Wed, 07/08/2020 - 15:14

I use foam (various types with different stiffness) for longboards and use self-adhesive 80-grit sandpaper. Nice and light.

Abrasive:

https://www.leevalley.com/en-us/shop/tools/supplies/sanding/sheets-and-rolls/20179-psa-sandpaper-rolls

 

I've also used Masonite strips with a couple of wood blocks for handles, with the self-adhesive paper. 

 

I wouldn't recommend using any PSA paper with the rubber pad on an autobody style longboard. It can be difficult to remove the adhesive.

Autobody supply places generally sell the pre-cut non-adhesive strips. I went though a pile of them when I was fairing my 30' sailboat with an air-powered longboard sander. (Never again!!!)