Here’s a cheap way to make a useful mini-sander, ideal for smoothing edges of plastic models that are too delicate or small for typical off-the-shelf sanders.
It comes via N scale modeller Espee in N Scale (link the Facebook page). As pointed out Marshal’s Facebook post, this wasn’t his idea. If it was you or you know who had the idea originally, please let me know and I’ll be happy to update this with a credit.
All that’s required is an older circular motion electric toothbrush.
Simply cut off the bristles that make up the toothbrush and glue on a disc of fine sandpaper.
That’s it.
You can now smooth down rough edges on plastic models with precision and control. It’ll also work with other materials, clay, resin and card too. With a little work and a change of material, this could also double up as a loco wheel cleaner.
If you have some velcro, an upgrade to this tip is to first glue a velcro pad to the oscillating surface and then fix velcro to the paper side of the sandpaper so you can easily swap out the sandpaper head when it’s worn out. It’s a quick and easy alternative to a desktop sander.
