Milwaukee 5" Random Orbit Sander Review

[Bryan Cramer]

I purchased one about a mounth ago. This is my first RO sander. I love it! It is a good gerneral purpose sander, it is agressive, yet it leaves a good finish with no scratches.

Pros:

Little vibration
Powerful
Agresive, but leaves no scratches
Easy to control on narrow and wide flat surfaces (with some practice)
Soft start with and electic brake (no waiting for the sander to stop turning when you set it down)
Variable speed (I have yet to use it lower than the second highest setting)
Easy to remove dust bag
Has a dust port that fits my shop vac and removes 99% of the dust

Cons:


Dust collection with the bag captures about 75% of the dust (The seal around the cloth leaks some dust as well)


I recomend this sander as a first purchase for begining wood workers or wood workers who can only afford one sander (like me) because it can do every sanding task from coarse work to fine work and it only costs about $70.
Enough said, this is the best sander for your money.

[Kevin W Johnson]

I got mine at HD, clearanced for $50 I think it was. It has already worn out one brake pad though with not a whole lot of use.

[Van Huskey]

I got mine at HD, clearanced for $50 I think it was. It has already worn out one brake pad though with not a whole lot of use.

I read recently (forgot where but it was one of the mags) that removing the brake pad actually reduced vibration on all the sanders in their test, they commented the ones that stopped the fastest showed the biggest improvement one it was removed.

PS I started thinking and couldn't remember a 5" ROS review recently in any magazine so I googled and found where I had read it:

http://www.waterfront-woods.com/Projects/airsander.html it is down the page in the pink box

His conclusions seem well documented BUT it is true these are older and not current sanders so they premise of his theory may be moot if they have been changed/improved since that time.

[Gary Kman]

My Milwaukee 6021-21 5" Random orbit sander died this week. Didn't seem that long. Fifty four weeks on a year warranty of course. Probably 60 minutes of actual use. Bad speed control module. About $25 plus shipping. Think sander was a factory reman to start with and there are lots of these for sale so must be a common problem. Don't want to spend $25 for another problem. Replaced the speed control with a 3A 400V diode. Line in - switch - diode- brush, other brush - line neutral. Seems to work fine. I like it except for the problem above which is now solved.

[Rick Potter]

Got one a year ago, it vibrates much less than my Bosch. No troubles. The DC bag leaks a lot less than the Bosch filter did too. Sold the Bosch. Note that the DC connection fits large and small vac hoses.

Rick Potter

[Kevin W Johnson]

I read recently (forgot where but it was one of the mags) that removing the brake pad actually reduced vibration on all the sanders in their test, they commented the ones that stopped the fastest showed the biggest improvement one it was removed.

PS I started thinking and couldn't remember a 5" ROS review recently in any magazine so I googled and found where I had read it:

http://www.waterfront-woods.com/Projects/airsander.html it is down the page in the pink box

His conclusions seem well documented BUT it is true these are older and not current sanders so they premise of his theory may be moot if they have been changed/improved since that time.

I don't think the vibration is bad at all on mine with the brake working properly. The trouble without the brake, is the pad rotating full speed ahead when you lift off of your work.

[Andrew Joiner]

My Milwaukee 6021-21 5" Random orbit sander died this week. Didn't seem that long. Fifty four weeks on a year warranty of course. Probably 60 minutes of actual use. .

Mine came with a 5 Year Warranty. I got it new 2 years ago. Great sander.

[Kevin W Johnson]

Mine came with a 5 Year Warranty. I got it new 2 years ago. Great sander.


He stated his was a factory refurb, so quite possible his warranty was only one year.