Recommended sander?

[EW]

Hello again, could anyone recommend a decent random orbital sander? Bill, I didnt see a bruiser like your porter cable at lowes, just the smaller palm style, but even those can get kind of cashy! Thanks!

[SoundInMotionDJ]

I have a Dewalt ROS. If you can part with the $$$, I do recommend it. It's been a sold tool for more than 8 years.

I also have a Black & Decker palm sander (1/4 sheet sander). It's OK. Noisier than the Dewalt, and it causes more hand fatigue after long periods of use (15+minutes).

--Stan Graves

[Art Coates]

I have the Porter Cable 7336 (like Bill's) and like it as well. My other sander is a Ridgid R2600 which is a 5" ROS palm sander. I actually get more use with the palm sander since it fits more places, but you could just as easily get a 5" pad for the Porter Cable. Matter of fact, the Porter Cable can take buffing pads as well as 5" and 6" adhesive or hook and loop pads - so its pretty versatile. The Ridgid was about half the cost of the Porter Cable. I've never had either disappoint me.

[Harley]

I have a Hitachi angle grinder and have bought the DeWalt random orbital attachment. Makes it real easy to handle.

Harley

[Tim A]

Any 5" RO will do. DO NOT get a vibrating 'finishing' sander if it's your only one.

I used a cheap B&D RO when I built my kitchen. I needed a new RO, as my old one was a 4 1/2" sticky back. Buying paper for that would've broke the bank, it was cheaper to get a new hook and loop 5". Since I'd just spent real money on a new table saw and a new circular saw, money was tight.

That sander got used day in and day out, almost every day, for 6 months. It did more work in that period than a homeowner would use it in 10 years time. It lasted through the kitchen and well beyond into several more projects. When it finally died, the only thing wrong was the screw holes in the disc wore out. It could've easily been fixed with a new disc, probably $5 from B&D. When I replaced it, I bought another B&D.

My main router is a B&D 1-1/4 HP unit that I bought when I was 20. I'm now 48. It still work great, and I couldn't begin to guess how many hours it has on it. About a year or so ago, it fell off the table and the plate broke. I almost cried, that tool is like an old friend. I found out that a Porter Cable plate would fit it, and I'm back in business. I also have a Porter Cable router table and a top of the line Crafstman. I like the B&D better.

My point? Unless you're a pro that takes tools out on site into what can be extreme conditions, you don't have to spend a fortune on tools. A home workshop is a relatively safe place. Take care of them and you'll be fine.

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

Just don't buy a Black and Decker or Skil. I've had my Porter-Cable for going on ten years.

[Scott Brochu]

Porter Cable + 1

You can also build a router table right in your table saw if you have one. Take the wing off the table saw thats is on the right of the blad and attach it to the other wing on the other side (left of the blade). You should have a open space (right of blade) with two metal bars. Fill the space with counter top, formicia on plywood, or a peice of smooth plywood cut to fit. Make a hole in the middle (1-1 1/2") to allow different bits. Take sliding plate off the router and make holes around the center hole in plywood to mount the router from under neath the new table. Than you can use the table saw's fence for a guide.

I recomend putting a peice of wood aginst the fence if it is metal, and lowering the router flush with table surface if you want the fence on the other side of router. I have lost many bits do just so.

So now your table saw is not just a table for the saw its a router table as well. I'll take a picture next time I'm at my shop.

[AntonZ]

Just don't buy a Black and Decker

+1
Bought my first handheld circular saw a few years ago, nice small B&D. It hadn't done much more than 20 meters of sawing through mainly plywould up to 3/4" when it died. I then bought the cheapest noname I could find, and until now it actually works better (and the blade on this one is parallel to the foot, the B&D wasn't).

[Frankenspeakers]

The bad news is that B&D bought Dewalt a few years ago and Dewalt has suffered a bit more than B&D in quality. I would buy Harbor Freight before I got a B&D. On the other hand, Makita makes a very nice 5" RO sander. I have one of those that has been used many moons and still going strong. (just can't find the dust catcher). Skil/bosch are ok for what they are, and Craftsman also is pretty decent... Ryobi has a spotty record: they once made a great 8" RAS, but their newer stuff seems built down to a price... they also make a lot of Craftsman OEM. Crevat Emptor

[SoundInMotionDJ]

The bad news is that B&D bought Dewalt a few years ago and Dewalt has suffered a bit more than B&D in quality.

