Black & Decker KA165GTK Gel Tech Mouse Sander with Accessories

This is the best of the lot.

It came in a case, always a good thing, with a selection of sanding pads/paper.

The papers are held very firmly in place by velcro, which is very effective.

The range of sandpapers is excellent, and inlclude pads that resemble wire wool for fine sanding.

There is dust extraction, though I find the sander harder to udse with this. The best feature of all however are the gel pads, which greatly reduce, but do not eliminate vibrations.

Excellent.


Mighty mouse?   February 6, 2008
Ms. Teresa L. Earl (Essex, UK)
2 out of 2 found this review helpful

Okay - so this is the first sander I've ever owned, and when I purchased it at the end of July 2007, used it a lot! Unfortunately, the dust extractor just blows the dust further away, and although I tried to attach a vacuum hose to it (my vacuum's one of the first DC01 Dysons), the hose didn't fit, which was a shame because that would have allowed me to sand mobile items indoors.
I haven't got particularly small hands, but found that I had a struggle to grip this sander and had to use both hands.
However, it does a really good job, and is very powerful for such a small item.
Having sanded most things in sight during August, I managed to get RSI with overuse, so put the sander away for four months. When I went to use it again in early February 2008, it began to make very odd noises and sounded as if a part of it was loose.
Good news - it was still within its' guarantee period, and after contacting B&D, was given a fairly local authorised repairer - after being asked if I'd thrown it to the ground on purpose to break it !!
Whatever the problem with this sander was, it couldn't be repaired. Happily for me, it was replaced free of charge.
I'm pretty impressed with it, although a major gripe is the price of the replacement sand sheets - in excess of 1.00 per small sheet - and I sometimes have problems finding somewhere local to purchase them.
Happy sanding!


Perfect   November 4, 2008
E. J. Ratliff (London)
The mouse sander makes light work of my big ideas. It comes with accessories are for every conceivable grove and crevice, I might even tackle my banisters now.

If you're doing big flat areas, you probably need a bigger sander, but this is perfect for renovating old furniture and fiddly jobs.


Good kit. Handy and simple to use.   November 9, 2008
A. Butterfield (UK)
0 out of 1 found this review helpful

This is great if you want to sand things that are a bit of an awkward shape, or are quite small. But it will also cover larger areas quite well (I used it to sand a wall before wallpapering). It's really meant for smaller jobs though.
The sandpaper attaches using velcro so takes only a second. It stays put nicely.
The main pads have four pointed 'tips' each, because the tip wears out fastest. You have to tear the spare ones off before you use the sandpaper.
There are quite a few attachments for more intricate work. These have different profiles, I guess for things like skirting boards. There are 2 mini sanding pads for the tiny attachments.
In the kit you get 4 buffing pads (like sponges), 7 sanding pads, 6 specially shaped attachments with velcro. So there's plenty to get you started. Those tips soon wear out though.
It all comes in a sturdy case to keep things tidy. The case has a smaller flap that opens so you can pop spare pads into a smaller compartment without opening the whole case up.
The shape of the mouse is well designed so you can grip it firmly when you're sanding. The gel pads do feel comfortable, and they're supposed to reduce the effects of vibration. Perhaps they do, but my hands tingled after using it for twenty minutes.
It does inevitably produce a lot of dust, so you might find the vacuum cleaner attachment useful, though I couldn't be bothered - it makes the mouse less small and neat, which was the whole point of getting it.
All in all, a good value kit and a good, versatile product that doesn't need any setting up and does a good job.