Finishing/sheet sanders

[Christian Aufreiter]

Hello folks,

once again, I’d be glad to receive helpful responses to a couple of questions.
Currently, I’m trying to find out which sanders I should get in addition to my 6” ROS and my belt sander in order to complete my collection.
A detail sander (most likely the Fein Multimaster) is already on my list so I’m primarily interested in a small/midsized finish sander.

My Questions:
- Do you think a finish sander would be a useful addition?
- Which brand would you choose in the ¼ sheet palm sander category? (Makita, Dewalt, Bosch etc.?)
- What’s your opinion on the Bosch 1297DK (http://www.boschtools.com/tools/tools-detail.htm?H=175979&G=54924&I=55093)? The SheetLoc™ Sandpaper Attachment System seems to be easy to use.
- Speaking of larger sanders, any experiences with this Metabo (http://www.metabousa.com/metabo/us/us/produkte/sanders/210wattsandersr2023_02026.html)?

Thanks in advance!

Christian

[Jim Becker]

Christian, I recently purchased the Festool finish sander with both the rectangular pad and the "pointy, in the corner" pad. So far, I like it, even though I don't use this format sander very much. I bought it primarily to deal with certain sanding tasks "after assembly" when a ROS is inconvenient or unworkable. (square inside corners, etc.)

[Frank Pellow]

Christian, I really really like the Festool Linear sander Duplex LS 130 EQ (part number 567777) as a finishing sander.

[Christian Aufreiter]

Thanks for your replies, Jim and Frank.
I’ve had my eyes on the RS/DS 400 but due to extremely disappointing experiences with Festool Germany’s way to deal with customers and problems I’m not going to spend more money on Festools any time soon.

Regards,

Christian

[Doug Shepard]

I've got the Makita and have been pretty satisfied with it. It's not something I use very much, but when you need it it does a good job. My detail sander is an old Ryobi which does a surprisingly good job for an inexpensive tool. It's also not something that sees much use, but when nothing else will fit into small places it does a good job.

[Frank Pellow]

Thanks for your replies, Jim and Frank.
I’ve had my eyes on the RS/DS 400 but due to extremely disappointing experiences with Festool Germany’s way to deal with customers and problems I’m not going to spend more money on Festools any time soon.

Regards,

Christian
I'm sorry to hear that about Festool Germany Christian. Would you care to gice us any more details re your bad experience?

[Alan Mikkelsen]

Porter Cable Speed Bloc 330. Smoothest sander I've ever used! I use it for knocking down the whiskers after my first coat, using 320 or 400 grit paper.

[Dave Malen]

Christian,
I own the Bosch. I think it is a very good sander for the money. The sheet lock system works as advertised. Dust collection is good. One drawback - no variable speed.

Dave

[Christian Aufreiter]

Hi folks,

thanks for your replies.

@ Dave:
Does the Bosch leave a nice surface? Any troubles with swirl marks?
Does it vibrate excessively? Or can you sand for approx. 30 minutes without getting numb hands?

@ Frank:
My time is rather limited at the moment and I still hope that Festool Germany will solve the problem(s) but I’ll try to summarize my experiences and contact you asap.

Thanks!

Christian

[John Miliunas]

My vote goes along with Alan on the PC Speed Bloc! So much so that I have TWO of them!!! :) Smooth, comfortable in the hand for both, horizontal and vertical panels, fast and easy to maneuver when a real light touch is necessary! It's my main "go to" sander, particularly when doing seal sanding and in between finish coats. :) :cool:

[tod evans]

christian, if you have a good compressor these sanders made by the german company stuhr are fantastic......02 tod

29715

[Jim Fancher]

Porter Cable Speed Bloc 330. Smoothest sander I've ever used! I use it for knocking down the whiskers after my first coat, using 320 or 400 grit paper.

Another vote for the 330.

[Dave Malen]

Chris,
The Bosch doesn't transmit much vibration to your hand. I don't think your hand would be numb after 30 minutes. (although I've never used it for that period of time) No swirl marks that I can see.

Dave

[Michael Ballent]

I thought that the 330 does not have DC... am I thinking of another sander?

[John Miliunas]

I thought that the 330 does not have DC... am I thinking of another sander?

Michael, you're absolutely correct. The 330 does not have DC. OTOH, the pad movement, although quite rapid, has an extremely short "throw", hence, the dust generated is typically in a very confined area. I have to believe that any DC arrangement on it would make it very unwieldly and cumbersome. When done sanding, I typically use a 2-step process for removing dust: 1) Initial wipe with a well used tack cloth. 2) Fresh tack cloth. For really large projects, I'll pull my Fein vac into the finishing room for the initial "wipe down" and then follow with the tack cloth. :) :cool:

[Steve Ash]

My vote goes along with Alan on the PC Speed Bloc! So much so that I have TWO of them!!! :) Smooth, comfortable in the hand for both, horizontal and vertical panels, fast and easy to maneuver when a real light touch is necessary! It's my main "go to" sander, particularly when doing seal sanding and in between finish coats. :) :cool:

I'll agree, when I was looking for one I asked John his reccomendation. I have not been sorry, and Thank John every time I use it.

[Dan Forman]

Can someone set me straight here? I thought that non-ro type sanders would leave visible scratches, and that was the whole reason for going the ro route. :confused:

Dan

[Christian Aufreiter]

Hello folks,

thanks for your replies.

@ Tod:
A pneumatic sander would be great but unfortunately I don’t own a compressor and would face serious difficulties storing a larger unit in my cramped shop.

@ Dave:
I’ll try to locate a store where I can try the Bosch for a few minutes. It seems to be a nice unit.

As for the PC Speedblock, it’s not available in Austria. The only PC/Flex ¼ sander that I could buy is this type (http://www.flex-tools.de/prod/right.php?group=40#Detailinfo).

These Milwaukee's (http://www.milwaukee.de/int/de/de_products.nsf/vwWebProductLevel3/sanders-polishers-palm-orbital-sanders?OpenDocument&nav1=pro) (not available in the USA) might be also worth a look.

Regards,

Christian