The buyout was a mixed bag.

Dewalt did lose some fit and finish - but they had a lot of quality to start with...so overall their hand tools are still good quality for good $$. I have several corded Dewalt tools - jigsaw, ROS, drill, circular saw, and some others. Most are 3 to 5 years old and have seen heavy use from a 'hobby woodworker.' Dewalt still offers excellent value over time.

B&D released some cordless tools under the "Firestorm" brand - these are much better than anything B&D has before - and still worth buying. I bought a set of 18v Firestorm tools 7 years ago and they are still going strong - drill, circular saw, and recip saw. I am about the replace the batteries - but it's been 6 years, so that's not a bad lifespan for a rechargeable battery. I have another pair of Firestorm 14v drills. These are 4 years old and have been very solid drills.

--Stan Graves

[LelandCrooks]

The reason you see so many contractors using Dewalt is when the transition to B&D was finished, they passed tools out like candy at Halloween. Good marketing ploy. Most of the line is a decent commercial/contractor tool. They are not really industrial grad. There's really 3 lines of tools, crap, contractor or commercial, and industrial. Unless you're a very light user, avoid crap at all costs. Commercial/contractor is good for avg users like most of the folks here. Industrials are where the real power is, but be prepared to pay the price.

In my rental store we run Bosch almost exclusively. Excellent company to deal with. Not the Skil/Bosch, the blue body real deal.

Porter Cable, Makita, Bosch, Milwaukee, Hilti (PITA for me), Hitachi, you just about can't go wrong with any of these brands. Makita built their brand in the US on the power of their sanders.

[Tim A]

It always makes me laugh when someone says not to buy a particular brand after one bad experience.

I had a bad apple once, but the whole bunch wasn't spoiled.

There is nothing wrong with B&D and Skil, period. I put my stuff through heavy use, and do an awful lot more with them than build speaker cabinets. There's not a day goes by that one or two of them wasn't fired up for soemthing.

I own Porter Cable, Ryobi, B&D, Milwaukee, Skil, Delta (back when they were Delta/Rockwell), Craftsman, and probably others that I can't remember right now.

My Skil 9.6V cordless batteries just bit the dust, after TEN YEARS of use. It's a shame I can't get them anymore.

My 28 year old B&D Router still works like a champ and is my favorite.

My 24 Year old Skil Belt Sander still cranks it out.

My B&D sander is the most versatile sander I've ever used. Fast take-down, RO or vibrating, added attachments for tight areas, and dust removal. $50, and you couldn't pry it out of my hands.

On the other hand, my Porter Cable router table is the biggest POS I've had. The $39 starter table I had 25 years ago had better adjustments and was more accurate. I can't wait to replace it. The money that sell that thing for is shameful, and all because it says 'Porter-Cable' on it.

I think it's great no one likes Skil or B&D, it'll keep the price down!

[SoundInMotionDJ]

Industrials are where the real power is, but be prepared to pay the price.

The only woodworker I know who uses mostly industrial stuff is Norm Abrams.



--Stan Graves

[Bill Fitzmaurice]

My 28 year old B&D Router still works like a champ and is my favorite.

My 24 Year old Skil Belt Sander still cranks it out.

Once upon a time B&D and Skil made decent tools. Then they lowered their price and quality to fit the requirements of KMart, WalMart, etc. IMO they haven't made a tool worth owning since Makita/Ryobi knocked them off the shelves at the hardware stores/lumberyards that cater to contractors.

[LelandCrooks]

My 28 year old B&D Router still works like a champ and is my favorite.

My 24 Year old Skil Belt Sander still cranks it out.

B&D back inthe day. Those tools are all now yellow.

IMO they haven't made a tool worth owning since Makita/Ryobi knocked them off the shelves at the hardware stores/lumberyards that cater to contractors.

I still remember the Makita rep in the early 80's bringing in their 1/4 sheet sander and standing on it. Blew the other mfgs out of the water. The weight of the sander is actually more important, but it was a devastingly effective demo.