I've been making jewelry a long time. Having learned with basic hand tools, I was happy enough to use them until I started doing shows and selling in galleries and needed to produce a lot of pieces in a minimal amount of time. That’s when I began investing in power tools that could do the job in a fraction of the time I had spent hand finishing everything. My flexshaft with quick-change handpiece is an essential piece of equipment because it can perform a multitude of tasks. I’ve found that my buffing wheel is indispensable for shining polymer clay and Faux Bone™. From the time I first laid eyes on the Kate Wolf sanding belt, I knew I had to have one - it is a huge time saver! I’d been using a Delta electric sander for years. It performed well, but was really more than I needed for working with small-scale items. It was also extremely noisy and took up a lot of space. In contrast, the Wolf mini-sander perches on the side rail of my workbench and operates by attaching to my flex shaft foot pedal, which gives it variable speeds. I use it for grinding numerous items such as the uneven backs of resin cabochons. The only downside is that it creates a lot of dust and debris, which in perfect circumstances could be contained if it were placed in an enclosed container with a vacuum hose attached. But the workbench is where my flexshaft is, so I just wear a dust mask, do as many pieces at a time as is feasible, and vacuum the bench and work area afterwards. It’s a small price to pay for the time and effort the mini-sander saves me.
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