Dual action, random orbital sander recommendation

[Benthic2]

If you already have cordless tools.....stick with that brand. There is not enough difference between the major brands to jusitfy trying to maintain 2 battery platforms. If you really think this is going to be your only use of a sander, rent one. If you want to buy one, a corded one will be much cheaper than a cordless one. If you want to go cordless think about the other tools that the company offers. You won't be buying just one tool...you will be comitting to an entire tool family. Eventually you will end up with a drill....an impact driver.....a few saws.....etc. Spend a little time on Youtube and you can see lots of reviews and comparisons. I am partial to Milwaukee because I think their battery technology is superior but the differences are probably not very significant. Don't forget that you can rent a sander from Home Depot if you are hesitant to buy one.

 

[Cleanslate]

They heavier and well balanced they feel in you hand , the better. Weight of the tool , IMO, is helpful in a sander.
DeWalt, Porter cable ( the best sanders ) Milwaukee etc seam to have one set of products for “ Home Depot “ chain stores.
And another set of similar but better products at professional/ whole sale stores like “ Grainger “
Get the heaviest five hole round hook n loop sander you can find .
I have both an old heavy 5” five hole DeWalt Palm sander , and a Porter cable 6 inch orbital hand sander/ polisher.

 

[psneeld]

Heavier isn't good for straight armed or overhead sanding in my opinion.....maybe in a woodshop.....not necessarily on boats.

 

[Cleanslate]

Who's overhead sanding on a boat?!? And where..on a boat? Headliners don't sand so well. Over head ridged panels ? Take them down on work on them(paint/varnish) or replace them and reinstall.

Sanding a boats bottom...find a sand blaster contractor for that!

 

[Benthic2]

DeWalt, Porter cable ( the best sanders ) Milwaukee etc seam to have one set of products for “ Home Depot “ chain stores.
And another set of similar but better products at professional/ whole sale stores like “ Grainger “
.

I know this is not the case for Milwaukee. I think they segment the market with their different brands. Milwaukee for heavy/pro use, Ryobi for the DIYer and Hart for the average homeowner. (AEG is also one of their brands but I don't know much about them)

 

[Comodave]

I still say Ridgid. A 5” 120 volt sander is $70. If you buy at Home Depot and register it online you get a lifetime service contract. Who cares if it isn’t the epitome of quality sanders if they will either fix it or replace it for as long as you live? How much longer lasting do you need it? A Festool sander is better but at $500 to $600 is it really better than a $70 sander that has a lifetime service contract? Not in my book by any means. I will spend the saved $400+ dollars on something else for the boat. The boat can suck up endless dollars and I would rather spend them on toys for the boat than a sander. I have 3 dual action sanders from Ridgid because sometimes we both are sanding and that way I have a hot spare. Still cost less than half of a Festool and to get 3 Festool sanders would be in the area of $1500, that would be dumb.

 

[Large Marge]

Craftsman 20v.
us$60 at Jerry's, our local-owned family-operated home-improvement center in Eugene, Oregon.
.
We like it because the batteries fit our chain-saws and other tools.
.
We also like it because it fits inside any new-to-us cast-iron skillet for a 'mirror' finish.

 

[psneeld]

Who's overhead sanding on a boat?!? And where..on a boat? Headliners don't sand so well. Over head ridged panels ? Take them down on work on them(paint/varnish) or replace them and reinstall.

Sanding a boats bottom...find a sand blaster contractor for that!

Guess you don't work on older boats much and have money to spare.

 

[Datenight]

I still say Ridgid. A 5” 120 volt sander is $70. If you buy at Home Depot and register it online you get a lifetime service contract. Who cares if it isn’t the epitome of quality sanders if they will either fix it or replace it for as long as you live? How much longer lasting do you need it? A Festool sander is better but at $500 to $600 is it really better than a $70 sander that has a lifetime service contract? Not in my book by any means. I will spend the saved $400+ dollars on something else for the boat. The boat can suck up endless dollars and I would rather spend them on toys for the boat than a sander. I have 3 dual action sanders from Ridgid because sometimes we both are sanding and that way I have a hot spare. Still cost less than half of a Festool and to get 3 Festool sanders would be in the area of $1500, that would be dumb.

Have to agree with Dave. A large part of sander performance once a good pad is established is changing the paper. Most people try to use the paper well beyond it's useful life. Also if removing finish or doing bottom work start with a coarser grit. It is often faster to sand twice (or more) moving quickly and changing paper than try to do the job with a fine grit which clogs often.

A study I read years ago (reading sandpaper performance, I need a life), suggested changing paper every 10 min or so. This was in a production shop where time was money. I follow that suggestion.

Put the money saved on the machine into good heavy backed paper. I use X weight whenever I can. It cuts better and lasts longer.

