Power sanding

[Paul M]

There’s a chinese clone that’s only available to Euros I think, maybe now they are here, I haven’t looked in a while.

There’s also one Festool that’s pretty affordable (I think it might be their lure to get you to drink the coolaid).

I’m using a $50 Makita that I’ve had since I had a sailboat. I don’t totally get what these sanders would offer me, I feel like when I have scratches its usually because I didn’t move through grits smoothly enough and/or maybe had some grit on my pad. I’m open to having my mind changed, but right now I’m saving my money.

So I don’t have direct experience with these. I hear the Festool stuff is nice though.

https://www.woodcraft.com/products/ets-125-req-random-orbital-sander-in-systainer-3-festool?msclkid=e649b2f55d0b156466aed795c6ea3fed&gclsrc=3p.ds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IlJaS-iiL10

woodcraft.com

Festool - ETS 125 REQ Random Orbital Sander in systainer³

The versatile ETS 125 Random Orbit Sander has the finest sanding stroke at 5/64" and is the ideal one-handed machine for maximum surface quality when finishing or pre-sanding.

[Paul M]

this review of the Chinese sander ends up sort of trashing the Mirka. I think I’d go with the festool if I was going to lay in a bunch of money, that 125 ends up not being hugely expensive compared to the chinese clones. I’m still not convinced it’s necessary though.

[Mike Tracz MCT Guitars]

Thank you! I’m going to look into the Festool as well. Have a great day!

[Chip Tait Brooklyn Fretworks]

I use two RO sanders on the daily. One is a 6″ Ridgid model that weighs as much as a boat anchor, the other a 5″ from Harbor Freight that weighs a little more than my computer mouse. Guess which one I reach for first?

Either of these connects to my DeWalt shop vac via a hose and adapter kit purchased on Amazon. I use actual old-school vacuum bags (1 micron, I think?) and it does a great job extracting the dust.

Where I do spend money is using Mirka sanding discs, and having the patience to move up sequentially through the grits. I recently fell for an Instagram ad and ordered a sample box of 5″ discs from Serious Grit. So far, so good. They really seem to last a long while.

[Mike Tracz MCT Guitars]

Chip,

Thank you for your reply! I have been looking at Serious Grit as well. Unfortunately, their hole pattern won’t work with the sander I picked up. I do have some Mirka in the shop that I enjoy working with.

Best,

_Mike

[Isaac]

I have been using the Mirka Deros 5″ sander since 2016 with outstanding results. Recently, I have transitioned to using a scraper for the majority of my surface preparation and utilize the Mirka hose-connected block for block sanding. In terms of the sanding surface quality, the Mirka Deros yields a remarkably clean finish. Its ergonomic design, which is similar to a pneumatic sander, is another appealing feature. Although I cannot personally vouch for the Festool or SurfPrep sanders, they have received fantastic reviews as well.

[James]

On Ro sanders watch for the stroke, 9/64″(3.5mm) 3/16″(5mm) etc.. the smaller the stroke size the fewer scratches. The bigger stroke size if for more aggressive sanding with lower grits. For fine finish sanding a smaller stroke will leave fewer swirl marks. Always follow up with a final sanding with the grain by hand of with a hard block.