Sander choices

[Alan Gage]

Looks like I'll be in the market for a new orbital sander. I'm curious what styles everyone here has and what they do/don't like about them.

5" or 6"?

Handle or no handle? The ones with a handle look like they'd be nice but it seems like it would get in the way once you moved to tighter quarters on the inside. Anyone tried one?

Palm activated paddle control? Some have speed control in the form of a paddle on the top of the sander where your hand rests. More pressure equals more faster. Sounds great for flat work but, again, I wonder how much I'd like that when I find myself doing contortions with odd hand grips to get underneath the tumblehome sections.

Just trying to narrow the field. While I don't have unlimited funds money isn't a huge issue at this point, though I obviously want to spend as little as possible. But I do enough wood work that it doesn't make much sense to try and skimp by, like I did with my current sander that just died.

Alan

 

[Mihun09]

My first was the HD special Ryobi, actually, all my tools are Ryobi. It lasted 2 years, the screw on the pad broke, but we fixed it and it went another year before giving up the ghost this Summer. I replaced it with a 5" DeWalt and it sands differently, seems to be less aggressive would be the best description. It is alright, it does seem to be haunted since it will turn itself on at the worst times, like when it is sitting on top of the boat and I'm too far away to get it before it hits the floor. Not sure I like the DeWalt that much but will live with it until it dies.

Festool would be nice but they are pricey.

 

[stripperguy]

I have a 15 year old Ryobi, 5" with 8 hole pads. I have built about 17 boats with that sander. Had to replace the pad many times, and the M5 attaching screw, also have many alternate stiffness pads.
It locks on and the variable speed is set by a dial. I don't think I would want a sander that required me to hang constantly to keep the speed the same, or to just keep it running. Much prefer to be able to turn it on and leave it on while changing hand positions, switching hands and so on.
I do have some other sanders made by Porter Cable, that stuff is solid.

 

[Canotrouge]

If you plan on using it a lot, go Festool, they are by far the best sander ever, and your body will thank you!! They are a bit pricey, but made in Germany not china and they have a great service!!

 

[Alan Gage]

Been looking at Festool. I don't know that I'd like the handle that's part of the Rotex line. Doesn't seem friendly for sanding the inside of highly tumblehomed hulls. Any experience with it in similar situations? For all other tasks it would probably be great. There's also the 125EQ but that looks to be more of a finishing sander, not really what I'm after.

The Mirka Ceros has me very intrigued as well. Sounds like the best thing going right now. Again, don't know about the ergonomics for upside down sanding inside the hull. The small size would certainly be a plus though.

Or I could just get a decent, standard, ROS from one of the better manufacturers and save a bunch and money and probably still be quite happy.

Maybe I shouldn't be so worried about how they handle upside down on the inside of a hull since that's a small portion of their duty.

I've got a while to think about it. I'll wait until the end of the month in hopes of big "black friday" sales.

Alan

 

[Canotrouge]

I forgot about Mirka, they do look like a good tool.

 

[madmike]

OK, I have yet to build a boat, but I am a full time cabinet maker, and this is a juicy problem. We love Festool, all except the sanders. They are powerful, we just hate how they feel in the hand. We use 5" PSA paper in the shop (Indasa) and would like to find a RO sander we like, unfortunately, this is super difficult. Every time we find one we like, it is discontinued. All of the dust collection ideas are a PIA. In short we are still looking. for now, we just buy what is cheap, and toss it when it starts to leave swills in the finish. I no this is not much help, and will keep a sharp eye on this thread.

 

[Bearleealive]

Been looking at Festool.

The Mirka Ceros has me very intrigued as well.

I have a few Festool products, including a vacuum, and you just can't beat their quality, but I think you pay a premium for the name.

I have been eyeing the Mirka for a few years, but have only ever used one once, and found it was fantastic to hold and use.

Another option, if you have enough volume of air, is a pneumatic orbital sander. The are light, nice and small to hold, lots of good quality ones out there, and not very expensive. You do need to get a nice flexible 1/4" hose to use, as a bigger hose makes it more cumbersome. I have used them a bunch, and plan on getter one or two soon. These are best for a shop situation though, as you need a good volume portable on a jobsite to use them.

