inline sanders... are they an invaluable tool?

[slipchuck]

hi again

I was looking at the possible purchase of a long dual piston inline air sander and was wondering how good of a job they do as far as getting a surface flat, and do they save a lot of time to justify there price (considering a low budget like mine)

do they make some that run at 4 cfm?

so they have the same "action" as a regular 1/2 sheet sander?

thanks

randy

[Len]

I use one when I have a large job. They are good for roughing in the filler but you still need to finish the job with a hand board.

[ZRX61]

I swapped out the base of mine for one that takes the sticky paper from a roll

[Shreck]

If you have a Princess Auto near by you can pick them up pretty cheap. I think I paid about $60.00 including 3 packs of refills

[bondobaby]

To the last guy..Princess Auto rules doesn't it..although the Powerfist brand inline doesn't have a very long life(cheap price though) and the cfm consumption is very high.I work in a body shop and I use my Hutchins inline almost every day but big $$$ to buy if u don't need it much.To a part timer a normal long board works just fine and easier to control the pressure you apply to the panel while sanding

[CoolasIce]

I use my Hutchins inline almost every day

I've never used the Hutchins Hustler 2000. I use the other type of cheapie sander. The Hutchins looks like some serious heavy duty machinery!

[Shreck]

To the last guy..Princess Auto rules doesn't it..although the Powerfist brand inline doesn't have a very long life(cheap price though) and the cfm consumption is very high.I work in a body shop and I use my Hutchins inline almost every day but big $$$ to buy if u don't need it much.To a part timer a normal long board works just fine and easier to control the pressure you apply to the panel while sanding

I totally agree with you, It would not be my first choice. It gulps the air thats for sure. But like you say the price is right. If I was doing a lot of serious sanding I would be looking for a quality sander. For me I already had the block and want to see if the air tool was worth the extra expence.

BTW they are great for stripping paint off doors too. (Wooden)

[Henry]

hi again

I was looking at the possible purchase of a long dual piston inline air sander and was wondering how good of a job they do as far as getting a surface flat, and do they save a lot of time to justify there price (considering a low budget like mine)

do they make some that run at 4 cfm?

so they have the same "action" as a regular 1/2 sheet sander?

thanks

randy

is an older name in air boards but they work very well and seem to not be too air hungry. I have about three of them and love them.

[dobb]

I don't find any advantage in using an inline airboard . They are extremely noisey and because they require so much air pressure the exhaust spreads dust through the entire shop . Why do so many body tech's use these invasive , hi impacked machines ? There are so many much better ways to get the same results . Thanks Keith .

[Len]

I don't find any advantage in using an inline airboard . They are extremely noisey and because they require so much air pressure the exhaust spreads dust through the entire shop . Why do so many body tech's use these invasive , hi impacked machines ? There are so many much better ways to get the same results . Thanks Keith .

Many professionals will do filler work all day every day and having a machine to help with the physical labor can make a big difference in labor time and effort. Personally I prefer the National Detroit ND900 but the straight line sander will still take a lot of the work out of leveling filler.

ND900 Link

[baubau]

i do own Rodac inline orbital sander and i use it on bigger jobs...its a good machine, it is kind of heavy, air consumption is not too high and it is kind of quiet.....it is a good buy and it lasts a long time..

Mud Hog, 8 inch orbital sander is maybe better way to go...

still, i am quicker for 80% of jobs with only cheese grater, some long flat sanding board and some stick on 40 grit paper and 6 inch DA sander with 3/8 throw for quick leveling than with any long, heavy sanding machine....

[tech69]

I find straightlines to be incredibly valuable. It saves a lot of time. You just need the shoe that allows stick on paper. Doing clip on will save you money on paper but it will slide around and not cut and break so you'll end up paying the same for paper and be frustrated cause it's not cutting, taking longer, and new paper is breaking. Phil had a good suggestion. One for 40 and one for 80. That works well especially with norton long board paper. It lasts forever and you'd hate to peel off a good sheet of 40 just to throw it away to put on 80. I love my inline and if you know how to do bodywork good learning how to use it will come really easy for you. So in terms of getting it flat it does that perfectly. Some people would say it's cheating or the work won't come out as good but that's nonsense cause my hand is the final say and I always block by hand at a certain point. Saves time, money, and sore shoulders.

My tool of choice is the viking100. It runs on low air consumption but does run a tad more rougher than the IR my friend has, but mine is still not broken in and I tend to go to lots of places that already have them so I keep mine new.