Random orbital sander with dust extraction. - what’s the best?

Fr J Hackett said:
The reason discs don't stay on the pad is because you have destroyed the velcro either through age or pressing too hard. The pads tend to be expensive to replace so people ( those that are aware) use pad savers which are effectively sacrificial pads that are used in-between the disc and pad and are much cheaper than pads.
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I'm sure that I and many others are well aware of why the hook part of the velcro fails ... basically through heat generated in the sanding process.

Yes you can use pad savers - but only BEFORE the hook side gets worn. The 'Hot Glue' trick works with new - not so new and worn out hook side of velcro. Its cheap and quick ... it just works.
 
Mister E said:
I have found that for the best dust extraction that the holes in the disc and the backing pad need to be positioned correctly.
Even a few miles out makes a difference.
If you are pressing realy hard or not using it flat then you are using the wrong disc type.
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Exactly .... and the worst case is when you try use what looks same sanding pad as your originals but are some other brand .. that slight mis-alignment of dust collection holes will lead to poor collection.

OK - many here are posting based on the circular type - but do not forget that there are also triangular orbitals ... the mechanism is same - but now you have the ability to get into all those nooks and corners ... this tends to lead to users tilting the pad etc.
I personally do not use the circular type as I want to sand in all corners as well as main part ...
 
Refueler said:
I'm sure that I and many others are well aware of why the hook part of the velcro fails ... basically through heat generated in the sanding process.

Yes you can use pad savers - but only BEFORE the hook side gets worn. The 'Hot Glue' trick works with new - not so new and worn out hook side of velcro. Its cheap and quick ... it just works.
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Of course you use a pad saver before you use the sander that's the purpose and if you knew and did you wouldn't have to resort to bodging with a hot glue gun.
 
Fr J Hackett said:
Of course you use a pad saver before you use the sander that's the purpose and if you knew and did you wouldn't have to resort to bodging with a hot glue gun.
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That bodge as you call it - is convenient ... is at hand in my workshop ... is actually a recognised 'trick' for various velcro 'tools' .....

I really do not understand why you seem so anti about it ... its a possible solution for anyone that has a worn out hook part ... saving the hassle of sourcing and replacing the hook pad ..
 
Refueler said:
That bodge as you call it - is convenient ... is at hand in my workshop ... is actually a recognised 'trick' for various velcro 'tools' .....

I really do not understand why you seem so anti about it ... its a possible solution for anyone that has a worn out hook part ... saving the hassle of sourcing and replacing the hook pad ..
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Because there is a better way of protecting the pad in the first place.
 
Refueler said:
Fine ... labour your point ...

Go back and read my posts fully ... I mentioned that slippage could be stopped by this simple easy trick ... the slippage is basically that the velcro is already shot ! Bit ******* late to start using saver pads !!
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But if you knew or now know of pad savers then no need to resort to bodges.
 
Mister E said:
Never heard of it until today but then again I very rarely use an orbital.
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That's why I mentioned it, the occasional users of orbital sanders often end up with the problem of discs not sticking and mostly it's due to applying too much pressure. However you can as the product is named save the expensive pad by buying a pad saver or pack of them. I have two small orbital sanders bought 8 to 10 years ago at about the same time as I bought the first someone told me about pad savers and I bought a pack of 5, I still have 3 somewhere and I use the sanders quite often.
It's true I have a thing about cheap tools and bodges and will saddle up my hobby horse when I hear of them because especially with bodges there is mostly no need if you do the job correctly in the first place.
 
Most of the sanders mentioned here are random orbitals. One of 450w does a pretty good job of removing paint.
Zirconium discs need pressure to keep self sharpening so a low power sander would struggle. A 450w doesnt really slow even with a lot of pressure but is often heavy if more budget end.
Have been watching a few "shootouts" and comparing specs as was wondering if a £600 sander is really £500 better than a £100 sander.
As i understand it -
The £300 + high end like makita, bosch, festool and merka are orbital and random orbital ( orbital -think angle grinder with velcro sanding discs)
The removal rate with this setting can be phenomonal.
The balance of these sanders seems very important . Unbalanced can leave lots of swirly markes at different depths.
The mirka is the lightest by a long way but ai suggests its lifespan is therefore reduced.
The bosch was the smoothest, makita quietest but didnt match the finish quality/evenness of the festool and mirka.
Mirka had a more efficient extraction system
 
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Refueler said:
I have a Bosch which decided to slo0w down and now hardly works ! I nipped out to check Lidl just in case they had something ... and I was lucky ...

My orbital now is that Lidl machine ... as another says - its noisy, vibrates a lot so your hand tends to buzz for a while after prolonged use ... but it works.

To stop sanding pads slipping on the velcro ... a neat trick :

Take a Hot Glue gun and put dollops at each corner on the sander ... press the sanding pad on .. let it cool a few secs ... you will find pad now stays in place. But you can still easily remove ... you can peel the Hot Glue off and make new for next pad etc.
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Reminds me that I have a hot glue gun to sell...... 😉
 
On the orbital sander I have I can connect a vacuum cleaner. Although 50 years ago I paid £80 (then) for a Rupes Orbital Sander for my bodyshop, I now use a Screwfix (Mc Allister ?) orbital, I bought one to use taking the rust off a muck spreader in order to paint it to sell and for 3 days it worked very hard, then a bearing started making a noise, I took it back to Screwfix and as they had a record of my buying it they just gave me a new one.

(dont try this on your boat) On thing I found very useful in having a vacuum cleaner on a boat, I was used to hand painting two pack paint on boat hulls, the last boat I had I needed to paint the bilges, two pack paint is the best for bilges, I generally us a British Standard grey which is the same as Perkins Grey but in the bilges with 2 pack pain the smell is nearly overpowering so I have the vacuum cleaner in the cockpit with a longer hose by where I am painting and it sucks all the two pack paint smell away.
 
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