Drone sander makes quick work of toughest projects
WhirlWhizz Sander-Package- WunderWoods.jpg

For all of you out there that hate sanding, there is a new fun-to-use tool that takes almost all the work out of it, and may even make it fun. The new "Whirl-Whizz" sander combines the sanding power of four orbital sanders with the joy of playing with your favorite Christmas present to make short work of even the most difficult sanding.

"We always had trouble finding anyone that wanted to sand the bottom of our slab tables and other hard to reach surfaces, like wood beams and ceilings," says Scott Wunder from WunderWoods Custom Hardwoods.  "That was until we started using the 'Whirl-Whizz.' Now everyone in the shop wants to sand. Our only problem now is making sure that we have enough sandpaper on hand".

The "Whirl-Whizz" sander looks like a standard hobby drone with just a few modifications, but don't be fooled, this thing is a real workhorse. The four thin plastic spinning rotors provide the perfect balance between power and finesse by pulling the sander strongly to the surface, but deflecting and riding any slight contour changes throughout the process. The end result is a super smooth, consistently sanded surface that requires no hand sanding – that's right, no more hand sanding.

Sanding the underside of a table

"This thing works so good that the guys started using it in places that it was never meant to go," Wunder says. "After they figured out how to get it to spots other than the underside of horizontal surfaces, they found it worked better than any sander they had ever used. Before long they were sanding every surface with it, top, bottom, vertical, horizontal – it didn't matter. If they could get the "Whirl-wiz " to run into it, then they could sand it."

As a busy business owner with lots of sanding to get done, Wunder has ordered ten more units to make sure that he always has a sander at the ready. The current average life span of the Whirl-Whizz sander, including rotor wear and incidental contact with unintended targets is about 15 minutes, but Wunder expects those numbers to go up as everyone at WunderWoods gets better at operating this new generation of sander.

Prototype Whirl-Whizz had trouble staying put on workpiece.

"Every new tool takes a while to master, and this is no different," Wunder said defending his team. "A new battery will sand for approximately six minutes. As those batteries get older and have to spend more time on the charger, the life-span of each of our units will increase as it is used less. It really is just a matter of time."

Another benefit to shop owners besides the flawless results is that every Whirl-whizz sander features an on board camera, which can be used for up-close inspection of a surface. By simply pushing a button for a still picture or holding the button for a video, it is now ultra easy to see what is really going on close-up.

Many shop managers use the camera system remotely on their phone to make sure employees are performing as expected, even when they are away. At WunderWoods, "We are having so much fun with the Whirl-Whizz that I didn't even know it had a camera," Wunder says. 
 

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About the author
Scott Wunder

From felling the trees through installation of the final piece Scott Wunder, owner of WunderWoods in St. Charles, MO, shares his woodworking knowledge with anyone that will talk to him about wood. Whether you want to learn about milling lumber or need help on a project, get your fill of woodworking infotainment at WunderWoods.com. Scott writes about all aspects of woodworking and specializes in finishing (mostly because no one else likes to sand).