Anti-vibration gloves

[Robert L Stewart]

Has anyone found the perfect glove for random orbit sanding? There are plenty of choices out there.

Robert

[John TenEyck]

Not to be a smart Alec, but you might be better served by getting a sander with anti vibration built into it. Now if you are talking about sanding for several hours straight I could see how a glove might provide additional protection, but for any "typical" sanding operation one of the low vib ROS's should work well. I have a Bosch ROS65VSK and it has almost no vibration. I'm told Festool are very good in that department, too, but I have no firsthand experience.

John

[Roger Feeley]

+1 on choosing the right sander. Until about 10 years ago, I used my dads 1/3 sheet Craftsman orbital sander from the late 60's. My hands would go numb. Then the bride got me a Porter Cable with some vibration counter balancing and the difference was night and day. The Craftsman went into the garbage. I still use that PC sander and I bet things have gotten better yet in the years since.

[Pat Houle]

I have Stihl gloves that I use when using my chainsaw and they are phenomenal at reducing the vibration from the saw. I'm sure they would do the same for a ROS. They are super comfortable too!

http://en.stihl.ca/footwear-and-gloves.aspx
Anti-vibration gloves

They are 25$ CND a pair

[Robert L Stewart]

Not to be a smart Alec, but you might be better served by getting a sander with anti vibration built into it. Now if you are talking about sanding for several hours straight I could see how a glove might provide additional protection, but for any "typical" sanding operation one of the low vib ROS's should work well. I have a Bosch ROS65VSK and it has almost no vibration. I'm told Festool are very good in that department, too, but I have no firsthand experience.

John

Thanks John,
I have the upper end Dynabrade air sanders. Also have a soux that is bullet proof. Started woodworking and sanding 40 years ago and the parts are a bit worn.
I have no issues for the normal sanding of about 15 minutes, it's the project that take hours that I really feel.

Have read about Festool as they have much less movement. I may have to move to that tool eventually. Will have to sell my stock of PSA 6" (about 300.00) discs.
Robert

[Robert L Stewart]

I have Stihl gloves that I use when using my chainsaw and they are phenomenal at reducing the vibration from the saw. I'm sure they would do the same for a ROS. They are super comfortable too!

http://en.stihl.ca/footwear-and-gloves.aspx
Anti-vibration gloves

They are 25$ CND a pair


Thank Pat,
I looked on the web link. No model # for those. Do you remember? Are they bulky, they look good in the pic on the site.
Went to Amazon, did not see them there.

Robert

[John TenEyck]

I can't remember the last project that required hours of sanding. I use a drum sander to prep sand my stock so the time spent final sanding with the ROS sander is low. Are you making chairs or some other work that requires a lot of sculpture sanding? If not maybe there's an easier way that would reduce a lot of that sanding drudgery.

John

[John Schweikert]

I use Ergotech Sorbothane gloves. I bought them off ebay new. Here is a link to the product but no experience with the merchant: http://www.magidglove.com/Ergotech-Sorbothane-Palm-and-Thumb-Web-Protection-Glove-ER509RHOXXL-1.aspx?gdftrk=gdfV26260_a_7c2811_a_7c10180_a_7cER5 09RHOXXL&gclid=Cj0KEQiA4qSzBRCq1-iLhZ6Vsc0BEiQA1qt-zlzBjdPADy9hd83vngIw68G5dg0giRzYps-ekOazldMaAmQo8P8HAQ

[roger wiegand]

I've got a pair of bicycling gloves with gel pads on the palms that work nicely. I like that my fingers are exposed so I don't have to take them off to feel the surface, they are mesh on the back side so they don't get so hot.

[Robert L Stewart]

I can't remember the last project that required hours of sanding. I use a drum sander to prep sand my stock so the time spent final sanding with the ROS sander is low. Are you making chairs or some other work that requires a lot of sculpture sanding? If not maybe there's an easier way that would reduce a lot of that sanding drudgery.

