Sanding Table Tops and other Tips

Sanding is one of my least favorite activities and while doing it my mind is usually thinking of how to do it a better way. One of the things I would do to help alleviate the muscle strain from pushing down on the sander is setting a five pound bag of shot I have left over from my shot-shell reloading days on top of the sander.This would help but was not near enough so I finally broke down and went to Academy and bought a 25# bag of #7 1/2 lead shot (Yes over $50). I split the bag into a 15# bag and a 10# bag. I usually use the 15# bag. I made a small wooden box that was bolted to the hand grip holes and sat atop the sander and held the bag of shot but it was too top heavy and the sander would bounce a lot. I now bungy strap the bag to the sander for long sands--otherwise I just balance it on top.

The "Rotisserie" shown in the video below is a lifesaver. It is shown holding tops in several of the pictures in the Custom Woodworking tab but the video shows how it works.