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RO sander question

10/30/17       
Bob Member

Been using Makita and Festool 5" electric Sanders for a long time now. I want a sander that's more aggressive but must have self vacuum feature. I have tried 3 M's 5-inch sander with 80 grit and as soon as I apply any pressure the sander Skidders all over the place. So my question is is this the nature of all RO sanders or should I try a dynabrade or other brand.

10/30/17       #2: RO sander question ...
Bruce H

80 grit is going to leave marks. RO sanders aren't designed to remove much stock. you are asking for something that isn't going to be possible. all of my sanders are Dynabrade, 5" gets almost no use. most used are the 6", also use 8" and 12",air powered. all require a light touch except the 8" as it is going to leave marks no matter what.

10/30/17       #3: RO sander question ...
Bob Member

I just want the sander for roughing out then using a finer Grit afterwards. I have a cheap random orbital 5in that weighs twice as much as the 3M sander and it does not Jitter like the 3M sander only problem is it doesn't have self vac.

10/30/17       #4: RO sander question ...
Bruce H

I have an 8" with 36 grit paper RO, no vac though. don't know what is available in 5".

10/30/17       #5: RO sander question ...
Mark B Member

A lot is going to depend on your budget. You mention Festool so I would assume your willing to pay for a good sander. In that range I would suggest looking at Mirka Deros or the SurfPrep DC brushless sanders. They both have dust collection (via a vac, dont know if self dust collection means you want it with a bag on board). But both of those options are going to set you back 500 bucks a pop.

The jittering you speak of with the dynabrade and 80 grit I fear is going to be a possibility with any aggressive sander, coarse paper, and operating at less than full speed. Every sander Ive owned, if you run coarse paper and your not at the full rated speed of the sander, it will rattle you all over the place.

We find that with quality, aggressive, sanders you can generally start sanding a couple grits higher than you normally would due to their performance and you can also stop sanding a grit or two lower than you normally would and still have good finish.

Was the 3M sander you tried electric? Ive wanted to get my hands on one of the 3M electric Dynabrades but my local distributor doesnt ever deal in them so Ive never been able to try one. They look like they may be rebranded.

10/31/17       #6: RO sander question ...
Richard Member

Just a thought. No dust collection but how about trying a grinder with grinding disk for wood.

https://youtu.be/nGL3Jke0JMU

10/31/17       #7: RO sander question ...
Tom Gardiner

I have the 5" 3M ro with self generated dust collection. It does shudder with coarse grits. I have found that if I restrict the air with the valve to keep the speed down I can control the shuddering and I find that the discs last much longer. I don't think it reduces the effectiveness of the sander much if at all. I fall back on my 6" electric Rigid random orbit for larger heavier sanding though. It's awkward for vertical surfaces and smaller areas.

10/31/17       #8: RO sander question ...
David R Sochar Member

I use older Festool Rotex 6" sanders that hook up to a Festool vacuum- probably 20 years old. The Rotex means there is an aggressive action that really does remove wood quickly when compared to other R/O sanders. Then switch it over (mechanical rotary transmission switch)to R/O and it it is a great sander in the finer range.
I love these sanders, and hope I never have to replace them.

10/31/17       #9: RO sander question ...
Bob  Member

Thanks for the replies and tips.
The sander was a 5in 3M with a 3/16 orbit self vac.
I had a rep come out so I could test it and never thought of turning the speed down to stop the skittering nor did I use anything higher than 80 grit. I will have to do another test I guess. Heard nothing but good things about the Festool Rotex sander except for the fact that I don't want the central vac and I'd like to have one handed sander not two hands.

10/31/17       #11: RO sander question ...
rich c.

Really any time you "apply pressure" you can actually reduce the efficiency of the sander. They are designed to do the best work at speed and slowly moved about. If you need to remove that kind of stock, go to a hand held belt sander.

11/1/17       #12: RO sander question ...
Ken Member

For fast stick removal I use a Dynabrade spirit with a 3/8" orbit. That with 80 grit is pretty aggressive. It's also a central vac model.

11/1/17       #13: RO sander question ...
Adam

Bosch, Festool, Makita all make 6" RO that have a mechanical switch that coverts them to rotary.

I've got the Bosch and you could use 40 grit and strip bottom paint off your boat, then flip the switch and put on a Surbuf pad and buff the topsides.

Amazing tool.


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