PDA

View Full Version : Oil and Air Powered Random Orbital Sanders



John Poole
03-17-2008, 9:53 PM
I was talking with the Dynabrade (http://www.dynabrade.com)sales representative about their 3" sander and he mentioned that the air should be lubricated as a general practice. The manufacturer's specification sheet provides:
Dynabrade recommends one drop of air lube per minute for each 20 SCFM (example: if the tool specification states 40 SCFM, set the drip rate on the filter-lubricator to 2 drops per minute).
He mentioned that woodworkers had a work-around and that is to oil the sander the night before with a few drops of oil and then use it on a clean air (no oil in the air) system and that would be good for a day.

Would those who use air powered random orbital sanders ("ROS") please comment on their experiences using an ROS and whether they use an oiled air system or not.

Is the oil enough to cause deposits on the wood?

Do you use an oil-less system and manually oil the ROS? Does this have a small risk of leaving oil deposits? Do you have to sort of guage your usage and develop an appropriate amount of oil just to lubricate but not leave deposits?

Can you have an air powered system that is part oiled air and part clean -- i.e. forking the output line and introducing oil on one fork for downstream tools and leaving another line free of oil?

Also, I've been trying to get information on the Mirka (http://www.mirka.com/Home)sander, but the US representatives have not returned my inquiries. Is there a dealer who sells the Mirka sander?

Dick Bringhurst
03-17-2008, 10:04 PM
I have the Dynabrade and never had a problem with oil leaking anywhere. Its sands very quickly. I like it. Dick B.

Peter Quinn
03-17-2008, 10:41 PM
I used dynabrade's at work in a door shop (full size entry/passage doors in hardwood). Our air was dryed and refridgerated but not oiled. We oiled each sander befor using it for the day, spun it for about a minute full open, then sanded away. Never had problems with oil on the wood and never had problems with the sanders burning out.

J.R. Rutter
03-17-2008, 11:01 PM
I use refrigerated dried air and oil manually before use. I got sanders with the vacuum assist venturi, so that the air exhausts into the vac hose. One of the reasons that I did it this way was to absolutely avoid oil mist.