Right now I mostly use my 5" Rigid, bought at the BORG, which was bought in a rush when my many year old Porter Cable packed it in. Well, that was a couple years ago, and it is still going strong with lots of use. Dust collection works decent on it too. I will keep this one for use at jobsites when I get a pneumatic one.

 

[Odyssey]

I have a 5" Milwaukee with a hook and loop pad. It's still going strong after 5 years of occasional heavy use. My problem is the hook and loop no longer holds the sandpaper. Do I / can I - change the pad, or do I replace the sander? I tried the sticky pads instead, they were useless.

 

[Guest]

My first was the HD special Ryobi. It lasted 2 years, the screw on the pad broke, but we fixed it and it went another year before giving up the ghost this

Same issue with my Porter Cable, Pad screw broke, fixed, lasted a few more years.

OK, I have yet to build a boat, but I am a full time cabinet maker, and this is a juicy problem for now, we just buy what is cheap, and toss it when it starts to leave swills in the finish.

Good to know a pro woodworker uses the same solution I have employed. When the Porter Cable bit the dust (no pun intended) I bought an inexpensive Ryobi 5”.

Not applicable to RO sanders but I’ve noticed a trend with inexpensive shop tools. A lot of stuff now comes with an unnecessarily heavy base. That’s fine until it breaks and you find it needs to be shipped back to the manufacturer for repair or replacement, and that the shipping cost is as much as buying a new tool.

 

[Alan Gage]

I've got a compressor that could probably handle a smaller pneumatic but I think hearing the compressor run constantly and paying to run the compressor would drive me nuts. It would be one thing if I was using it on smaller projects but when working on a boat I'll pretty much run it for 3 hours straight. If I'm not mistaken dust collection is trickier with pneumatic as well, which is something I'm set on getting right with the new sander.

A Rigid is what I have now and up until the other night I was very happy with it. The switch failed and it's become a very reluctant "random", more like a grinder. Pulled the top cover and gave the switch a few taps with a screwdriver to get it going last night but I doubt that will last for long. I just bought it this past June. Happy to hear yours has been working well as when I did some research (too late unfortunately) it sounds like the switch and loss of random are pretty common failures. The on board dust collection was better than other sanders I've tried.

I was leaning hard towards a Festool or Mirka when I bought the Rigid but just couldn't pull the trigger. I've got more money to cut loose on a sander than I did then so it probably wasn't a bad call. The Mirka, mostly based on size, perceived ergonomics, and user feedback is out in front at this point. Also more standard dust port size and better disc availability. No matter which sander the discs will have to be mail ordered (or drive an hour or more) but the Festool hole pattern is a bit more specific and expensive and would be strictly mail order, no where to buy them within a few hours of home. And I've already got about 100 Mirka discs in the shop.

I'm sure I'll change my mind about 50 more times before I actually buy something. Fingers crossed for good sales.

Alan

 

[Steve in Idaho]

Y'all know that these things can be repaired, right? I have a Makita RO sander that has been rebuilt twice. I've been using that one for years. I've had several power tools "quit" on me and turned out to just need new brushes or a new switch. RO leaving "swirlies" is a sign that a bearing needs replaced. This stuff is usually cheaper than replacing the tool. If you do it yourself, even replacing the guts of the motor can cost less than a new tool. So long as the body (case) is intact, I usually just keep rebuilding. My advice - if you aren't into repairing your own tools, stick with the brands that your nearest tool repair shop will work on. If you don't mind doing the repairs yourself, stick to the brands that have good parts availability.

 

[Guest]

Y'all know that these things can be repaired, right
My advice - if you aren't into repairing your own tools, stick with the brands that your nearest tool repair shop will work on.

I expect you have a sense of how frugal I am. I tried that with the Porter Cable RO; there is an authorized Porter Cable repair center in York PA about 30 minutes from my home so I took it there.

The repair guys looks at it and quoted me $X to open it up and see what was wrong, and estimated $X+ for repairs.

