I had to order some new SuperGold CA from eRockets so I decided to nab one of the new(ish) Estes Ultimate Sanding Bars. I have a Great Planes sander and have regretted never getting another... the Estes bar looked like a copy so I gave it a whirl.
Here's the box:
The bar comes in a plastic bag, along with a single piece of adhesive 120 grit paper.
I was surprised by how big this thing is, relative to my little Great Planes sander:
In addition to a larger footprint, the plane of the bar is quite heavy. Note also that although it is similar it is a completely new extrusion, so it's not like Estes just bought the tooling from Great Planes. This is all new.
I had no interest whatsoever in a 120 grit sander for my LPR work, so I used some 3M 45 spray to affix a piece of fresh 400 grit paper:
So how does it feel? Fine. It's basically equivalent in the hand to the Great Planes, with the only big surprise being the large size. My big complaint is only including a single sheet of 120 grit. That's not a useful inclusion for LPR builders, which are the bulk of Estes' customers (I think). Come on, throw in a 220 and/or a 400 grit sheet.
But overall, thumbs up.
Here's the box:
The bar comes in a plastic bag, along with a single piece of adhesive 120 grit paper.
I was surprised by how big this thing is, relative to my little Great Planes sander:
In addition to a larger footprint, the plane of the bar is quite heavy. Note also that although it is similar it is a completely new extrusion, so it's not like Estes just bought the tooling from Great Planes. This is all new.
I had no interest whatsoever in a 120 grit sander for my LPR work, so I used some 3M 45 spray to affix a piece of fresh 400 grit paper:
So how does it feel? Fine. It's basically equivalent in the hand to the Great Planes, with the only big surprise being the large size. My big complaint is only including a single sheet of 120 grit. That's not a useful inclusion for LPR builders, which are the bulk of Estes' customers (I think). Come on, throw in a 220 and/or a 400 grit sheet.
But overall, thumbs up.