Thanks to all for the input. I'm sure this a great sander, but I just cant see spending nearly $500.00 for a finishing sander. Maybe a professional business can justify it, I don't know. I think what bothers me the most is the idea that this company has a patent on a great product and has decided to maximize it profit margin. I am not convinced this item cost them that much more to make than say the Bosch sander and it probably wont last six times as long.
A few years ago I bought a Festool router. I like it a lot, maybe a little better than my Elu, but its quality does not appear to be that much better and it is not that much better to use than my other routers. In reflection I would not buy it again for the money I paid. Each to his own
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Originally Posted by fRED mCnEILL
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But nothing is perfect. Maybe I should try a Festool...
I'd love to have one for the home shop, but I've yet to acquire the finances, so its a festool there. I understand the reluctance to go there, thats reality. Most of the consumer grade ROS (and I've had the misfortune to try a lot of them) on the market are just junk. Oh, the wheels on the bus go round and round......but thats about it. They vibrate, they swirl, very unpredictable in tight spaces, add some vacuum and they go crazy jittering this way and that. I'm no stranger to sanding, mostly had used dynabrade previously at other shops, the electric ROS's Ive used have been by necessity at job sites, they are really really hard to control. And durable? Not when you use them for hours at a clip daily in a multi person shop. They may last longer at home....unfortunately. The mirka is balanced like a pneumatic, really really balanced, tons of power, can't stop it and I've tried. Its so smooth in use its hard to compare to other sanders, and equally important it is highly maneuverable in tight spaces. All this translates to better surface quality which to me is the ultimate goal. To me this means I can sand post assembled cabinets right into corners and not risk a runaway that gauges the adjacent panel, I can sand counter edges, door edges, and of course all the more traditional broad flat areas like door panels, rails and stiles, etc. Does pretty well on curves too. As a professional building custom cabinets, I can't risk ruining a multi thousand dollar box with a bad sanding job. Ever use a dark stain to highlight the sanding swirls from a cheap ROS? The repair cost on a few minor problems quickly out ways the cost of the mirka. 