Random Orbit Sanders

[Ellen Benkin]

I am sure this has been asked but I did a search and could not find the answer.

My older Bosch ROS died and I want to replace it. I don't do a lot of sanding and I don't want to spend a lot of money but I also don't want a piece of junk. I've looked up the Bosch ROS20vsk ($69) and the Rigid R2600 ($69). I would probably be happy with either one. Any comments on these two or any other relatively inexpensive ROSes? Clearly I'm not in the Festool market but I would like something to which I can attach my shop vac for dust control.

Thanks for the help.

[Prashun Patel]

I own the Bosch. It's a very nice sander. Lighter than a lot of them out there, and the dust collection is pretty good.

[Jim Rimmer]

I had to replace my ROS recently and didn't have time to do a lot of searching and comparison. Got the DeWalt at Home Depot (sorry, don't remember the model) and it works fine - vibration is not bad and dust collection works OK. I think it was in the the $50 or so range.

[Van Huskey]

The Bosch ROS20 is a nice 5" ROS for the money. It would be my choice of the budget sanders.

[Kent Chasson]

It used to be that you couldn't go wrong with Porter Cable. I have an old one that has been dropped repeatedly and seen many hundreds of hours of use over 20 years without a problem. Can't vouch for the newer ones now that PC has been bought out but I'd still be tempted to start there.

[Don Jarvie]

I have a Craftsman Professional 5 inch - 8 holes. Professional is the red colored model. It has a port for dust collections and works fine, 57 bucks. They have cheaper ones that may be up your alley since you dont use it much.

[Kevin Groenke]

In our college shop, ROS's take a beating, we've had more opportunities to use different sanders than I would like. In the past 5 years, we've used and basically destroyed 5" palm style ROS's by DeWalt, Ryobi, Metabo (aka Rigid) and Bosch (some off brands too). Last year I got 3 Milwaukee 6021-21 (http://www.amazon.com/Milwaukee-6021-21-Random-Sander-collection/dp/B0012RWCF6)'s. At this point the Milwaukees have outlasted any other model we tried. No VS switch burn-out, no "brake disc" that needs frequent replacement, no broken vacuum adapters or other issues that have ended it for the other sanders. The vacuum adapters and replacement pads are less expensive than Dewalt and Bosch. There is a hose adapter under the dust bag, we just got a couple extra of those fittings and trimmed off the bag adapter which works great.

At ~$60, the price is right too.


218284

[Andrew Joiner]

I second the Milwaukee 6021-21.

I've had one over a year and it has maybe 20 hours on it. Nice sander. It beat the festool 125 in a magazine test I saw. I'm buying buy a few more to have one for each grit.

Bosch’s new ROS65VC sounds great,but it's a lot more money.

[Jon Endres]

I have a Ridgid R2600. Bought it used ($50) about four years ago. I think it's great. Bought it after reading many favorable reviews, and got lucky in a used tool store.

Except for the color, the Milwaukee looks to be a clone of the Ridgid. Only thing that appears different is the location and style of the on-off switch.

[Ellen Benkin]

Thanks for all the great responses. I was going to try the Milwaukee until I realized it is 8 hole and I have a drawer full of 5 hole disks. I'm not sure about the Ridgid, which got pretty good reviews, but I will check it out at HD.

[Jon Endres]

Ridgid is also 8-hole. I just looked at Makita, Bosch, Porter Cable, Ridgid online and all the common models appear to take 8-hole paper.

If I were needing to replace the Ridgid, I'd try to find another, or maybe get the Porter-Cable 390K.

[Kent A Bathurst]

It used to be that you couldn't go wrong with Porter Cable. I have an old one that has been dropped repeatedly and seen many hundreds of hours of use over 20 years without a problem. Can't vouch for the newer ones now that PC has been bought out but I'd still be tempted to start there.

Kent....

No kidding. My PC 333 is 12 years old or so. Doggone thing simply won't die. Well - it did, actually, but it was only a couple bucks for a new orbit belt/o-ring thing. I've thought about getting a new ROS, but can't figger out why I need it.

Kent

[Steve Costa]

I have 2 Bosch ROS sanders, both of which are 6 hole. One is a 5" the other is a 6". I have had these for several years and they run great every time I use them. I have also had excellent support from the Bosch customer service team. It has been awhile since I contacted them but they all spoke some great American ENGLISH!!!

Steve

[George Octon]

Thanks for all the great responses. I was going to try the Milwaukee until I realized it is 8 hole and I have a drawer full of 5 hole disks. I'm not sure about the Ridgid, which got pretty good reviews, but I will check it out at HD.

