As promised in the Claypen chat today here's a pic and a little info on how I (finally) made my sanding tool:

Ever since I saw the *Scumbuster* mentioned as a great sanding tool, I've had this idea on how to use an electric toothbrush instead, since Scumbusters isn't an item sold in Denmark (as far as I know).
I recently came across a battery powered toothbrush that might do the trick (and was cheap, too), bought that and two 2-packs extra brushes.

I wrote a grit number on each of the five brushes with a permanent marker and with a leather punch 1/2" circle I punched out little dots of the sandpaper in five different grits and glued them on the bristles of the five brushes using a hot glue gun.
Note: Put glue on the bristles and then the dot of sandpaper on top to make sure it gets a good grip - the little glue you can put on the dot of sandpaper will not be enough to keep it adhered when you start sanding.

....and it works like a charm - wet or dry! It's great for small items like beads/jewelry and I think also for hard to get to places on sculpts, but might be a little tedious for larger things, but then again it might not. At least it saves your shoulder and wrist a lot of work. (not to mention your fingertips and nails)
When the sandpaper is worn down just rip it off and replace it. I keep my lil' dots in zip lock baggies, as you can see.

That's a great idea, Eva! I think I have to copy that!
;o))))
Thanks a lot!
Kerstin

Eva, you are just the coolest!! With that kind of set up, I might even try sanding some stuff for real. Thank you so much for sharing!
:)Celeste

I think I'm going to steal the battery powered toothbrush my hubby brought home that he didn't like.......hee, hee. That is such a cool idea...especially if you just have a few beads to sand and don't want to mess with the tumbler. Thanks so much

Thanks Barbara

When I first saw the scumbuster idea, I had these visions of having to change the sandpaper every few minutes and thought about the amount of glue and work to go with it - or having to purchase several scumbusters.....
Also the size of the thing bothered me since I'm mostly doing small stuff.

As to how long the power lasts - I can't tell you, since I've only just started this week and really haven't had that much to sand yet. But my toothbrush (sorry, my sanding device) takes two normal size AA (rechargable or Alkaline) batteries.

I submerge the heads into water all the time - I've even sanded under water and the glue holds up fine, provided you fill the bristles with glue like I explained. When you need to change sandpaper the old dot is easiest to remove while wet.

Good luck on finding one for yourself - and remember to check prices on extra heads before purchasing the toothbrush. The price on them things might surprise you!!!!