Stu's Shed

In the same YouTube chronicle episode that I showed the Spider Sander, the Blowfly Sander also made an appearance, and again in Episode 010 which was dedicated to the Blowfly. The Blowfly also comes from T & T Design. It is in essence a flap sander that can use a variety of materials. It fits your drill, or drill press.

The Blowfly

The Blowfly uses the same concept as the Spider in that it utilises inexpensive versions of abrasives – in this case cloth-backed emery paper.  You can substitute a wide range of materials. simply by punching a couple of small holes.  The unit comes with a number of sheets of emery paper, including some (as seen here) that have been cut so it forms fingers for getting into details.

As the material wears, new sandpaper is exposed, and you can also turn the entire piece over to use the back half – getting the most out of your abrasive. As you can see in the piece of abrasive to the side, it only needs a couple of small holes punched to fit it to the Blowfly.

You could use a scourer for more of a polishing result, or let your imagination guide you.  Perhaps some robust cloth dipped in Brasso for polishing brass? Slip a number of abrasive sleeves on each spline?

The Blowfly Core

As you can see in the base, each spline clicks in, making removing and replacing abrasives easy.  The unit (including some emery (both slotted and plain) to get you started) costs $A25.

Filed under: Manufactures and Suppliers, Tools Tagged: | Abrasive, Blowfly, Emery, Flap Sander, Sander, Spider, T & T Design