My first sander.... which one?

Random orbital sander.

Random orbital! I hate sanding and sanders but these are actually pretty cool. I have the variable speed PC but I'm not really sure the variable speed makes much difference. My girlfriend was hogging it to work on her deck so I talked her into a large one and it's sweet too.

mark

"Faustino Dina" wrote

I have a box full of sanders. If I were to limit that to one I would choose the random orbit sander, which _is_not_ the same as an orbital sander. That's what they used to call those crappy things Sears sold (and may still sell). The random orbit will do a wider range of sanding than any other I have found. I also have a finish sander and use it quite often but it will not do rougher sanding as a random orbit sander will. With fine sandpaper a random orbit will do almost as good of finish sanding as a finish sander will. And, you can get away with one.

If you are talking about sanding between coats, then hand sand with a sanding block. Hand sanding is a fact of life. Especially when finishing, you better learn to love it now because there are lots of jobs a power sander won't do (corners, inside edges, etc.). I never use power sander between coats. It is too easy to sand right through.

Bring on the flames...

Use a good filler, not paint to fill the bumps. You can then finish with 2-3 coats of paint.

Barry

sounds like good advice, Howard. Anyone that would flame you is most likely on my twit list already! :)

dave

Howard Ruttan wrote: snip

If you're doing lots of large surface areas (sheet stock), or aggressive sanding, then I agree with the other posters - start with a random orbit.

However, I personally find that I reach for my trusty DeWalt finish sander more often than my random orbit (PC). Why?

- It's much more controllable, and hence does a better job, with narrow pieces, near edges, etc. The RO is much more aggressive, often too much so.

- It can get into corners because the pad is square. The RO can't.

- It can get right up to an inside edge without damaging the adjoining surface. The RO has a tendency to gouge into the adjacent surface, no matter how careful you think you are.

- It uses regular paper (quarter sheets) which is easily mounted with 2 clips. I always have a good stock of regular paper on hand, I can change it in seconds, and it's easy to reuse sheets that weren't used up. My RO uses hook and loop, but I find that after being put on & off about twice, it won't stay on reliably. Plus it's much more expensive.

I used the DeWalt for years before getting the RO. It's just more comfortable in my hand, and it's the one I'd choose if I could have only one. That said, I really like the RO for large, flat surfaces, and for aggressive sanding where a belt sander is not suitable.

Long term you'll probably want both, plus a belt sander.

-Brett

My first sander was a B&D Professional palm sander. It is still in use after 20 years.

On Mon, 03 Nov 2003 19:50:29 GMT, Phisherman brought forth from the murky depths:

I've just gotta ask a question which has always haunted me:

Do you guys sand your palms for smoother action, or what?