I have a Porter-Cable 333VS random orbital sander. I works great with a fresh disk, but the disks seem to wear out very quickly. I'm currently using Sears Craftsman disks, but previously I've used other brands and my first ones were PC.
Do others have this experience?
Ken
I found the gold colored disks seemed to last longer than the grey disks. The gold ones I have are put out by
3M.the bulk mirka's i have are great. Mostly i find it depends on what you're sanding. Raw wood like oak, cherry, maple, black walnut allows the discs to last a long time. Heavy resin woods like pine, gum up quickly as do finished surfaces.
Myx
Yes. The experience changed with I changed to professional quality disks. I'm using Klingspore and find they last about a dozen times longer. Check the archives and you'll probable find other brands recommended.
Good luck,
Peter
I have also had good results with the Klingspore disks and you can get some good deals in their "bargain boxes" in bulk quantities. I was using the PC brand but they seem to be really low quality.
define "quickly"
dave
Ken Hall wrote:
No. I have the Porter-Cable 333 and use Norton hook and loop disks (buy them by the "contractor pack" of 25 at Home Depot) and they haven't made me think they "wear out very quickly." My experience is mostly with white oak and, no matter the grit, I fill the collector (get lots of dust) and never give "changing the disk" a thought.
Jim Stuyck
That's a really good question. I thought about trying to define when I posted the question and I wasn't sure enough to say how long. But, if I had to make a guess . . .
Let's say a 100 grit disk at full speed on yellow pine will last about
10 minutes before it begins to take off so little material it's hardly worth continuing. Of course it doesn't quit suddenly and I've never tried to time it, so maybe that could be 5--20 minutes.Maybe that's about 15-20 sq-ft of Baltic plywood.
All those are wild guesses.
Ken
well, if a disk lasted for 20 solid minutes at full speed (the only speed I use, since I didn't get a VS PC sander) I'd consider that normal. I buy 25 packs of ROS papers and replace worn pads often. I don't even think about it, as the cost isn't that high... Now if I was buying those little packages, I might get my shorts in a bunch if every couple of minutes I burned through a bucks worth of paper...I'm just as likely to tear a pad as wear it out, anyway, on some projects.
dave
Ken Hall wrote:
:>define "quickly"
: That's a really good question. I thought about trying to define when : I posted the question and I wasn't sure enough to say how long. But, : if I had to make a guess . . .
: Let's say a 100 grit disk at full speed on yellow pine will last about : 10 minutes before it begins to take off so little material it's hardly : worth continuing. Of course it doesn't quit suddenly and I've never : tried to time it, so maybe that could be 5--20 minutes.
: Maybe that's about 15-20 sq-ft of Baltic plywood.
: All those are wild guesses.
The disc cost you 50 cents at the most, if bought in bulk. 20 sf of sanding is petty good -- 2.5c a sf. Sandpaper is considered an item you have to replace often -- -- Andy Barss
Yea, Hooking up the sander to a shop vac seems to help too. Sands better, disks last longer............... Thanks, Tony D.
Someone published a study a few years ago comparing sandpaper costs to labor costs. I just looked and cannot find the study but maybe someone else has it.
The study had a chart that showed how often you should change the sandpaper based on the cost of sandpaper and the cost of labor. If you were paying $10 per hour for labor and X for sandpaper, you should change the paper every Y minutes.
The amazing part was that the study recopmmended changing the paper every three to five minutes for most reasonable combinations of paper and labor costs. The sanding efficiency of the paper dropped off quite quickly so it made exonmical sense to change the paper early and often.
I hope that some can find the original study. It might have been done by Klingspor.
What about the quality of the sandpaper? The type of grit will make a big difference in the life of the paper.
I think you're on to something. I had a board of rough cut 5/4 cherry that I needed to take down to 3/4". Took me a whole box of sanding disks to get it there. Ed
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