Rob

 

[hollywood8118]

I still say Ridgid. A 5” 120 volt sander is $70. If you buy at Home Depot and register it online you get a lifetime service contract. Who cares if it isn’t the epitome of quality sanders if they will either fix it or replace it for as long as you live? How much longer lasting do you need it? A Festool sander is better but at $500 to $600 is it really better than a $70 sander that has a lifetime service contract? Not in my book by any means. I will spend the saved $400+ dollars on something else for the boat. The boat can suck up endless dollars and I would rather spend them on toys for the boat than a sander. I have 3 dual action sanders from Ridgid because sometimes we both are sanding and that way I have a hot spare. Still cost less than half of a Festool and to get 3 Festool sanders would be in the area of $1500, that would be dumb.

To a point I agree with your statement above.

But if you actually use a RO sander a lot, or for tough low grit number work the high end sanders are worlds apart from the cheaper smaller lighter units. I purchase the Porter Cable units for our crews that run a bit over

$200 and have a decent vacuum hood. The weight of the unit is a considerable factor in how much material the sander can remove in a given time. I have used plenty of festool units and they are fantastic but just too pricey for the way the lads that work for me treat power tools. For my personal sander I use a 6" RO Porter cable angle head and it it the bomb for teak decks,bottom paint, cabin sides and larger flat surface areas. Most cabinet shops rely on these units so they must be doing something right
HOLLYWOOD

 

[ghost]

Who's overhead sanding on a boat?!? And where..on a boat? Headliners don't sand so well. Over head ridged panels ? Take them down on work on them(paint/varnish) or replace them and reinstall.

Sanding a boats bottom...find a sand blaster contractor for that!

Cant agree. Sanding a boats bottom with a high quality vacuum sander is both quick and leaves an ideal consistent surface. It is the go to method for some yards and when used with a quality vacuum sander, it can be done with near zero environmental impact or additional cleanup. I’ve seen a guy sand with a white tyvek suit and come out looking like he didn’t sand anything at all.

Cost efficient, quick and environmentally clean. I’d spend that money again having done it twice now.

 

[Pat T]

I just purchased one of these for the same use...but $90? Really?

I know, I know. But you will find it is a high quality hand tool. If you have a lot of trimming, as I did, you will be happy. Just sweep up your seams and throw them in a box for disposal. It makes the job quick and effortless. I barely used 2 blades for a 42 ft boat and almost every seam was trimmed.

 

[Comodave]

To a point I agree with your statement above.

But if you actually use a RO sander a lot, or for tough low grit number work the high end sanders are worlds apart from the cheaper smaller lighter units. I purchase the Porter Cable units for our crews that run a bit over

$200 and have a decent vacuum hood. The weight of the unit is a considerable factor in how much material the sander can remove in a given time. I have used plenty of festool units and they are fantastic but just too pricey for the way the lads that work for me treat power tools. For my personal sander I use a 6" RO Porter cable angle head and it it the bomb for teak decks,bottom paint, cabin sides and larger flat surface areas. Most cabinet shops rely on these units so they must be doing something right
HOLLYWOOD

But we aren’t talking about a commercial application. This is for DIY boat work. If you are doing work commercially then the higher price machine may be worth it.

 

[Northern Spy]

I've gone through 3 pads on my Makita, 2 on my Porter Cable. Tossed the DeWalt before it wore out a pad. But it was abused.

Makita feels best in hand to me. Even if the dust bag is tiny and the vacuum hose only works if I tape it on.

I'd love a Festool, but I'd just ruin it. And then I'd cry.

I prefer Klingspor sandpaper when I can find it. Norton is pretty good too.

 

[DegoRed]

The two best sanders are FEIN & Festool end of story. I own both and have used both to the extreme. I used my FEIN to sand my entire second floor(4,000 sqft) Harwood Floors, then lent to my buddy who sanded his 3,000 sqft hardwood floors with it, and it still gets used in my shop.


I do however recommend just buying cheapest one sold at Home Depot, use the hell out of it and return it if you have any issues.

 

[Datenight]

I've gone through 3 pads on my Makita, 2 on my Porter Cable. Tossed the DeWalt before it wore out a pad. But it was abused.

Makita feels best in hand to me. Even if the dust bag is tiny and the vacuum hose only works if I tape it on.

I'd love a Festool, but I'd just ruin it. And then I'd cry.

I prefer Klingspor sandpaper when I can find it. Norton is pretty good too.

The photo below is example of when to change paper. While the grit is still good it has begun to load. The accumulated crud will start to leave more scratches than the paper can take out. The ragged edge is from catching a cast iron radiator leg. Was finishing a floor yesterday.

