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Thread: Do I want a ROS or a sheet sander?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
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    Do I want a ROS or a sheet sander?

    Pretty much as the title says.

    My DeWalt ROS (5" single speed) has seen better days.
    I should replace the pad, but, I don't want to stick about $15 into a $60 sander that might croak off as soon as I do that.

    Both Lowes and HD carry a new Bosch 5" variable speed for $49 that claims to have the worlds best dust collection.

    I don't know though......

    I'm tired of paying through the nose for junk hook and loop disks
    That got me looking at sheet sanders.

    Decent sand paper is available at both Borgs, unlike the junk disks they sell.
    My granddad always said, :As one door closes, another opens".
    Wonderful man, terrible cabinet maker...

  2. #2
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    Willard,Utah
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    I have the Bosch and love it

  3. #3
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    Feb 2003
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    Griswold Connecticut
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    Me personally, I'd stick with an ROS and buy your paper online. I have 4 DeWalt ROS's, yep the same $60.00 sander, and I kind of like them. I have an older Makita sheet sander, somewhere, that I cannot stand to use. It's just awful!
    "The first thing you need to know, will likely be the last thing you learn." (Unknown)

  4. #4
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    Jul 2003
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    Trussville, AL
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    I had a sheet sander once. I think I used it twice before I threw it away. As mentioned above don’t buy your sandpaper at the box store. Industrial Abrasives rhynogrit is a great and believe it or not the Festool paper is actually excellent.

  5. #5
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    Sep 2006
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    Deep South
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    My experience with several sheet sanders is that they simply don't work very well.

  6. #6
    I've been very happy with my Makita BO5041 5" ROS. I probably have 5 or 6 ROS's but the Makita is the one I usually pick-up. If you don't mind buying Certified Refurbished tools this one might interest you, https://www.cpoindustrialpowertools....efault,pd.html. The price is right and free shipping.

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Nov 2016
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    Itapevi, SP - Brazil
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    Bosch GSS 23AE

    Quote Originally Posted by Rich Engelhardt View Post
    Pretty much as the title says.

    [...]

    I'm tired of paying through the nose for junk hook and loop disks
    That got me looking at sheet sanders.

    Decent sand paper is available at both Borgs, unlike the junk disks they sell.
    For a couple of decades I had a Bosch 1/3 sheet sander... something broke inside it and it started to make an horrible noise... I decided for a new one as certainly the repair costs, if available, would cost close or even more than a new one. I went to Bosch GSS 23AE, also 1/3 sheet sander but with variable speed and a good dust collection, both features missed in my previous sander.

    I can purchase excellent sheet paper from Norton and 3M broadly available locally. I really like to be free from special format disk sanders with much less options than sheet sand papers.

    Although I have used it less than five times since I purchased it some months ago, I am very glad with the purchase. Very good bang for my hard earned bucks...

    All the best.

  8. #8
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    Dec 2005
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    West Lafayette, IN
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    ROS for sure. You’ve don’t have a ROS yet? I have 4, and no sheet sander except the one that went in the trash years ago.

    Any sander will be a lot better if you buy quality sandpaper instead of the crap the BORG’s sell.
    Last edited by Matt Day; 01-04-2018 at 8:10 PM.

  9. #9
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    Mar 2008
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    Between No Where & No Place ,WA
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    Maybe it is what I started out working with, but depending upon the work, I either turn to a finish sander (PC 505) or a ROS (PC 7336).

    For certain jobs, the ROS is easier and move convenient to work with. But for large flat work, I think a finish sander is superior. The ol' 505 just seems to glide across the work and I believe gives a superior finish, especially with the finer grit papers.

  10. #10
    I use a pair of Makita 5" ROS. I'd probably get more of them before I would get anything else. They are aggressive enough but don't have as much vibration in your hands as some others that I have used. They replaced a 1/4 sheet Makita sander about 15 years ago which is now relegated to sanding drywall and sheet metal. The 1/4 sheet sander was a huge upgrade to the 1/2 sheet sander. I'm sure some people still like them, but I don't even like seeing mine in the tool cabinet. I can still feel my back teeth rattling.

    If you are going through the regular borg discs (Norton, 3M) too fast, you might want to use less pressure on the sander. Too much can cause the abrasive to heat up and the glue to soften.

  11. #11
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    I've never had any use for sheet sanders. An ROS just does a much better job in almost every situation. Shop around for the discs & they are not costly. I just got a bunch of 6" Klingspor discs & paid less than $.30 ea, and that's in Canada where everything costs way more.

  12. #12
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    Oct 2005
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    Sheet sanders are horrible. I don't know why they still make them. Mine always left circular scratches. Every since I went ROS, I never went back.

  13. #13
    There's a reason ROS sanders replaced sheet sanders - they work a LOT better. I have a couple of old sheet sanders somewhere. I should sell them or throw them away and make some room in my shop.

    I had really forgotten about them until this thread came up.

    Mike
    Go into the world and do well. But more importantly, go into the world and do good.

  14. #14
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
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    New England
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    ROS technology was definitely a big step forward power sanding wise. I remember my first one. But I'm also lucky enough to have an old Rockwell 1/2 sheet sander that you would have to try and pry out of my hands and I doubt you'd win. Same goes for my 1/4 sheet Porter Cable but I'd let go before you hurt me re that one. That one is great for edges. There are no simple answers here but Rich seems to be looking for the best technology if you are only going to own ONE sander and there is NO question that would be a ROS whether 5 or 6 inch. Unless you are going to step up to something like a Festool or one of the air powered ones, you have to accept that at some point after 4,5,6 years it will break and need replacing.

    THAT said, I'm not sure I wouldn't pay the fifteen bucks and buy the new pad.

  15. #15
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    May 2015
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    Ingleside, IL
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    I too have the Bosch. It's great.

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