Recommendations Please

[swampgator]

My only problem with Craftsman in the past few years is that I can't go back and get a velcro disk pad to hook the sanding disk to or get a new power switch. Bought a great ROS for my daughter and when she wore off the edges of the sanding pad, took it into the store where they do repairs or send it in for repairs and they didn't want to talk with me about it. They did suggest that I buy another one. Nothing wrong with the 2 year old sander, so I modified with a Dewalt pad to fit. Has been working great since. I have had similar situations with other Craftsman power tools. One young lady asked me if I had changed the labels on the tool. I retrieved my tool, turned and walked out without a comment. Arrrgh!:D

[gac5ss]

I have used the Dewalt, Bosch, and Porter Cable 5" random orbit sanders. I wore out the Dewalt and Bosch sanders, and purchased the low profile Porter Cable about a year ago. All of my sanders have H&L 8Hole paper. I prefer Mirka Gold. I buy the disks on Amazon in 50 pks.

I use my sanders to prep sand raw wood and also level finishes between coats and before rubbing out a finish. (I have been repairing and refinishing pianos and furniture for a living since 1998.) I prefer my 6" Bosch VS sander for leveling finishes, and I prefer a 5" for prepping wood for finishing.

My favorite 5" sander was the Dewalt. A single speed unit. Wore out 2 pads before it gave it up. The 5" Bosch was a VS unit. Couldn't keep it out of the repair shop. The VS switch was a lemon. Finally gave it to a friend just to keep from having to toss it in the trash.

The 5" low profile Porter Cable is my go to sander now. Plenty of power and it is VS. But it is heavy and a little awkward to handle. My hands get really fatigued after a few hours of use.

If I had it to do over, I would have bought another Dewalt. I bought the PC after reading many reviews. But it is a good sander, and I can't justify retiring it for a new Dewalt yet.

All just my opinion.

[gac5ss]

Several years ago when looking for a decent RO sander at a reasonable price
I narrowed my choices to the Rigid and the DeWalt 5" sanders.

I went with the Rigid and have been very happy with its performance.
You can get a life time service agreement when you register the product, otherwise it is a 3 year warranty. Here are the latest models of the Rigid and DeWalt 5" RO sanders.

http://www.homedepot.com/Tools-Hardware ... reId=10051

http://www.homedepot.com/buy/tools-hard ... 81074.html.

With the Rigid you get variable speed and a longer cord. It doesn't say in the specs of the Rigid but it also has the 90 return policy like the DeWalt.

Dave

I do like the idea of longer cords. I use a Fein shop vac and use a 6' extension cord when plugging my 5" PC sander into the power outlet on the vacuum. The best case would have the cord the same length as the vac hose.

[bffulgham]

Dusty: I had one of those crafstsman shakers....... hand would be numb in a few minutes. then changeing the paper was a terrible job.

A bearing finally went out a couple of years ago.... Bought this one for $69.00 at HD.

velcro paper works slick.... Rigged up an old vac hose for dust collection..
dust collection works really good with this. it comes with a little bag for dust but, that is so,so.........it is also variable speed...........

when it is done buy another one for that low a price............

+1 vote for the Milwaukee.
+1 vote for the Mirka Gold discs.

My Milwaukee ROS has done a great job on the white ash projects as well as the maple bookcase.

Negative on anything powertool wise that has the "Chraftsman" label. They used to be really good tools......not any more.

[dlbristol]

My only problem with Craftsman in the past few years is that I can't go back and get a velcro disk pad to hook the sanding disk to or get a new power switch. Bought a great ROS for my daughter and when she wore off the edges of the sanding pad, took it into the store where they do repairs or send it in for repairs and they didn't want to talk with me about it. They did suggest that I buy another one. Nothing wrong with the 2 year old sander, so I modified with a Dewalt pad to fit. Has been working great since. I have had similar situations with other Craftsman power tools. One young lady asked me if I had changed the labels on the tool. I retrieved my tool, turned and walked out without a comment. Arrrgh!:D

That is the biggest reason I said I probably would not have purchased the Craftsman. I do have to admit that at my local sears, they have one guy who seems to understand things better that the others and if I can get to see him it usually goes much better. I have never been accused of changing labels! I do have to go there as I have a couple of gifts and 2 inherited routers. All older and out of production. This guy actually had a site for me to go to to get parts that Sears could or would not get! I doubt I can do that anymore, but it is nice to know he will make an effort.

