Hey Guys,
Not sure if this was the correct place to post this, but since this category seems to get more traffic, I thought I would put it here.
After about 6-8 years of faithful service, I had to put my cheapo black & decker random orbit sander down. Old girl was starting to “walk” or skip around on the workpiece lately, and has been leaving irregular scratch patterns on the wood, only noticed during the final finishing. So, being a good tool review reader like I am (Not!) I checked back a couple of issues and decided to go with the bosch 1295 dvsk. So I got it home a couple of days ago, broke it out and gave it a run on some cabinet face frames (37 of them, to be exact). I noticed that the thing seems to, vibrate is not the right word, kind of oscillate (wobble?) in my hand. Kind of makes my whole hand roll around in a circular motion. Like the thing is unbalanced. Seemed not to be that big of a deal at first, but after a few hours my wrist started to hurt pretty bad. So I returned it today, thinking I got a bad one by mistake, and the new one does exactly the same. Let me say this, the tool sands great, the dust collection is good (the B&D had a cloth bag, more dust in the shop than in the bag!). I did notice it threw a good bit of dust up in the air, or rather slung it around off the disc. But my old sander probably did that as well, and I just never noticed it.
So, i said all of that to ask you guys (or girls) this: If you have the bosch, have you noticed the same thing? There is the next model up in the bosch line with a “dual bearing pad mount system” that is supposed to eliminate wobble. But this thing looks more like a polisher, with a trigger-type on switch that you can lock on, but it would appear to me that you have to operate it with 2 hands at the start, and after you lock it on, you could switch to one hand. And it’s a little big and bulky. Not my cup of tea. Does anybody know of another sander out there that has some sort of dual bearing to eliminate wobble? I am not opposed to dropping the $150 on the lower priced festool, but I don’t want to spend big bucks only to have the same kind of problem. I’m sure I will get a ton of replies like “I have _______sander and it works great, but what I’m looking for is someone who sands for long periods of time and has compared 2 or more sanders. I don’t need scratch results on lexan, I need most comfortable to use, lightest, able to hook up to dust collection (rigid shop vac) etc. Hopefully under $200. Let me know what you think.
Lee
Replies
Any chance you have a good supply of air? 18 or so cfm at 90 lbs? I went with Dynabrade on my 5 inch, I could'nt find an electric I liked. If you can go 6 inch the Metabo SXE 450 Duo is the nicest electric sander I've ever used bar none, I liked it better than the Festool and the Fein, I don't think so much of their 5 incher though.
Hi Don,
Unfortunately, I don't have an adequate air supply to support an air sander. As far as the 6" size, I am primarily sanding face frames and rails/stiles on raised and flat panel doors, approx. 1 3/4 wide-2 1/2 wide. I assume that the 6" would be a little harder to control on narrow pieces like that, but again, I don't have any experience with a sander that size. By the way, where can I get (or who sells) the Metabo?
Thanks,
Lee
The distributor in your area is
Firm:
NORDAN SMITH
Address 1:
4100 HIGHWAY 11 NORTH
Zip-code:
39466
City:
PICAYUNE
Telephone:
601-798-3462
Fax:
631-727-2853
Since the house is on fire let us warm ourselves. ~Italian Proverb
Hi Don,
Thanks for the info! I will stop by and check into them
Many thanks,
Lee
Here's an "I've got this one" type post that may not help but...I'd second the Makita. Mine seems very aggressive, leaves a great finish, and does not cause me any undue fatigue. Definitely no rolling motion like you describe.<!----><!----><!---->
K15,
Hey, thanks for the input. That's definitely what I'm looking for - no fatigue. I hate sanding so the easier it is the better.
Lee
Just started using a Bosch 1293D. Maybe it is not what you fancy at all, but it is extremely stable when running & collects dust in it own little bag quite well but needs an adapter to a hose. I see no scratches on hard maple even with 100 grit silicone carbide w/stearate coating. So that you know where I am coming from, I have used orbitals for over 40 years with great success. I really don't see what random orbital can do for me. The Bosch is easily the best I have experience with.Cadiddlehopper
Hi Cad,
I'm not familiar with the model you are speaking of, but it sounds like from your post that it's not a random orbital sander, just a regular rotary sander? Or am I misunderstanding you? I would have thought a regular rotary sander would leave swirl/scratches on the wood. I agree with your bosch experiences, everything else I have has been top-notch.
Lee
The model he's talking about is a half sheet finishing sander.
Since the house is on fire let us warm ourselves. ~Italian Proverb
They are not random, just orbital. I suppose that under high enough magnification you could find swirls. The paper I use may be part of my success story. To find out more about the sander, look it up on Amazon.com. That is where I got it. Milwaukee & Porter Cable have competitive models which are probably pretty good, too. This one comes with adust bag & paper punch. You still need an adapter for power dust collection.Cadiddlehopper
I have lots of sanders, but Festool has become my favorite. I have the 150 model, which is terrific.
I also have their Rotex, which I don't recommend.
For something less expensive, I am very fond of the Makitas; I have two of the 5" RO models -- a palm and the one with a handle.
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"It is what we learn after we think we know it all, that counts."
John Wooden 1910-
Don't know if they still make it but I have a Dewalt 443 6" ros model this is a right angle style sander and I have been happy with it. Not as nice as the Festol but it works well.
Troy
Troy,
I've been looking at the 6" sanders also, but I think they may be a bit too big, as most of my sanding is face frames & rails/stiles on flat panel and raised panel doors. 90% of the time I'm sanding something between 1 3/4 and 2 1/2 inches wide. Thanks for the input, though.
Lee
I'm not totally clear from your post if you hook your sander to a shop vac. I recently had the same sort of problems with my Festool Rotex hooked to a Festool shop vac. Turns out I had the vacuum setting turned up to "max" and this served to actually suck the sander down on the work - Jumped all over the place as a result.
Frosty
JF,
Hi,
to answer your question, no I have not hooked my sander up in the past, because the old B&D I had wouldn't allow it. Now that it's 2006, it seems like most sanders will hook to a shop vac, which I have and plan to use. Although the rigid vac I have doesn't have any hi/lo settings, so if I notice the problem you had, I may have to fashion some sort of blast gate to lessen the suction. Thanks for the input.
Lee
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