# Anyone use a straight line sander?



## allpurpose (Mar 24, 2016)

I had several back when I did auto body work and considering getting another when the compressor craps out and I upgrade, but anyone use them for woodworking? I'm considering a Hutchins, but they're kind of pricey. I do plan on a Hutchins DA soon as I get a bigger compressor..


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I can't see how an inline slander would be beneficial for woodworking. You don't try to eliminate slight indentations in a wood surface like you would on a car body.


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## DrRobert (Apr 27, 2015)

I don't see the use, either. But yes, I have seen them used for large table tops.

I don't know anything about them, but they seem like they would be air hogs.


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## JohnGi (May 9, 2019)

Reciprocating sanders for woodworking are different than the board sanders used in auto body shops. The most prominent use was pneumatic dual pad sanders. These reciprocated with opposed motion and were used to rub out lacquer finishes to a mirror gloss on flat surfaces, mimicking the long, slow strokes of hand rubbing. Sometimes, 2 grits were used on the pads so a single pass could use a coarser and finer abrasive. Single pad sanders were useful for sanding mouldings with a shaped shoe where there wasn't the volume to justify a hand block stroke sander with shaped blocks.. National Detroit and Sunstrand were common brands. Yes, these are air hogs. They were mostly used in factories with large compressors where durability rather than energy economy was paramount. I've seen electric version on ebay occasionally.


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## m.n.j.chell (May 12, 2016)

I am not sure what an "inline sander" is ... but I'm looking to buy a belt sander at the moment. I work with pallet and other reclaimed wood, and sanding inline with the grain make all kinds of sense to me. I rarely use my orbital sander, since it leaves little circle scratches that are a bitch to hand sand out. 
I'm thinking belt sander marks will be easier to smooth out, and if a few deeper scratches are missed, they'll just blend in with the grain.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

mikechell said:


> I am not sure what an "inline sander" is ... but I'm looking to buy a belt sander at the moment. I work with pallet and other reclaimed wood, and sanding inline with the grain make all kinds of sense to me. I rarely use my orbital sander, since it leaves little circle scratches that are a bitch to hand sand out.
> I'm thinking belt sander marks will be easier to smooth out, and if a few deeper scratches are missed, they'll just blend in with the grain.


An inline sander is an air operated sander that the base of it is 2-3 inches wide and about 16" long and the base with the paper just goes back and forth in a straight line. Because of the narrow base it can be difficult to keep flat on the surface. It's an autobody tool where supposedly you can fill a dent with body putty and it will quit sanding the putty when level because of the long length. In actuality you can over sand a spot with the inline sander because the base has a soft pad which will bend. It's use is better suited for a badly mangled body part that has multiple dents and a lot of filler on it using the sander to make it more straight. On a large area it's difficult to make a body panel straight with a disc or orbital sander. You just can't see the imperfections when they get minor.

A belt sander can be a great asset when working wood however it can be your best friend or worst enemy. The more experience you have with it the better but the least little tip with the sander to one corner of the sander will make a dent in the wood so shallow you can't see it until you start putting the finish on. I always thoroughly sand with an orbital sander after using a hand held belt sander. Scratches made by an orbital are usually a result of sanding with too coarse paper and not finishing the job with a finer paper. If you use like 60 grit paper you should then sand it again with 100 grit paper and again with 180 grit paper to remove the swirls made by the sander.


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## shoot summ (Feb 21, 2014)

I have one, I don't use it on wood.


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## Kudzu (Dec 23, 2008)

Agreed. I need to sell my belt sander. I just can not find and need/use for it. All it does is help me screw up MUCH FASTER!

YMMV or course.


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## allpurpose (Mar 24, 2016)

I dunno..for quick removal of stock it seems like it would do ok..I've seen guys screw up bondo really badly with them, but I had a Mac mini and used that sucker for a long time with no problems. Same thing with ROS..If you don't have a feel for one you're gonna screw up. I still use a hand file board that I made a few years back for sanding and still use it on wide, flat surfaces. If I'm not mistaken you can get much wider shoes for them although I don't remember where to get them.. They are air hogs, but no worse than a die grinder. I could run the Mac on around 4-5 cfms ..


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## allpurpose (Mar 24, 2016)

Steve Neul said:


> An inline sander is an air operated sander that the base of it is 2-3 inches wide and about 16" long and the base with the paper just goes back and forth in a straight line. Because of the narrow base it can be difficult to keep flat on the surface. It's an autobody tool where supposedly you can fill a dent with body putty and it will quit sanding the putty when level because of the long length. In actuality you can over sand a spot with the inline sander because the base has a soft pad which will bend. It's use is better suited for a badly mangled body part that has multiple dents and a lot of filler on it using the sander to make it more straight. On a large area it's difficult to make a body panel straight with a disc or orbital sander. You just can't see the imperfections when they get minor.
> 
> A belt sander can be a great asset when working wood however it can be your best friend or worst enemy. The more experience you have with it the better but the least little tip with the sander to one corner of the sander will make a dent in the wood so shallow you can't see it until you start putting the finish on. I always thoroughly sand with an orbital sander after using a hand held belt sander. Scratches made by an orbital are usually a result of sanding with too coarse paper and not finishing the job with a finer paper. If you use like 60 grit paper you should then sand it again with 100 grit paper and again with 180 grit paper to remove the swirls made by the sander.


I used my Mac mini to sand down large open areas of filler such as a door panel or a hood.. Hell of a good little sander I wish like hell I didn't take to the pawn shop and forget about 25 years ago..


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

allpurpose said:


> I used my Mac mini to sand down large open areas of filler such as a door panel or a hood.. Hell of a good little sander I wish like hell I didn't take to the pawn shop and forget about 25 years ago..


I don't paint a car often enough to keep one. Seems like every time I go to paint a car the seals on the sander are bad and won't work so I have to buy a new one. The last time I just used my orbital sander.


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## allpurpose (Mar 24, 2016)

I gave up large scale car painting back when I was getting poisoned. I still shoot latex quite a bit, but I'm not absorbing all the water through my skin, eyes, ears, etc. I don't know what painting has to do with sanding wood though.. By chance have an old Ford Woody?
Actually I could still easily paint cars if I had the space and felt like dedusting the shop.. lol
I had a big 10" da back then too..That thing would take bondo down really fast and I primarily used the smaller ones for finish work before the final board sand, wet sand, etc. It took me a few years, but I did learn to put down bondo and paint with the best.. Old guy in the shop taught me show car techniques.. He was really good at it.
I got really tired of eating bondo for lunch every day..


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