[Ed in Tampa]

Dusty
I don't think there is a bad sander just ones that are better than the others.
For small finish jobs I use a PC 333 or Dewalt 1/4 sheet sander. To get to the finish stage I use a PC grinder type orbital sander that will sand a large job in a hurry. For initial surfacing I use a PC belt sander. Most of my tools are PC since years ago we had a Delta/PC outlet store here and I bought most of my tools there.

I have heard very good things about Bosch and Ridgid.

The biggest thing I'm interested in now is dust collection and the best is the tool you said not to mention. After than most sanders do a fair job on that but I check to see which is the MOST compatible with my dust collection set up be it the SS DC3300 or a shop vac.

Things to watch out for. Does the best place to put your hands on the tool just happen to be where the air inlet is for the motor? I have seen many sanders where if I pick them up and hold them in a way that seems most comfortable to me I'm blocking vents. NOT Good. POOR Design.

Second I check for balance, some sanders have handles that throw the whole thing off balance, so you are fighting the sanding and the balance. Again POOR design.

Lastly I look for how the paper is mounted. Velco is easiest and fastest but if you let the pad get too hot you can damage the velco. Self stick sheet or disk are great and seems to the last the longest to me. Last is the clamps. I have a 1/4 sheet sander that is so simple. Just grap a sheet of paper tear it into four equal pieces and off I go. The manufacture included a base with spikes that punch air holes in the paper. I often buy cheap cheap off brand paper at Harbor Fright and use it. But I do keep some good stuff for the real important finish work.

Hope this helps.
Ed

[backhertz]

There is the Porter Cable 390K that is under $100 on amazon. I know you didn't want to heat the F word, but have you seen that You Tube video? Here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yh1YM5AFffg
Someone must be on drugs to spend so much on a sander. Holy cow.

[dusty]

There is the Porter Cable 390K that is under $100 on amazon. I know you didn't want to heat the F word, but have you seen that You Tube video? Here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yh1YM5AFffg
Someone must be on drugs to spend so much on a sander. Holy cow.

Festool is not a nasty word. Their tools are just much more expensive than I can afford. There was a day but at that time I knew absolutely nothing of Festool then. Even if I had, I might not have purchased them; after all, I didn't buy a lot of Shopsmith stuff either that I now wish I had. Stuff like an OPR.

I have said it here before but it is worth repeating. Buy what you want/need in your shop while you are still working. Do not wait for that day when you retire and go on fixed income.

[gac5ss]

There is the Porter Cable 390K that is under $100 on amazon. I know you didn't want to heat the F word, but have you seen that You Tube video? Here is the link:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yh1YM5AFffg
Someone must be on drugs to spend so much on a sander. Holy cow.

I have a Festo 6" right angle sander. Paid around $600 for it about 10 years ago. It was purchased to complete a specific job and it made me money. It has 2 modes, orbital, and direct drive. The main reason I wanted it was for the direct drive because it could remove materials quickly.

Festo has great products, especially their vacs. If I hadn't already purchased a Fein vac, I would have the Festo Vac to match my Festo sander. Festo isn't for everyone, but it is quality stuff.

I do a lot of onsite work, and it is very important for my vac to collect 98% of the dust. Festo and Fein are well worth the price because they perform well.

But I get your point. It is expensive, but does have a place.

[lightnin]

I also have a 5" Rigid RO for H&L discs works great.
I also have the B&D mouse sander, I only use it for getting into corners it's good at it.