In article , Glenn Ashmore
wrote:

NEW TOOL ALERT! What the heck is a Flex tubing sander??? I'm
salivating already!!! :-)


http://www.flex-tools.de/en/prod/right.php?group=17

Mine is the one on the left.
I have never seen the one of the right until now, looks cool.

It paid for itself in one $12,000 railing.

It uses 1.5" x 24" belts.
I usually buy ceramic or zirconium 3" x 24" belts and split them.

The belt wraps around the tube as you apply pressure.
It makes it extremely easy to erase butt welds on tubing, and blend the
marks in with the brushed finish on the tube.

I like to demo it to my students using a 36 grit zirconium belt on 3"
black iron pipe.
In one pass it polishes 1/3 of the circumference of the tube to a
uniform brushed finish.

The only other tool anything like it is an air version made by
Dynabrade for at least twice the moeny.



Ernie Leimkuhler wrote:
In article , Glenn Ashmore
wrote:


WOW! I am going to go back and do some more polishing. :-)

How did you join those long sweeps of railing and satisfy an SOB client?


The longest sweep required a 20' 6" piece of tube, and the 180 grit
finish brushed tube only comes in 20' lengths.

So I had to butt weld it on, sand the crap out of it, and then bend it
to shape.

I use pre-brushed tube for hand rails.
It makes life so much easier.

Now I have a Flex tubing sander that wraps around the tube as it sands
the weld away.

I paid $720 for mine.
Porter Cable repair has refurbished ones for $358.