Thursday, March 16, 2017

A Gritty Topic

Overheard at Lem's:
Sixty Grit said...I would sand the wood, and that in itself is a dusty project, using a random orbit sander connected to a vacuum of some sort. The one I use is all connected so that when I turn on the sander the vacuum cleaner starts automatically. Nice, but not something you will find in most home shops.
March 11, 2017 at 7:12 AM
What kind would you use? My old B&D orbital sander is a POS.

If Amazon sells it, I could enrich Lem.

BTW, I am eventually replacing a vanity in the powder room.

1 comment:

The Dude said...

For small jobs I use a Porter Cable model 343 - it is adequate, has lasted for a couple of years, and it is easy to change the sanding pad.

For larger jobs I use a Festool Rotex model RO 150 FEQ connected to a Festool CT 26 E for dust extraction.

Price those last two and you will see why my brother says "Festool means bring all your money in German". Of course that joke doesn't work with anyone who speaks German, so please disregard. Or blame my brother. I do.

Over the years I have learned that small random orbit sanders (and it is crucial that one use a random orbit sander instead of an orbital sander) are essentially disposable. They fail with impressive regularity.

I don't have any good leads on reciprocating profile sanders, that is not something I use, but a trip to the local tool store might yield some results - since you only need it to last through one job it might make sense to buy a Skil or some other inexpensive brand to get this job done and not worry if the tool fails soon thereafter.

Be sure to purchase plenty of good quality sandpaper and to change it regularly. It will clog in seconds, and using it once it has stopped actually abrading is wasteful of time and energy. Of all the pieces parts involved, sandpaper is the least expensive. Get plenty, use it, throw it out.