B&D sander - was It just me

Am really tired of my B&D sander, it is normally a 1/3 sheet machine but because of the poorly designed paper clamp you have to cut the sheet longer and then only get 2 cuts per sheet. Even then it is still not very happy. Was in the local hardware store today to get some more sandpaper and was eyeing the different orbital sanders. Seen a very expensive Ryobi and an expensive (compared to B&D) Porter Cable, also a Dewalt. I didnt jot down any model numbers but would be interested in what models are being used out there and what is thought of them, especially in the area of paper clamp. I guess i am going to have to pay to get a good one. It would be nice to know ahead of time what models are the best. I have payed extra for good tools before, but never thought that a sander required so much thought, at least not until i had to use it extensively. Some of the more expensive models have a dust collector bag on them. Do they really work? Or is this just for looks? I have a dust collector system now and am wondering if some of them can be hooker up to it? or is this even feasible? Ken, making dust in NS

Reply to
ken
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Some folks are down on them, but I have a Porter-Cable 333 random orbit sander that I'm very happy with. Fine for anything I've used it for. Got it for $25 off eBay lightly used.

GTO(John)

Reply to
GTO69RA4

Ken,

Which B&D sander are you using? How old is it? I have one from 20 years ago that is still going....a 1/3 sheet. It has a switch to select either straight line or orbital motion. No dust collection buil-in, though there is a port on the side of the unit for just such a purpose.

The paper doesn't hold well any more...spring tension is decreasing with age. To fix this I use a small piece of the same grit paper about 1/2 width and slide this under the clamp in the reverse direction. That would be grit side to the clamp. This seems to help hold the the paper on well.

I have been thinking of a new sander but the 1/3 sheet sanders are so expensive.

Andy NW New Jersey

Reply to
Andy H.

I use self-adhesive paper on mine. The only way to get any life out of the paper, because it's impossible to get the stuff mounted tightly enough to keep from tearing it in half in short order.

I'm thinking about a new one too. This thing never has worked very well, and it's LOUD.

Reply to
Silvan

Hi Ken,

What type of sander are you contemplating? Orbital or random orbital?

After using a 30+ year old orbital sander attachment for an AEG hammer drill I decided to buy a Festool ROS - the ES 150/3. It's a great tool, I really love it. Excellent design and ergonomics, well balanced and low weight (you can use it very comfortably with one or two hands), VS, hardly any vibrations (very important if you sand an extended period of time), extremely smooth sanding operation and great finish result, hook and loop (Festool calls it Stickfix) and the best dust collection I can imagine.

The sander comes with a filter bag which works quite well but if possible connect it to a vac. I have the Festool CT 22 vac (wet/dry extraction, auto on/off, variable suction - very important when using a vac attached to a sander) and have to admit that this combination is hard to beat. It allows almost dust-free sanding.

Festool makes a couple of other ROS's too: The Rotex: 6", unique 3in1 tool which combines preliminary sander, fine sander and polisher The ES 125: 5" palm grip model The ES 150/5: same as the ES 150/3 but with a 5 mm stroke (the ES

150/3 has a 3 mm stroke).

From my experience with Festool I assume that their orbital sanders are also great but I never used one of them.

You can check them out at

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Festool's are very well made German high quality tools, built like a tank, come in a systainer (stackable case), have a 30 days money back guarantee and a 3 year guarantee.

There are some reviews on the web you might like to check out:

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I can also recommend to check out the posts about Festool on SMC
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example:
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free to email me for any specifics. I can also recommend to contact Bob Marino who is hobby woodworker and Festool ISA. His email address is snipped-for-privacy@aol.com and he lives in NJ. Bob uses Festool's himself, is very patient and friendly and would certainly be glad to answer your questions.

Regards,

Christian Aufreiter, Austria

PS: I have no affiliation with Festool, I'm just a happy customer.

Reply to
Christian Aufreiter

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