1/2 sheet sander

[kevin nee]

I am in the market for a good 1/2 sheet sander for large surfaces. Any suggestions?
Thanks in advance, Kevin

[Ryan Hellmer]

Milwaukee makes a great one, my dad has it and it is pretty sweet, very little vibration and tons of power. The older PC's are pretty highly regarded. I have a makita 1/3 sheet and find it to be a very good compromise, lots more surface area but about a third the price. The makita has very little vibration and surprisingly effective dust collection.

Ryan

[Andrew Pitonyak]

Anyone have any thoughts on the Festool half sheet sander? It looks like it can handle both hook and loop as well as regular paper (but you probably want to punch your own holes, and I think that they sell the puncher).

[Greg Portland]

Anyone have any thoughts on the Festool half sheet sander? It looks like it can handle both hook and loop as well as regular paper (but you probably want to punch your own holes, and I think that they sell the puncher).

I borrowed one and it is great for finish sanding flat work (better than the ROS options). It also is great for sanding edges or breaking (rounding) edges. The only downside is that it does not have a detachable cord (a slight pain if you're using the boom arm). The hole puncher is part # 481523.

[David Fielding]

Festool RS2E Unbeatable..

[Brian W Evans]

I have the Bosch 1293D and I like it very much. It's comfortable with surprisingly little vibration. Amazon has it for about 1/3 the price of the Festool and it comes with a hole puncher.

[Scott T Smith]

Festool RS2E Unbeatable..

I LOVE mine. Ditto the disapointment in the lack of a detachable cord though.

[Damon Stathatos]

+1 for the Bosch

Have had one in the arsenal for years and it's become my 'go-to' sander for larger surfaces that I want / need a fine finish.

[Charles McClain]

I believe they also recommend a different pad Product No. 485647 if you're using non Festool/Velcro. I have the RS2E and the punch but haven't used any non Festool paper so I'm just going by the recommendations. I will second the RS2e with the caveat that the green and black slope is a slippery one. I gave away my Makita 1/3 sheet sander after getting the RS2e.

Charles

I borrowed one and it is great for finish sanding flat work (better than the ROS options). It also is great for sanding edges or breaking (rounding) edges. The only downside is that it does not have a detachable cord (a slight pain if you're using the boom arm). The hole puncher is part # 481523.

[Brian D Hinther]

The only problem I have with these recommendations is that they're all orbital sanders. The scallops they leave behind are (as near as I can tell) why Random Orbital sanders were invented. The only straight-line sander that I know of available new is the Festool LS 130 EQ Linear Sander, and it's kind of a toy--mostly for moldings--and has a pad that's only around 3" x 5.5". This is one case where you'll need to buy used if you want a full-size pad sander with linear action. I have an old Craftsman Commercial that's both orbital and linear. It's really loud, but does a nice job, and doesn't leave orbital scallops (when in linear mode).

[Timothy Wolf]

The Bosch is great and kinda heavy but has the feel of a well put together tool.

[Mark Salomon]

Very happy with my Bosch

[Andrew Joiner]

Here's my experience.

I would use 2- Porter Cable 505 half sheet sanders one in each hand on all but the smallest pieces. That was 30 years ago. It was fast and did a good job. 505's were the standard finish sander back then . I've been using 5" RO sanders in recent years and just got a Milwaukee 6021-21 that works fine and is a good value price wise.

I have been trying to make my sanding go faster, so I thought --what about the latest 1/2 sheet sanders? A 1/2 sheet has way more area than a 5" disk. Even more than a 6" disk. Regular paper is cheaper than H&L disks and readily available.
I've tried a Bosch 6" RO sander but I needed to hold it with 2 hands. So I went to my local dealer and asked to try sanders one could use one handed.
I tested the 5" Festool ETS 125 and the Festool RS 2E half sheet side by side. The 5'' was slower at removing pencil marks than the RS 2E. The ETS 125 had near new 100 grit in it but the RS 2E had a fresh 120 grit sheet. Both worked fine one handed. So with that in mind I was impressed with the RS 2E. The ETS 125 didn't seem any better than my Milwaukee 6021-21 I made some notes and thought that maybe the modern half sheets have improved over the old 505's.

I saw the Bosch 1293D 1/2-Sheet was well reviewed on Amazon and it's made in Switzerland like the fine Bosch jig saw I have.

So I just received the new Bosch 1293D 1/2-Sheet. $144 and Swiss made. I tested it side by side with the $60 Milwaukee 6021-21 made in China.

I'm disappointed . I saw no reason to keep the Bosch so I returned it. It's slightly slower than the Milwaukee and heavier. I guess the Bosch may be better on large flat areas with 320 or finer, or if you need to get in a lot of corners, but I rarely do that.