Well! Not My Week Is It?

[gness]

Happily sanding the stairs with my little mouse....short bursts so it doesn't work too hard and what thanks do I get??? None!
Leaned over to feel the wood for smoothness and the Mouse blew up! Big blue flash, wisps of black smoke and the stinkiest smell.
Sandpaper is so slow.......getting a man in is beginning to look attractive. :-(

[EDDIE51]

Sanding wood with a mouse? You need a proper orbital sander, you may be able to hire one.

[gness]

I have a huge sander in the shed Eddie but this is fiddly stairs and banisters so the Mouse gets..or got into the nooks and crannies nicely.

[EDDIE51]

Jewson have them
http://www.jewson.co.uk/tool-hire/power-tools/sanders/products/5750/c2bd-sheet-orbital-finishing-sander/

[Smowball]

I bet the mouse isnt happy ; )

[SlackAlice]

You just made me laugh. Something similar happened to me a couple of years ago.
It made me jump and in a panic, I threw the mouse down the garden. It went about 20yds trailing cable all the way. Not made by B&D was it?

[gness]

I threw this one a long way Slack...thought my hair had gone up. Yes B&D. Yours too?
Miserable Mouse now Smow. Will replace him though because it's handy for little jobs and vacuums up the dust at the same time.
Do you do DIY Desky?

[EDDIE51]

Found a description of the Black and Decker 'mouse' sander it is only 55 watts power so not powerful enough for stairs it is classed as a 'detail' sander for stuff like chair backs , furniture & toys . You need something with at least 250/ 500 watts . I'm not surprised it blew up .

[mrs_overall]

....waves at Gness while standing well back to avoid injury.....

[SlackAlice]

Yes, B&D as well. I was using it for some fine detail work.
Replaced it with a Bosch and no further panic throwing!!!

[gness]

Eddie....I have a range of sanders.....this one I've had for years.....Lord must be about ten....well used for fiddly, light and quick sanding jobs.
I use different sanders for different jobs. This one I was using in short bursts so the point went between the spindles on the landing.....not unlike chair backs.
So.....I am surprised it blew up...... it was hardly sanding the gangplank to the QE2 with it. :-)

[gness]

Waves at MrsO....with sheets of dusty sandpaper in hand.
I will look at Bosch then Slack....although this has served me well over the years.

[Alston]

gness...Was your mouse, radio controlled, or was it plugged into a USB socket?. Incidentally, I do have a mini vacuum cleaner which plugs into my computer, as well as a cabled mouse.

Oops, I think I could be posting in the wrong section.☺☺

Al.

[gness]

Alston.....plugged into mains but the idea of a radio controlled Mouse appeals. I could pretend it was a present for a grandchild and get one of them doing the sanding......mmmmmmm x

[Alston]

Hi again gness.....Apologies for my little bit of supposed humour. I am now being serious.

Are you proposing to repaint the spindles and rails, or is it to be a staining and polishing job. If you are repainting, I would suggest that you avoid oil based gloss paint which will highlight any minor imperfections in the woodwork. Personally, I have a preference for water based satin finish paints, which do give a softer look and fit in with both modern and oldy worldy surroundings.

Al.

[gness]

Alston...don't ever apologise for humour....I love a funny reply. :-)

Will paint all the new wood, when treated, with satinwood paint. The sanding down today has been on the older wood that I didn't demolish with the sledge hammer.....that will be satinwood too. x

[joeluke]

'Leaned over to feel the wood'

I love a bit of that on the stairs too ;-)

[parkie]

Gness. My older daughter went to Austria skiing with the school when she was 15 and broke her leg 'where it is impossible to break her leg' and had to be airlifted off the mountain. On her honeymoon some years later she tried riding a motor bike, crashed it in a car park and spent 10 days in a Greek hospital. When I saw her today she had a burn mark on her forehead caused by her curling tongs being too hot.
Does this pattern sound familiar to you?

[Sparkles62]

I would get a man in if I were you gness......and it might be a good idea to get someone to do your stairs aswell ;-)

[gness]

Joeluke....there is something about stairs isn't there?

D'you know Parkie...I have had a really weird evening.....I came home and thought...there are some people who go through life and nothing happens... ever.
Then there are those who get out of bed in the morning and some little devil says...Aha...here's one we can have fun with and all hell breaks loose. Me and your daughter are at the front of the queue. x