I think they're all 8 hole now, Porter Cable I think was the last hold out and I think they're 8 hole now. I had the 5 hole PC for a while and it was a huge pain having both 5 hole and 8 hole discs. A pain and a waste. All 8 hole now.

[George Octon]

I bumped into it somewhere recently (Depot?) It's like that Porter Cable low profile. I didn't see the price. Seemed kind of heavy. The PC seems really good.

[George Octon]

I see the new Dewalt low profile is going for $79.95 at amazon. Have no idea how it compares to PC. But that's about $50 cheaper, don't know if it's an introductory price or not.

[David Hostetler]

I can tell you from the even cheaper end of the scale, steer clear of the Skil. I have it, and it will beat you to death, not to mention hooking up to a vac is a pain...

I have several Ryobi sanders and have been pleased with them. Much smoother, easy hookup to a shop vac with a reducer, leaves a great finish, very reliable, and they include a case. I am one of the guys that likes my handheld power tools in cases of their own. Helps me keep the accessories and cords straight... A lot of guys chuck their cases so this might not be the thing for you...

If I had to buy a new sander though, I would be looking at the Hitachi, or the Bosch... Festool is nice, but out of my price range...

[Ellen Benkin]

I did have to bite the bullet on the 8 hole sanders. I'm going to compare the Ridgid and the Bosch since they are the same price. I've had a ROS for many years but these newer ones all seem to jerk around and require more control than the older ones. Any reasons why?

[Matthew Sherman]

I just put in an order at Amazon last night for the Milwaukee one. It is down to $60 with free shipping. It was given the 2nd place in the Fine Woodworking article and had A marks for the most part across the board.

[Van Huskey]

I did have to bite the bullet on the 8 hole sanders. I'm going to compare the Ridgid and the Bosch since they are the same price. I've had a ROS for many years but these newer ones all seem to jerk around and require more control than the older ones. Any reasons why?

The less expensive ones tend to be cheap and beat you up. The better ones such as the Festool or Bosch ROS65 to name a couple are a PLEASURE to use compared to the older even very good ROS.

[Lex Boegen]

I have a Dewalt 8-hole sander, and it works fine except that (like most ROS) it makes my hand numb from the vibration. I've recently discovered that some ROS are coming out with built-in anti-vibration technology to help prevent that. I know that Sears Crapsman Professional has one sander that they advertise with that feature, but I've been trying to find other manufacturers that have it too. Still looking, but it's a feature to keep in mind. I've bought anti-vibration gloves with a thick gel pad in the palm, and it helps (for a while) but eventually my hand goes numb anyway.

[Van Huskey]

I have a Dewalt 8-hole sander, and it works fine except that (like most ROS) it makes my hand numb from the vibration. I've recently discovered that some ROS are coming out with built-in anti-vibration technology to help prevent that. I know that Sears Crapsman Professional has one sander that they advertise with that feature, but I've been trying to find other manufacturers that have it too. Still looking, but it's a feature to keep in mind. I've bought anti-vibration gloves with a thick gel pad in the palm, and it helps (for a while) but eventually my hand goes numb anyway.

Look at the Bosch ROS65 I mentioned above, very good at controlling vibration. The Festool is also pretty much vibe free as well.

[Bill Geibe]

I've had a Bosch ROS20vs for a few years. Recently it began tossing the sanding discs as the hooks and loops were becoming worn. Until I could fix it, I bought another one just like it. Obviously I think it's a good ROS.

BTW, instead of getting a replacement pad, I got a repair kit at Lowe's (Gator brand, I believe) that has a thin hook and loop pad that you glue to the original. It worked quite well. I thought it was a bit expensive (about $15) until I realized that it has two pads and enough glue to do two sanders.

Bill

[Kevin W Johnson]

I found the Milwaukee 6021-21 on clearance at HD for $50 not too long ago. So far I like it very well.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

I also have the Milwaukee. Based my decision on the price and the reviews. With my shop vac hooked up to it, dust collection is excellent. I have not used it w/out the shopvac attached.

[Kevin W Johnson]

Funny enough, the brake pad in my Milwaukee 6021-21 has already failed. Remove the sander from the work and the pad revs up substantially.

Anyone else run into this on this sander? The part is cheap, and probably better than not having my sander while its out to repair. But if this happens alot in such a short amount of use.....

[Rick Potter]

Another Milwaukee fan. I got rid of my Bosch for a Milwaukee and like it much better. Less vibes, better DC, and easily takes vac hoses without adaptor.

Rick Potter