The paper is 100# 3M Regalite. Northern Spy I have probably gone through at least 20 pads on my 5" Porter Cable 7345 over the past 32 years.

Rob

 

[RonR]

To a point I agree with your statement above.

But if you actually use a RO sander a lot, or for tough low grit number work the high end sanders are worlds apart from the cheaper smaller lighter units. I purchase the Porter Cable units for our crews that run a bit over

$200 and have a decent vacuum hood. The weight of the unit is a considerable factor in how much material the sander can remove in a given time. I have used plenty of festool units and they are fantastic but just too pricey for the way the lads that work for me treat power tools. For my personal sander I use a 6" RO Porter cable angle head and it it the bomb for teak decks,bottom paint, cabin sides and larger flat surface areas. Most cabinet shops rely on these units so they must be doing something right
HOLLYWOOD

I would agree if you want the very best its a Festool.
For boat stuff I use a dewalt. For bottom paint removal I use the non-verable speed one. As they last about 3 boats and die. For everything else I use a verable speed dewalt. I even use it to wax the boat with the 5" foam pads from chemical brothers. And the only reason I chose dewalt... Local Ace Hardware always has them in stock, they plug into the vaccume system I have. Speaking of that.. I should go buy another cheap dewalt... bottom paint season starts next month!

 

[Dougcole]

Another vote for the Porter Cable 6". I bought mine in 2005 and It's my favorite tool I have ever owned. I use it on the boat (a lot) and around the house as well. After 16 years of heavy use it is still going strong. I recently used it to strip all of our home kitchen cabinet doors to bare wood and then strip 20 years of accumulated varnish off of our front door and two sidelights. Last week I used it to strip the old paint and corrosion off of our aluminum cockpit doors prior to refinishing them with awlgrip.



It will also slow down enough for delicate work. I use it with a foam and/or micro fiber bad to follow up after the high speed buffer when I do our gelcoat. It's great for polishing and applying the final wax coat. Not quite fast enough or big enough, IMO, for buffing off medium or heavier oxidation. That's the buffer's job.



I think you can get 5" wheels for it as well, though I have never tried, I always use the 6".


My only complaint is I keep losing the dang wrench that you need to get the wheel off and I can't find any other tool that will get it off. I've ordered four or five of the damn things. The others are somewhere in lost tool land.


Very versatile tool.



Since this is a boating board, here is a pic of our cockpit doors after refinishing.

 

[Comodave]

I prefer a 5” instead of a 6” for working on the boat. It will fit in tighter places. If I was just sanding the hull side then a 6” would be fine.

 

[firstbase]

Another vote for the Porter Cable 6". I bought mine in 2005 and It's my favorite tool I have ever owned. I use it on the boat (a lot) and around the house as well. After 16 years of heavy use it is still going strong. I recently used it to strip all of our home kitchen cabinet doors to bare wood and then strip 20 years of accumulated varnish off of our front door and two sidelights. Last week I used it to strip the old paint and corrosion off of our aluminum cockpit doors prior to refinishing them with awlgrip.



It will also slow down enough for delicate work. I use it with a foam and/or micro fiber bad to follow up after the high speed buffer when I do our gelcoat. It's great for polishing and applying the final wax coat. Not quite fast enough or big enough, IMO, for buffing off medium or heavier oxidation. That's the buffer's job.



I think you can get 5" wheels for it as well, though I have never tried, I always use the 6".


My only complaint is I keep losing the dang wrench that you need to get the wheel off and I can't find any other tool that will get it off. I've ordered four or five of the damn things. The others are somewhere in lost tool land.


Very versatile tool.



Since this is a boating board, here is a pic of our cockpit doors after refinishing.

I happen to be looking for a RA sander right now and I appreciate the comments about your 2005 model. From what I see the same model made today is just not the same quality.

 

[mvweebles]

Thread resuscitation. I just bought yet another Porter Cable 6-inch. Tougher to come by than last time I bought one 6-7 years ago. Due to lack of availability, I had purchased a Rigid 6-inch but it has hook & loop pads which are 5x the cost of adhesive discs so I returned it to Home Depot. I know, hook & loop discs are faster....but when I use a sander, I go through a lot of discs.

Porter Cable 6-inch sander was $110 plus tax/free-shipping from JB Tools. https://www.jbtools.com/porter-cable-7346sp-6-inch-random-orbit-sander-w-polishing-pad/

Project is 2-steps from saloon into stateroom. Another 'gift' from Niza Marine as my old steps disappeared (recall, these are the incompetents who I fired). I'll post pics of my steps in a couple days.

Peter

 

[sean9c]

I've an old P-C 6" and it's a tough sucker. You can't find an electric DA that'll remove material faster, though it's not great for fine finishing. I was talking to a friend the other day, he's a professional boat painter, and we got talking about the P-C DA, he says that they don't make them like they use to. His first lasted 15 years, now he budgets buying a new one for each job.

