Bosch 3727DEV Random Orbit Sander with Vacuum
In an effort to do a better job of dust control in my barn/woodshop I’m installing a new DC unit tomorrow. This question concerns the choice of Random Orbit Sander. I recently picked up the Ridgid 6″ unit. Initial testing alonside a friends Bosch 1250 it did a decent job while not nearly as aggressive. After reading the 6″ ROS shootout in FWW#202 I’m wondering if the Bosch 3727DEVS with it’s “Best Buy” rating would be a better choice. Seems it’s on board dust collecting was very good but possible issues when hooked up to a vacuum. There were a couple of statements in the review that did leave me with some questions.
“The onboard dust
canister was the most effective of all the canisters, picking up 86%
of the dust. Full vacuum power sucked the machine to the wood (a
problem), and minimal vacuum power reduced dust collection to 50%.
For fine sanding, though, particularly if not attached to a vacuum, this
machine deserves the best value award among single-mode sanders.”
And then…
“The single-mode Festool ETS 150/3 EQ
and Bosch 3727DEVS combine a good rate of wood removal,
especially when hooked to a vacuum, with easy control on wide
and narrow surfaces. You could rely on either of these tools as
your only sander.”
Of course the answer is buy the Festool but with this more or less just a hobby and many other things to get I just can’t justify the Festool. My question is, if planning to use this with external vacuum, have others experienced issues with Bosch and would you think it would be a better choice over the Ridgid when taking dust control into consideration? Thanks in advance.
Replies
I have had problems with attaching shop vacs to sanders, though not the brands you mention. Once I used a shop vac on a deWalt palm sander and the suction pulled the shop vac anlong the floor on its wheels sucking the hose almost closed... hose not stiff enough and very little air getting thru the punched holes in the sandpaper. You are doing the right thing checking this out as sanding by machine is the pits when it comes to making dust.
Sander with Shop Vac
Swenson,
I've have had that problem too. It is particularly vexing when the 'stickyness varies with grain changes. That is why I frequently tout the Festool vacs (Extractors) in this forum. All I do is turn down the suction level of the vac. At low levels of suction there is enough air flow to clear sanding dust without having the sander hug the workpiece.
Frosty
Sander and Shop Vac
I have that sander, and have it hooked up to a Shop Vac with a Porter Cable hose. The combination works very well, though I suspect the Festool might (from what I've read - not hands-on experience) might pick up more of the dust.
The vac does suck the sander to the wood somewhat, but it doesn't seem to affect the sanding. It only becomes an issue when I try to lift the sander up off the blanket that I lay almost-finished pieces on and it brings the blanket along. Other than that - and it's a minor quibble, and possibly indicative of how well the suction is getting through - I have no complaints. The 1 1/4 inch hose is a bit bulky, but it's workable.
Zolton
Sander
Thanks for the comments Guys, I think I'll pick one up this weekend and give it a go.
Check out the 5" PC RO sander
I have used the new Porter Cable 5" RO sander for about 6 months now and I really like it. I bought it to replace my 5" Dewalt , which just stopped working one day. I'm a professional woodworker and have used many sanders over the years and can honestly say this new 5 inch Porter Cable is the best hand held RO sander I've ever used. I found out many years ago that a six inch RO sander is larger than is needed, especially for narrow stock such as stiles and rails for face frames, yet fast and large enough to sand larger sheet stock as well. Five inch sanders are lighter in weight than six inch ones and can be handled easily with one hand. Plus the sandpaper is a little less expensive. I'm not sure when this article was written but it looks like it's from 2008. If that's true then the new 5" PC wasn't out yet. I like this sander over the others because it has a lower profile, is more aggresive that all the others I've used and the orbiting action stops sooner when you shut it down, which saves a little time when switching grits. I use mine hitched up to my Rigid shop vac and as far as I can tell it collects very close to 100% of the dust. The only draw back I can see to this tool is that it wouldn't be good for some one who has a small hand as the body part that you grip is a little larger than most others. I think your going to find that finding the right hose and fittings to hitch any of these sanders up to a vacuum is going to be a little problematic, but if your vigilant you'll find what works best with whatever you end up getting. I found a very fexible, but non collapsing hose that works well with my set up, but I couldn't honestly tell you where I got it. I think it was a hose I got off a previously owned hosehold vacuum.
I have the Bosch 3727DEVS (bought it used), and the old Ridgid 6" sander that was made by Metabo in Germany. Both of those are very good machines--so much so that I have tried the Festools, and I actually liked mine better (especially since I paid $40 for the Bosch).
The new Ridgid is made in China. The Bosch is made in Switzerland. There is no comparison. For the money, the Bosch is probably the best 6" available today, IMHO. Others may insist that you buy the Festool, but I like my Bosch and Metabo.
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