Dewalt D26451 ROS excessive noise/vibration

[Tai Fu]

I bought a "Used" (the description says new/used because it was a display model at Home Depot) Dewalt D26451 Random Orbital Sander at an auction for about 20 dollars.

When I got it and turned it on, it made some horrible noise that was only a little quieter than a router (which is loud), and it vibrated badly.

I went down to a hardware store to pick up a new soldering iron (long story... the plastic became brittle and the handle pretty much fell off) and saw the Bosch GEX125-1AE ROS which was not only much quieter, it had very little vibration. It was around 120 dollars so I bought it anyways because I can't have a ROS that sounds like a banshee from hell and giving my hands a message. The Bosch vibrates too but not by a large degree, it is certainly manageable.

The question is, is the Dewalt ROS supposed to vibrate this much, or am I looking at a defective product? I am trying to get the seller to take it back but so far he's not very cooperative. I just don't think Dewalt would make such a terrible product.

[david brum]

It sounds like you got a lemon. That seems to be the way of things with power tools these days. If you got it from ebay and the seller won't take it back without question, you should examine his description of the item carefully. If the ROS doesn't meet the condition described by the seller, he is obligated to make it right. If he won't, you can threaten to leave negative feedback. If that doesn't get his attention, you can report it to ebay. They will start a case against him, resulting in a poor performance review. No seller wants this, so it gives you quite a bit of leverage for getting the situation resolved. Usually just the threat is enough.

Be careful though. If the description says something like "as is" or "all sales are final, so read the description carefully" and the seller won't budge, you may be stuck with it.

[Tai Fu]

Yea, I read the description and it pretty much says that he won't refund it due to vibration or noise.... It's not ebay but yahoo auctions. Not sure what I can do except to ebay it again to get my money back. It really felt like something is loose in there.

[david brum]

The second thing that I would try is contacting Dewalt. They're pretty good about standing behind their stuff, as long as you can show the sales receipt. They will probably have you send it to one of their repair facilities.

[Tai Fu]

it's not worth it then... I mean I just got another Bosch ROS and it works great, so no need to spend another 100 dollars to fix this 20 dollar ROS.

[Andrew Pitonyak]

OK, so you are out $20, how much effort is this worth when you are only out $20.

Also, if you choose to resell it, be up front on the issues.

Finally, it is worth asking Dewalt...

[Joe Scharle]

Is the leaf spring and brake still in place? It's there to dampen the orbit.
http://servicenet.dewalt.com/Products/Detail/D26451

[Andrew Pitonyak]

The question is, is the Dewalt ROS supposed to vibrate this much, or am I looking at a defective product? I am trying to get the seller to take it back but so far he's not very cooperative. I just don't think Dewalt would make such a terrible product.

I own one of those.... it works well and is not as horrid as your sounds. I actually like it.