$X was nearly what I had paid, and $X+ was more. In a nutshell their advice was “Just buy a new sander”.

 

[Alan Gage]

Y'all know that these things can be repaired, right? I have a Makita RO sander that has been rebuilt twice. I've been using that one for years. I've had several power tools "quit" on me and turned out to just need new brushes or a new switch. RO leaving "swirlies" is a sign that a bearing needs replaced. This stuff is usually cheaper than replacing the tool. If you do it yourself, even replacing the guts of the motor can cost less than a new tool. So long as the body (case) is intact, I usually just keep rebuilding. My advice - if you aren't into repairing your own tools, stick with the brands that your nearest tool repair shop will work on. If you don't mind doing the repairs yourself, stick to the brands that have good parts availability.

I likely wouldn't have a problem physically doing the repairs and will try to get this one up and running again. Taking the time to disassemble, diagnose, and locate parts will be the hardest to get done. But I have little faith, after reading up on their history, that it won't conk out again after doing two more boats. When I want to work I want to work. Forced down time aggravates me. So I want something that will hopefully last and give good performance. If I can get this one going again it will be as an occasional use backup/jobsite/sacrificial sander.

It's frustrating to have things cost as much or more to repair as they cost new. Not because the repairs are over priced (how can you make money rebuilding a $75 sander for less than the cost of new?), but simply because of the mental conflict. One side of your brain says you'd be much better off to buy a new one for the same cost as a rebuild. The other side of your brain realizes that buying new instead of rebuilding is a huge waste of resources and that you're feeding the very problem everyone complains about.

Alan

 

[red langford]

I've been using a Porter Cable for 10 years and works as good as the day I bought it. I thought at the time I was buying premium and paid $100+ for it, but to drop 5 times that for a Festool I need to be very impressed. That is to say that if my PC lasted me only 5 years and I replaced it 5 times I would still be ahead and have a tool that would most likely last me til my end of days.

 

[Mihun09]

Jeez, I could get 5 DeWalt RO sanders for the cost of one Festool.

 

[red langford]

DeWalt is just a black and decker with a yellow case. B&D, like Craftsman, are not the quality tools they once were. I have never bought a B&D tool that didn't disappoint me, but I still have one of my grandfathers B&D drills that has to be 40 years old and still works just fine.

 

[Canotrouge]

I love the fact that the Festool and the Mirka are dust extractor friendly.... And yes they are more expensive, that the made in chine tools, but every thing not made in china is more expensive than the one made in china... they tend to last longer and be better made to....

 

[Momentum]

Alan,
I figured I'd throw my hat in the pot too. I have used an Aro pneumatic ROS for probably close to 15 years now. It still works like a charm.
It has a 6" PSA base, but as I have indicated in the past, if your considering a 6" sander with PSA, make sure you can get sanding discs locally. Some stores just don't carry them.
I used to have a very large shop compressor that would power all the air tools, but now, I use a small dual tank portable unit. It still work fine, but as you mentioned, the compressor runs a bit more.
Ingersoll rand owns ARO. Look it up on their web site for more info. I have the unit that does not have any dust collection ability. The way I tended to look at it is that you should probably be wearing a respirator while sanding anyways, and having another hose to have to work with will make you more tired, frustrated, and may not allow you to get the job done because it won't fit into tight spaces.
Despite the lack of dust collection, I love this little sander for its reliability, compact design, and one handed on off ease of use.
Just my thoughts

 

[Alan Gage]

Thoughts on 6" vs 5", especially for getting into tougher spots? Maybe it's not as big of a deal as I think since even the 5" is almost worthless on many areas inside the canoe, or at least the ones I've been building. A softer pad would help I suppose. Any downsides, other than disc availability, you find with a 6".

I agree with the respirator when sanding and I always wear one if I'm doing more than just touching up a small piece. . But even with my sanders onboard dust collection, which catches a lot of dust, there is still a haze in the shop when I get done and I'm covered in dust as well. I'd love to cut down on that mess. Figured if the DC hose turns into a hassle when sanding certain areas I can always unhook it.

Thank you very much to everyone for their input so far. Always nice to see a range of opinions.

Alan