Hey guys, I've been making some ILF risers with wood and phenolic. The first one I did with all hand tools and it was a labor of love, with a lot of emphasis on labor. I was gifted a small table saw so I can start cutting limb pads and shelfs with that, but I also want to try to make or find a sander to shape the grip area with, because that is what took the most time. Any ideas on what would be the best for fairly cheap?

A spindle sander.
If you have a drill press, you can put a sanding spindle on it.
Or a belt/spindle sander combo.

2 in. sleeve on a spindle sander or a belt sander with 2 in. roller.

Belt Sander clamped on it's side...  I think Porter Cable or Ridgid has one with about a 1 1/8" roller... I was just looking at them... That is perfect size for my bows...  I have a medium grip...  If you go with a shallow or low grip a 1 1/2" - 2" roller should work for you...  I have a B&D Dragster with about a 3/4" roller...  It is good for really tight spots but it is hard to make a nice consistent curve because it is too small....

Spindle sander.  A good, serviceable sander with drums from 3/4" to 3" can be had for $150 bucks.  It's a small investment which will save you a lot of time.  It's one of the more useful and versatile tools I've ever purchased.  In fact, when I was first getting started, I made a jig to grind lams and tapers with the spindle sander.

I've used a rotary rasp on a drill. Most of the time a belt sander gets me close and hand rasps finish the job. A drum sander in a drill smooths it out

Quote from: BrushWolf on November 06, 2018, 03:21:25 PM
I've used a rotary rasp on a drill. Most of the time a belt sander gets me close and hand rasps finish the job. A drum sander in a drill smooths it out

Very similar to what I use. But I recently switched to using an air powered die
grinder instead of drill.