Thanks GreyAngel for the advise to try out sanding stuff on my little Makita. :)
It was a long time coming, the original stuff was defective tried going through the manufacturer etc. Waste of friggin time. :/
Once I got it going tho the Norton sanding disk setup is a charm. :) (actually made by some French-Canadian outfit)
Just finished a "butcher knife" type hickory handle and basically shaped everything but the sides where the pins are with the high speed sander. :)
I opted for, right away, to buy some replacement sanding disks since they were cheap and it only came with two 50 grit. Bought two more each- 36 and 24 grit disks and so far have only tried the 24 grit one.
Bill H., you gotta get one of these. ;)
A good vise is still the number one tool but the little makita with the different attachments is getting way up there. ;)
Wood handle details...
The sides could be power sanded/ground too but it's mostly just the lowering of the peened pins flush with the wood...I use the largest double-cut file, clamped horizontal in the vise for that job, no sweat.
Witht he new sander attachment, I profiled the handle to match the metal and knocked off the upper and lower handle corners so it was ready for the "shoe shine" sandpaper treatment to round the upper and lower edges of the handle. Also used it to put the 45 degree bevels in the front "end" of each handle slab. That all worked out great... was quick and easy and very easy to control with no goof ups to fix. :)
The "end grain" pieces of wood that hang over the butt end of the knife is the hardest part of filing down a hard wood handle. Too fast and aggressive and the wood chips. The grinder burns it so easy, you have to be so careful, that it's a waste of time. The coarse sanding disk cut the stuff off like "it meant business" and the burning/scorching problem was slight and/or easy to avoid.
The 45 degree angles on the front ends of the handle slabs is a type of "end grain work" too... worked like a charm for that too. :)
Next need to try "sanding" some micarta just for the heck of it. ;)
Alvin in AZ