 

[Lepke]

I use a 6" Mirka, air powered. I have long air and vacuum hoses so I don't have to hear the compressor or shop vac. It's very quiet. Some of the electric models are extremely noisy. I also have a Amazon $60 air powered I bought while the Mirka was getting a 10 year rebuild. The cheap one lasted 2 days of solid use, but I got a replacement free. By then the Mirka was back. Best sander I've ever had.

 

[magna 6882]

One thing i do in my wood shop is use sanders that have a round vac line. I buy CPAP hose and connect to the vacume system and it works really slick. I have a couple porter cables that have the correct outlet size. Its about 7/8. The CPAP hose is cheap.flexible and dosnt kink.Getting the dust out of these has always been the challenge.

 

[garbler]

Before I closed my shop we had a box full of Dewalt, PC, Mikita and other worn out junk DA’s and orbitals, all were plug in electric. For those who need to make a living and can’t afford breakdowns you spend the money and buy Festool. I’ve got four different Festools from sanders, saws and D-handle routers all will work all day any job. All my Festools have vacuum pickup and I prefer Abranet abrasives and Mirka or Klingspor second choice. Abranet cuts sharper, runs much cooler and therefore doesn’t load up as quick and nothing picks up dust with the vac attachment nearly as well. Never had a Fein DA but their other tools seem just as good as Festool.

For powerful orbitals where larger discs and fairing pads are needed I stand by Milwaukee. I have three high speed and 1700 rpm buffing models never a problem but trigger switches which are easily swapped out. They are heavy but very rugged and for some vertical rough work the weight helps. Almost all of me sanding and fairing work these days is done with Dynabrade pneumatics with vac attachments. If you have a good air supply with drip oiler and a reliable 15 cfm air supply air sanders are a whole different world as they are lighter, smaller and better balanced since there is no motor or battery weight. Use a light weight whip hose or overhead coil hose and nothing better and your hands and arms will thank you

Good luck
Rick

 

[Comodave]

I too use the CPAP hoses for vacuum on my DA sanders, it is great. I have 3 Ridgid DA sanders. They have a lifetime service contract. One died 2 months out of the 3 year original warranty. They replaced the motor without a complaint. Festool is great but they are so high priced that I am not willing to spend that much money on them. I can buy 3 Ridgid with the lifetime contract and still be hundreds less. And if one breaks I still have 2 others to use.

 

[garbler]

Well I guess we have to just agree to disagree on this. I buy a tool for performance and reliability so when either feature fails it (1) directly affects the quality of the job, (2) costs time and can ruin a job’s progression and schedule and, (3) generates all kinds of anguish, labor and time to deal with a repair and/ or replacement. Nobody just comes to the job and hands you a new unit,you have to jump thru the myriad of hoops between the supplier and often the factory. The extra cost for a quality reliable tool is a savings to those who really depend on them.

There are really no deals buying the cheapest. Take a good high quality tool apart and a budget cheapie on the bench and it soon becomes obvious that cheap bearings press fitted into a plastic housing is a recipe for failure. If the bearing fails and gets hot the a new bearing race will never ever fit a plastic housing again- it’s been hot and lost it’s shape and tolerances. Same with inner races and the shaft which most of the time will be scored. Motors with scant windings and poor ventilation don’t last long with abrasives and dust. I could go on but I think you get my drift. Where is the economy in buying a tool that is cheaper, breaks down and will be replaced over and over ? I love the warranty that tells you the product ‘ is guaranteed for the life of the tool ‘ ?

Rick

 

[Comodave]

I didn’t have to jump through a myriad of hoops. I took it to my local Home Depot. They called me a couple of weeks later when it was fixed.

 

[mvweebles]

I too was impressed with the service warranty on the rigid. I would have kept it if it had an adhesive pad instead of hook & loop. I didn't use it (didn't even plug it in), but it felt heavy and substantial. At $99, seemed like a decent buy. I own a few other rigid tools. No complaints.

Peter

 

[koliver]

I too was impressed with the service warranty on the rigid. I would have kept it if it had an adhesive pad instead of hook & loop. I didn't use it (didn't even plug it in), but it felt heavy and substantial. At $99, seemed like a decent buy. I own a few other rigid tools. No complaints.

Peter

The best tool in my shop is a Fein. The worst are Power Fist. I never need to fear failure of the Fein. The PF, not in the same league. I once bought a pair of drills at Princess, expecting to get at least one project out of each before failure. One didn't even last that long. The other is still going on, but gets little use. Yes, they took back the dead, but the hassle, especially now that PA is no longer handy to where I live, is too much.
I still don't think I will ever own a Festool, but I can dream about one.