Funny, the instructions with mine (3283DVS?) say to start it on the surface and leave it there till it stops. And I don't see any swirls when I go through the grits to 220 or 240.
Perhaps the OP is pushing down too much instead of letting the sander do the work? Perhaps he's running it at too low a speed? Or maybe his ROS is really a POS :-).
Hello,
I've been using a cheap Ryobi ROS for about a year, and I'm noticing that it tends to leave little swirlies on the work, which I have to hand sand. My question is, are there sanders on the market that are perhaps less agressive? Are sanders like everything else, where you get what you pay for? Do some sanders use a finer, faster action, which leaves a smoother surface for finishing? Is it my technique?
My next project is a butler's table, the top to which is a patchwork of crossgrain. I won't be able to use a belt sander or even hand sand it, so the ROS will probably be the best option. Any suggestions on this would be appreciated.
Thanks,
Curt Blood
| I've been using a cheap Ryobi ROS for about a year, and I'm noticing | that it tends to leave little swirlies on the work, which I have to | hand sand. My question is, are there sanders on the market that are | perhaps less agressive? Are sanders like everything else, where you | get what you pay for? Do some sanders use a finer, faster action, | which leaves a smoother surface for finishing? Is it my technique?
Have you considered finer grit, stearated sandpaper?
| My next project is a butler's table, the top to which is a | patchwork of crossgrain. I won't be able to use a belt sander or | even hand sand it, so the ROS will probably be the best option. Any | suggestions on this would be appreciated.
Have you ever tried using a scraper? If not, it might be time to do that.
-- Morris Dovey DeSoto Solar DeSoto, Iowa USA
The swirlies you see are probably more a function of how fine or coarse your sandpaper is. Typical sequence would be to start @ 120, and progress through the grits up to 220 or so. Make sure you brush away any stray grit in between paper changes, or you can get a 120 grit swirlie when you're sanding at 220 (DAMHIKT). Yes, you'll still have some swirlies after your finest grit, but hand-sanding those away is usually just a few quick passes with the grain.
-John
You forgot a link to an edge preparation resource.
Nicely prepped scraper edge = JOY! Bad scraper edge = _misery_
Scrapers also excel @ fixing finish mistakes, like runs.
I still sand, but scraping is a great skill to learn.
G'day Curt, I use a 1/4 sheet vibrating sander after the ROS. Usually do about 120 -
180 with the Rose then 240 with the 1/4 sheet. All fixed ;) regards JohnBarry wrote:
I have the Ryobi ROS too, and with fine grits (220 or so) of nice sandpaper (Mirka gold from Amazon, for instance), I haven't had problems with swirlies. In fact, I haven't had problems with swirlies since junior high phys ed. Seriously, finer sandpaper helps, and hooking up your sander to a shop vac helps. Remember not to push down on the sander - let its weight do the work for you. Good luck, Andy
Are you allowing the sander to come up to full speed before placing it on the wood's surface and removing the sander from the stock before shutting the sander off?
one more thing to consider: moving a ROS too fast will cause "swirlies".
Some manufactures recommend starting the sander with the machine flat on the stock to prevent gouging but as far as I know they all recommend removing the machine before shutting it off. Swirls are minimized by the random orbital action of the sander. As the sander stops so does the random orbit.
As a fella, whose bulk of his retirement (laughs) income comes from sanding big slabs of solid surface...(black, dark brown, islands in front of sun-lit windows..IOW...sanding nightmares).. I would agree with a lot of the other replies. Too much pressure, too slow speed, etc. My hunch is improper cleaning between grits, inadequate vacuum for dust collection and/or low-grade (cheap) sandpaper. The high-end sanders like the Rotex 150 Festool and Fein are not that different than the lower cost ROS's other than their longevity and, most importantly, their ability to remove the waste whilst in operation. Keeping the job clean during sanding is what makes the big difference, the other benefits, like balance, low vibration all add to the professional choices. All you need, is for a dozen pieces of sanding grit from the previous size to be skidding around under the finer paper and you WILL get swirlies.
I don't know how many times I have to say this, but CLEAN between grits...
Well, thank you all for you input. I'll check the instructions to see which is correct. I've been turning the machine on, then placing it on the work. It usually skips around a bit, sometimes quite a bit. I may be exerting too much force on the work as well. I'm using Norton sandpaper in 150, 220, and 320. Is this good enough, or are there better? Thanks again.
CB
I'd use 180 between the 150 and 220, and replace the 320 with a light hand sanding with the grain using 240. Others may have different opinions.
And unless your wood is a lot smoother than I think it is I'd start with
120 or even 100.Most of the time my sequence is 100, 120, 150, 180, 220 and then the 240 by hand. After the 100, it only takes a few passes with each of the other grades.
I once used a Ryobi with 100grit, followed by a PC with 150grit. The PC actually cut faster than the Ryobi; probably because most of the Ryobi's energy was going into shaking my hand apart, while the PC's was going into sanding.
You won't get more than you pay for.
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