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At my previous house one former owner had seen fit to artex every ceiling in every room in a different pattern. No doubt it was fashionable at the time, but the swirls, in particular, nearly drove me potty. I longed for a simple method to get rid of them, and I even tried a random orbit sander once, but that proved to be very difficult.
I would have had a much easier task then if I had known about the Flex Giraffe, more prosaically known as the WST 700 VV, a newly-arrived piece of kit from Germany.
The Giraffe is a trade rated wall and floor sander. It can be used indoors and out for sanding walls, ceilings and floors or for removing paint and wallpaper remnants. It comes as standard with two sanding heads:- a round orbital sanding head or a triangular head to reach into corners and tight spots.
It is easy to see where it got its name as it is long-necked and flexible and comes in a bright red custom case that seems as if it could possibly house a small giraffe.
The tool itself is hard to describe but if you can imagine an aluminium tube with a handle on one end, a large circular sanding disc on the other and a flexible dust extraction pipe slung underneath you will get the general idea.
With typical German thoroughness the designers of the Giraffe have built in a number of features that make it a flexible and very user-friendly machine. After using it for a while I really became aware of how the designers have made it as easy as possible to handle and how it could be used for a number of large sanding tasks.
I guess many readers may not be aware of how difficult it is to hold up and handle any kind of machine at above head height. The weight of the machine and the difficulty we have in using finely controlled movements soon becomes very obvious. While the Giraffe may look at first like an ungainly creature, after a little bit of use you become aware that many handling and holding options have been made possible by its design. There is a big and obvious handle at the base near the motor and another black T-handle on the dust extraction end, but there are actually so many comfortable ways of gripping the Giraffe that all sizes and shapes of users can be accommodated.
The black T-handle can be adjusted for length by releasing a friction catch near the front handle. This adjustment is enough to take account of differing ceiling heights and user needs too. For example, I found it easy to adjust the T-handle to rest on my upper thigh when overhead sanding. This method was the easiest way for me to hold the weight of the machine and control its movement over the sanding area with both hands.
The dust protected on/off switch is on the motor housing where it will be in easy reach of one of the user’s hands at all times. The motor seems to be as slim as it can possibly be considering its 710w input.
At the “business” end the sanding disc is mounted on a very flexible gimbal system that allows the head to adjust in a number of different directions and remain flat on the sanding surface. Keeping the sanding head flat on the sanded surface is, as I discovered, the key to a good finish. If you don’t keep the sanding head flat you can end up with a lot of spiral or round markings or even sand right through the surface you want to finish.
Keeping the head flat is made easier by a stiff-bristled ring of brush. Once you have mastered the technique of keeping these bristles flat against the sanded surface a good finish is not far away. The circular brush also serves the purpose of collecting the inevitable cloud of fine sanding dust and directing it into the vacuum port. The vacuum tube runs the length of the machine and is connected to an industrial vac via a generous run of flexible tube. With a standard 32mm fitting this should fit most industrial vacs on the market. The machine end of the tube also has a nice little bayonet click-fitting that ensures it won’t come out in use. Many push-fit vacuum fittings do tend to fall out when in use.
Fitting and removing the sanding heads has been made as easy as possible. To fit the head, simply line up the square drive shaft with the middle of the disc and then push the disc onto the receiving lugs. You remove the disc by pushing two red button levers on the back of the head near the extraction pipe and they will spring the head loose.
The actual sanding head is 210mm in diameter with ten dust extraction holes through it. Mounting and removing the sanding disc is made easy by the hook and loop attachments.
Using the triangular sanding head was more difficult than the round head. This is because the triangular head does not rotate in order to generate sanding action. Its purpose is to be used against straight lines like against walls and skirtings. Its movement is a vibrating movement. The triangular does rotate on the gimbals when turning corners so that a continuous sanding action can be maintained.
Sanding plates can wear out after a while, so they are made easily replaceable by using a hex key to remove the central screw in the sanding plate and then replacing the whole sanding plate.
I had a lot of fun using the Giraffe and quickly came to appreciate its effectiveness, even though it took me a little while to learn to handle it most efficiently. I imagine that a skilled operator and a Giraffe would make short work of many wall and floor sanding jobs. The vac extraction proved to be very efficient, and although there is not a total absence of dust, the hazard is minimised.
I got a few laughs and comments from some professionals when I strode up to them carrying the Giraffe in its long case. (Where are you taking the bodies?) but when they had had the chance to look at and give it a brief try they were impressed with the machine. They could see that the Giraffe could save them not only time, but also a lot of hassle – especially not having to work on ladders and move them about as the work progressed.
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