random orbital sanders (Bosch green)

[Stephen]

Hello,

I was asking about random orbital sanders a month or two ago. Thanks to advice here, especially John Rumm, I took the plunge and bought a green Bosch one. They seem to be disappearing from the catalogues but I know Bosch is trying to make its green range "prettier", so I expect it will be relaunched soon with black rubber handles. Personally, I liked the look of them as they were.

I tried the sander and thought it was useless; then I realised it was on speed number one. Turning up the speed made it work perfectly. I understand the sander can be sued as a polisher; perhaps that's what the lower speeds are for?

The speed dial is on the handle so it can occasionally get knocked in use ;(

THM recommended 40 grit discs. I haven't found these anywhere yet, so I ordered 60 grit from Toolstation. The first pack were wonderful but the second pack just kept falling off. I ordered a replacement pack and this third pack is doing the same. Surely I have not worn out the Velcro already? Perhaps it's my fault for ordering cheap discs?

Anyway it stripped the old paint from a window sill that I wanted to redecorate in no time at all. It was wonderful. So notwithstanding my disc issues, it has been a great purchase; I wish I had bought it ages ago. Thanks everyone for recommending them to me.

[Matty F]

I managed to find a cheap Velcro pad that fitted my Bosch sander.

[Jonathan]

Where - I keep buying new ones as they don't last long

Jonathan

[Rod]

I've got the Bosch PEX 400 AE - bought a few years ago. The Velcro works as well now as when bought. I have used fairly cheap discs - and a few slightly more expensive ones. Just about to try some much more expensive Hermes as on coarser grades the cheaper discs have not been lasting at all well.

I wondered why I had put up with standard orbital sanders for so long.

[Andy Dingley]

You'll wonder why you put up with cheap abrasives too! Especially if you buy the Hermes anti-clog-coated stuff

[John Rumm]

The choice of speed is not always as intuitive as you might expect - depending on what you are sanding and the type of abrasive, you can find that slower works better than faster in some cases. Sometimes a speed of

2 - 3 will get the fastest removal rate, other times you want more.

As long as you have not overheated the velcro pad, or worse, tried sanding with it without a sanding disc, then it should be ok. How difficult is it to pull a paper off the disc? IME they get quite a strong grip.

New backing pads are probably £10 - £15.

[John Rumm]

Still on my first - had the sander for several years....

Perhaps you are applying too much pressure? (you don't want much on a RO sander)

[Matty F]

Mitre10 in New Zealand :)

[Stephen]

I found with the setting at one that it didn't rotate properly but perhaps that means I was pressing too hard? I think after those first few minutes I learned to apply less pressure.

When I first attach a disc it holds; it flies off after a few minutes use. That's the strange thing: if the velcro was worn, surely it wouldn't hold the disc at all? Why throw it off halfway through?