Shopsmith Forums

High Nancy
I assume you need this for finish work, the SS disc sander is not so much a finish sander but some thing to get you really close to your desired shape , even with it you will need to finish sand by hand or a finish sander , Not sure any one on this site sells much,,,, if you have a Lowes or Harborfreight near you you can find a good one ,,,,even one with variable speed . ebay has some as well, I like the one I picked up last fall from Menards, its variable speed has the bag and a long cord velcro pad for changing paper

The Rigid 5" orbital from Home Depot will meet your requirements.
Here is an Amazon link to another one.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B074G ... UTF8&psc=1 RO. I just bought one. It will also do a good jobfor you.

I have a DeWalt orbital sander that I am satisfied with but there are many. Any brand name sander should do the job. Consider how the sand paper attaches to anything that you might choose. Changing paper can become a real pain.

Don't let cost be the deciding factor. Cheap never pays off unless it is your intention to retire the tool when the job is done.

NancyBrown wrote:Hi Folks,
As a beginner, I don’t have enough knowledge about the disc sander. I have small projects that are why I need 5-Inch Orbit Sander for my small shop.

Requirement:-

1. The handle is comfortable to hold.
2. The vibration is not too harsh.
3. Dust bag
4. Cheapest Price

A couple of thoughts, first welcome to the forum!

I think if you can you need to take a trip to your local stores that sell these. To tell if the grip is comfortable there is nothing better then having a demo model sitting there that you can touch and grip. I personally have all older versions of these at this point so those models have been retired years ago. But, I have two styles, one is a grip from the top and the other is more of a two hand version with a handle off to the side. Depending on what I'm doing I use one over the other. The top handle version tires my wrist more but seems a bit more versatile for a lot of jobs but the two grip version is nicer for large flat surfaces.

The second thing going shopping will do for you is to make sure the store carries the sandpaper you need for the sander. Nothing worse then running out of paper on a project and having to send for it. You can also price the papers to get an idea of how much it will be costing you for supplies. Cheap paper never seems to work well for me, others might find it different. It is also good to check if they have a pretty full range of papers. Normally having something in the 100 grit as a low and at least steps on up so you can change by steps on up to your final grit. Having say just three grits available is likely not going to work well.

As a general rule, very general, the greater the number/area of the holes the better dust collection is. So say it has just 4 holes, well then one with say 8 holes normally does better at dust collection.

I also would make sure that in addition to the local dust collector that it will also allow the use of a hose to a vacuum. Normally those containers are small and will need to be emptied often to maintain good collection, good if you want to keep taking breaks but not so good when you want to get something finished in a hurry.

Vibration is a fact with these sanders, some might be better then others but one thing that I found helped a lot was one that has a variable speed. Some times I just change speed to get a change in the vibration. Anyway that is a desirable feature to look for.

The price point is all relative. I'd stay clear of really cheap tools because they are cheap for a reason. Maybe for a one time use but I like to think of tools as an investment. Spend what you can afford but if you can afford the better tool then go for it.

Ed

One of the nice things about the Ridgid power tools is the Lifetime service agreement. You must register the tool to activate it. I have two of the Ridgid R2600 5" Random Orbit Sanders and after five or six years, the power switch on one failed. Ridgid replaced it. You might save a few bucks on a cheaper brand, but if you throw it away in a few years and have to buy another one you're not really saving.

Also, the Ridgid sanders are very nice and comfortable to use.