Finish sanders?

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I am finishing that end table I started several years ago. Two days ago, I made a couple discoveries in the process about my aging body. One, I am now somewhat allergic to wood sanding dust and two, the arthritis in my right hand doesn't like the vibrations when I am using my Makita finishing sander.

My father died of a heart attack 6 weeds before his 48th birthday. Now I have outlived him by over 25 years. I am deaf and hear via a cochlear implant. I have arthritus in my right hand, one hip and one ankle. I am still grateful to be alive to complain!

Are there any finishing sanders that don't transmit or at least, reduce the vibrations to the palm of the hand operating it?

[Mel Fulks]

I would try just taping a a piece of foam rubber over the handle. I hope it helps.

[Jamie Buxton]

My finish sander is a Festool 6”. It is a good tool. Connected to a vacuum, it has very good dust collection. The vibration is better than the last non-Festool sander I owned, a 5” Dewalt.

If the Festool 6” is too spendy for you, you’d probably get the same performance from their 5”.

[John Ziebron]

I have a 25 year old Bosch 5 inch sander that's been sitting on a shelf as a backup ever since I got a Festool 5 incher 3 years ago. Even thought the Bosch was the best for low vibration at the time the Festool makes it a night and day difference. It's one of a handful of purchases that I can truly say was a good investment.

That said, before you think about spending money on a new sander I would recommend buying a good pair of anti vibration gloves to try first. Check out Amazon as some have thousands of good reviews.

[Ron Citerone]

My 5” festool vibrates a lot less than my 5” porter cable did when I used them on the same project. Not sure how it will help with your joint problems. Good luck Ken!

[Jim Becker]

Ken, the vibration issue is exactly why I went to Festool back in the mid-2000s. My hand/wrist can get numb within minutes with many typical sanders, but I can sand for hours with the 150/3. I was even wearing padded gloves "back in the day" with the old PC333 sanders! Now if you like Bosch, one of their higher end sanders might be worth trying out. And if you consider Festool, you can also consider Mirka. IMHO, a really good sander that you can use for long periods of time and that has superior dust collection is very worthy of the investment. The good ones also last a long time. Consider that I've been using my 150/3 since about 2004 or 2005...I don't recall. I've replaced the pad three times at about $45 each. Take that cost plus the cost of the sander and divide by the number of years. "Dirt cheap" in that context. And it still runs like brand new.

[Cameron Wood]

Makita 1/3 sheet sander. Way less vibration, no jumping around, more hand positions, no stupid hook & loop.

[Alan Lightstone]

Another vote for the Festool 150/3. Arthritis as well, as sadly many of us.

I'm not sure how its vibration compares to the Mirka which reportedly is also very good that way as I've never tried it.

I've only replaced the pad once. User error, actually. Also 10+ years old and running great.

[ChrisA Edwards]

I have a couple of Festool 125 sanders, love them. Both at battery powered, run about an hour on a charge, but I also have the AC adaptor when I know I'll be sanding longer than a battery cycle.

I did try a Mirka at the IWF, back in August, it felt very smooth while sanding.

[Kevin Jenness]

My Festool ETS EC 125 is very good at capturing dust and eliminating vibration. For another $100 or so you can get a Mirka DEROS with similar performance at half the weight and with a better paddle switch. Spendy, but they have what you are looking for.

[Derek Cohen]

I have an older Mirka Ceros, which is lighter than its successor, the Deros. It is supremely smooth and has superb dust control with Abranet disks. I suggest, however, that you try before you buy as the palm switch requires direct pressure. Arthritis can impact this.

https://i.postimg.cc/mLfNHH4F/Mirka_Ceros.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

For interest, I also have a 25-year old Festo ET 2E, which is the forerunner of the Festool 150/3. This is a large and heavy machine.

https://i.postimg.cc/NQLLgRcD/IMG_7865.jpg (https://postimages.org/)

But the weight helps reduce vibration. It is still a great sander, just better suited to panels.

