Random Orbital Sanders

Flute Maker

Mike
User
I am just sort of looking at these 2 sanders. I am wondering if they are any good? Would they make sanding any easier on bowls and flutes? easier on my hands??? The arthritis is not good right now.

Check the links out and give me your honest opinion.

Thanks in advance. (I want something that will help me ...not just another tool)


 

tandemsforus

John
User
I for the life of me cannot get/keep out all the moisture out of my pressure lines. In a production shop with a good air/water separator a pneumatic sander is the best. In my home shop and using lots of volume for extended time (5-10 minutes with a die grinder) the tool will spit moisture. I then use more oil in the tool before and after use, thus it has a bad tendency to spit said oil as I use the tool. So I pretty much gave up on palm air sanders even though I love them for their weight and power.
 

Flute Maker

Mike
User
I questioned that on one of the sanders and they said it didnt happen unless you might use too much oil.....Hmmmm I am not sure...I havent gone down this trail before.I don't have a air or water separator either which I know wold be good...Thanks!
 

Bill Clemmons

Bill
Corporate Member
I don't know anything about either of those models, or pneumatic sanders in general. Two suggestions I would make, however:

1) Find a sander that is light weight and has a comfortable feel in your hands. That may mean going to an actual store and testing several models. I know I've got some arthritis in my hands and it gets more difficult each year.

2) Make sure you can connect a vacuum hose to it to remove dust. Preferably one that comes on automatically when you turn the sander on. They create a lot of fine dust.
 

nn4jw

New User
Jim
I'm quite likely wrong, but when I think of pneumatic sanders I think of wet sanding where pneumatic is safer than electric, especially for cars or other metal work. Clearly the sanders above are being sold for woodworking.

Dry sanding with pneumatic sanders will definitely throw a lot of dust around because the air has to exhaust the tool. That exhaust is also where the moisture in the air line is going to exit the tool. Either way, big mess.

I do own a pneumatic sander, but just for metal work. Never tried it on wood.
 

Flute Maker

Mike
User
Thanks guys.I am new to the pneumatic tools too for the most part...only have the one die grinder and havent used it much at all. Ill just keep thinking for now...... Thanks guys!!!!
 

Pop Golden

New User
Pop
My shop is mostly electric, but I just bought my 1st. pneumatic sander. I's what is called a straight line sander. It emulates a hand sanding motion. (back & forth) They don't make such a machine in an electric version. My RO sanders are electric, light and fast features I love. I have a DeWalt (P-C), Bosch & Old P-C heavy duty sanders. I HATE sanding! Therefore I have about every type made my mortal man. You name it I got one. From my little Proxxon band file to my stand alone machines

Pop
 

JimD

Jim
Senior User
The first linked sander has a 5mm orbit which is large and aggressive. That is what my Bosch DEVS 1250 has. It removes wood about as fast as a belt sander. But that is in it's "turbo" mode, the random orbit mode is slower - but still fairly fast because of the larger motion. I have not noticed any issue with scratches but some believe larger orbits = more visible scratching.

The issue I would have with either is the lack of dust collection. Festools are known for having the best dust collection but that comes at a price. I like my Bosch. But it is a handful to use one handed. I would get an electric sander you can hook to a shop vac to get a lot of the dust and one with a hook and loop pad. My DEVS is my favorite but only because it gets the dreaded task over with the quickest. It is shaped like an angle grinder and somewhat heavy. I also have a DeWalt 5 inch which works fine, just more slowly. Bosch has a ROS that is shaped conventionally with the motor over the pad but which has vibration damping. That could be a good thing.

I also do not work as long as I used to partially because of arthritis. It seems to get worse the longer I push forward. Better vibration control may help.
 

Gofor

Mark
Corporate Member
One big difference between pneumatic and electric disc orbitals:

With the electric, you start the sander off the work, and lift it off before stopping it to prevent swirl marks. Most have a brake on them that stops the spining motion unless pressure is applied.

With pneumatic, you start and stop the sander on the work to prevent swirl marks. Pneumatics (also called Dual Action or DA sanders) are basically an air motor with the disc and bearing offset on the shaft opposed to a counterweight to give the eccentric orbit effect. If you trigger them off the work, they will ramp up speed immediately and may vibrate out of you hand if you don't have a good grip on it. I have seen them sling the abrasive disc off and across a 100' wide aircraft hangar. On these, if you change the disc size, you also must replace the counterweight to match.

By "on" and "off" the work, I mean with the disc in contact with the surface to be sanded.

The other concern is that the pneumatic sanders are continuously using air, so a large volume compressor is required . Most portable compressors do not produce the necessary cfm nor have a residual tank capacity to run them. That said, the ones shown only show a 3 cfm requirement, so they are either more advanced technology, or are less powerful than the ones I have had experience with.

The models with a handle are usually quite aggressive, and work well for removing coatings or large amount of wood. Palm sanders with a paddle triggger are best for finishing work and preparing surfaces for coatings. If using the palm sanders on a regular basis, I highly recommend purchasing some good anti-vibration gloves (they usually have soft rubber or gel-filled pads on the palms and finger tips) to prevent permanent and very debilitating nerve damage to your hands and fingers.

As for those the OP showed, the top one looks similar to the Dynabrade brand we used on aircraft (for me that was 15 + years ago). At that time, Dynabrade was a very good quality tool and replacement parts were readily available. I hae no experience with the brand shown.
 
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