Does anyone model trains or ships or for some other reason get the
Micro-Mark or Model Expo catalogs? In there is a Proxxon mini belt
sander not a whole lot bigger than a cordless screwdriver. It takes a
half-inch-wide belt (well, 0.4") and the head is adjustable to different
angles. Has anybody used this for filing hammers? It looks like the
coarsest grit for replacement belts is #100, which is a bit fine for
hammers that have 1/4"-deep string grooves. But if it reaches under the
hammers on vertical actions without running into the dampers too badly,
it just might be ideal.
(I've never been able to control a sanding drum on a Dremel
precisely enough to do a nice job -- it's too easy to take a big divot
out of the hammer, the rpm's are too high, you can't get the bottom side
of the hammers on vertical actions without removing all the damper
levers, and it's extremely hard to take off just one layer of felt.)
This Proxxon unit I saw in the Model Expo catalog, but there might
have been a similar one in a Micro-Mark catalog, which I can't find at
the moment.
As an aside, although these catalogs are mainly for modelers of
ships, trains, miniatures, etc., there are quite a few items useful in
piano work, like tweezers, parts grabbers, screw holders, sets of small
reamers, mini power tools, pin vises, micro drills, and so forth.
--David Nereson, RPT
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