Regards from Perth

Derek

[Jim Chilenski]

I'm am looking for a new sander as well for the same reasons that you listed. I know that everyone praises the Festool RAS, but I am seriously considering the new 3M Xtract Electric Random Orbital Sander. Its available with two different orbits, 3/16" and 3/32", in both 6" and 5" diameters and I really like the grip designed, very similar to sanders used in the auto finishing industry. Hoping to get it as a birthday present next month, or maybe a Mirka.

[Cameron Wood]

Do the Festool, etc have lock-on button on the switch? That is key to reducing hand impacts IME.

[Michael Burnside]

I tried the Mirka Deros and Festool ETS EC 150/3 EQ and liked them both. I chose the Festool as I felt I had a bit more freedom to shift and move my palm around as I sanded. I love this sander in both the 150/3 and 150/5.

[Philip Glover]

Another thing you could try is gel filled work gloves. They come in full finger and half finger.
I know that some people with Raynauds find this type of glove very helpful when using anything which vibrates.
Lastly, I will pile on with the Festool recommendations.

PCG

[Jim Becker]

Do the Festool, etc have lock-on button on the switch? That is key to reducing hand impacts IME.
Yes, you can lock it "on" while sanding so you can focus on moving the tool around without holding the trigger.

[Phillip Mitchell]

I have not used Mirka sanders but I am a big fan of my Festool ETS EC 150/3 as a finish sander and for all lighter duty work. Dust collection is, of course, top notch with a proper extractor, but the reduced vibration is night and day better compared to more budget oriented sanders. You do have to pay a price for this type of performance, though I would argue that it’s easily worth it if 2 of your biggest factors are dust collection and vibration sensitivity.

[chuck van dyck]

Cordless Makita 1/4 sheet sander is great and easy on the hand. Good dust collection with a festool vac and does an amazing job prepping for finish.
Also often included with the awesome promos Makita launches a few times a year. I an a Makita guy through and through though I do have the big bosch 6” rotex thing when needed.

[Carl Beckett]

I also upgraded to the Festool ETS (I went with the /5) and their vacuum. It has made a tremendous difference. Dust collection is excellent. Expensive being the only negative I can give it.

Combined with padded gloves?

[Lee Schierer]

I had problems with numbness in my hand when I first stated using my Porter Cable ROS. I determined that I was gripping it too hard and applying too much down pressure. When I relaxed a bit and let the weight of the sander do the job, I had less swirl marks and a smoother finish.

[Alan Lightstone]

I am finishing that end table I started several years ago. Two days ago, I made a couple discoveries in the process about my aging body. One, I am now somewhat allergic to wood sanding dust ...

Might also be time to change the cartridge in your respirator and think about improving the air filtration in your shop. I always date the filters on my air filter and respirator, and sadly forget how long they've been on there. It's impressive how long they seem to perform well, but it only takes a microscopic amount of an antigen to trigger an allergic reaction, so you need to be super over-the-top about this. I always keep my respirator on until the Dylos reads ambient. You might need to keep it on until you reach far lower levels - again, it takes only tiny amounts of the antigen to trigger the allergy.

And having a good vacuum with HEPA filters attached to the sander would be a good idea too. Isn't it nice how we all like to vicariously spend other peoples money? :)

[Justin Rapp]

I know many mentioned festool and some other brands. I went to festool for the dust collection and reduced vibrations. Sanding now isn't a a nasty painful job, even fun sometimes. However if you do want to avoid machines, I sat through a finishing seminar and while not sold on hand sanding, I was amazed at how easy it really was to hand sand using the proper sand paper and a good sanding block. The sanding block I have is the 7 dollar POS from the big box store. However I did buy a powertech hand sander (festool style knock-off) and it works really well. The sanding block used in the seminar was from Bush Products https://bushproducts.com/products/sanding-blocks but has no dust collection.

The only downside, instead of slight vibration from the festool sander, now there is repetitive motion in the shoulder and elbow that could cause some issue.