John


John,
I use machine sanding to do the bulk of sanding. As you know everything has to be sanded again and again afterwards. I have a
24" widebelt (lifesaver machine) and a double head Sandrite brush sander with a head for all grits from 60 thru 220. I normally do
custom cabinet work but do small items that require lots of sanding. These walnut boxes are 5" wide and 9" tall and finishes with 4 coats
of watco oil. Will be starting my second batch of 30 soon. No end to the sanding.....326944

[Justin Ludwig]

I just spent all morning sanding face frames with a Festool 150/5 and feel no ill effects.

[Martin Wasner]

Robert, I'd look into a different sander. I have my fair share of days where I've got a sander in hand basically all day. We switched from Dynabrades to electric Mirkas almost a year ago. The hand fatigue is noticeably better. It's also a nicer transition than other options if you're accustomed to the Dynabrade sanders. I still prefer the air sanders for some things, 99% is done with the electric though.

Next I'm staring at parts for almost a hundred drawers or an entire unit worth of plywood of box parts I think I'm going to try some gloves and see if it helps. I'm only 35 but I've been doing this since I was seventeen and my hands are starting to give me trouble, so anything that helps.

[Robert L Stewart]

Martin, thanks for that bit. I have seen the Mirka paper, will check out their sanders. Good luck with all that sanding. I understand
that the damage to ones hands is not reverse-able. Good that there are better tools and people that have experience using them
along with sharing that experience.
Robert

[Jim Becker]

Has anyone found the perfect glove for random orbit sanding? There are plenty of choices out there.

Robert
I had to use them with the PorterCable sanders I had before I invested in Festool sanders. They really did help a lot.

[peter gagliardi]

Last I knew, Stihl only sells through individual owned saw shops- chainsaws. They haven't gone the route of Husqvarna with eBay and big box store sales, so check around for a saw shop.
If you ever decide to move into a new sander, you owe it to yourself to try the new Festool ETS EC series. After about 10-12 years with several of their Rotex sanders with perfect performance, the lightweight, and just about non existent vibration are welcome!
I tried the Mirka and the Festool literally side by side- one in left hand, one in right hand, for about 1/2 hour, and the Festool is noticeably smoother!
Not what I expected based on the reviews I had read on the Mirka.

[Pat Houle]

I will look at my receipt for a model number.

[Bradley Gray]

I have the Stihl gloves also. There is a Stihl dealer in most small towns around here. I bought them with a string trimmer that I can barely stand to use without the gloves. I have also used them with chain saw, sanders and router. I have 40 years of woodworking aches and pains so I'm happy to wear gloves even with a drawknife!

[Pat Houle]

I found the packaging for the gloves:

Anti-Vibration Work Glove

Model Numbers:
Sizes available:
M - 7002 884 1108
L - 7002 884 1109
XL - 7002 884 1110

Page 10 of this pdf
http://en.stihl.ca/p/media/download/en-ca/Safety-and-Reflective-Clothing-EN2015.pdf

[Dan Chouinard]

I like to wear grippy gloves for handling plywood. Found a pair at Marshalls of all places called MadGrip. They are awesome for dragging ply around the shop and use one on my right hand when ripping. $8 a pair. Turns out they are great for sanding too.

[Martin Wasner]

This thread made me think I should try gloves. I never had while sanding. Recently sanded about 30 sheets of birch plywood for box parts wearing gloves for more than half of it. I didn't have a real positive experience, which really surprised me. I think my problem was I was squeezing the sander harder than I normally would and it fatigued my hands. Maybe I just need to be aware of that and try it again. The dude that works for me liked it. I really liked throwing parts around with the gloves on though, good grip, and zero slivers. I'm not sure I'd want to do fine sanding like doors. Breaking edges requires some dexterity on small sticking profiles to not put a scratch in the panel.

I'm not trying to talk anyone out of trying it, or doing it, just sharing my experience. I was quite hopeful it would work well for me as eighteen years of abusing my hands in the trades has not done them any favors.