Craft Tools Directional Table Top Sanding Vice

Directional table top sanding vice, Craft Tools range

A modeling device for sanding on the bench, not a kit and not a consumable. The essence of such a jig is that sanding stops being the work of two hands correcting each other and becomes work against a fixed reference. Both tool and part have a defined position, so the angle and the plane do not change with how tired your wrist gets after twenty minutes.

Use

• Sanding small parts that are hard to hold in the fingers and easily fly away.
• Work where a constant angle has to be held along the whole surface.
• Repeated working of several parts with the same result, for example a set of wheels or beams.
• Sanding where you need both hands free to guide the part.

What to watch out for on first use

The jig does not lower the risk of taking off more material than you meant to. On the contrary, because the work goes more surely and faster, material comes away before you notice. So proceed in short steps and keep trying the part dry against its counterpart. The second thing is the stability of the base: the jig has to stand firm, otherwise the advantage of a fixed reference is lost. And the third is dust, which builds up in one place more than when sanding by hand, so it pays to have a brush and extraction, or at least good ventilation, at hand.

Who it is for

For modelers who build a great deal and for whom the accuracy of the work, not comfort, is the limit. It is a piece of workshop equipment, not a small hand tool. Anyone who builds several models a year will get by with sanding boards and shaped blocks. Anyone who sands daily or prepares parts in larger batches will save both time and spoiled parts.

Keep the jig out of the reach of children. Fine dust arises while sanding, so work in a ventilated space and consider protection for your airways and eyes.