Archived from the Tools In Action forum (Power Tools). This thread is read-only.
Im in the market for a random orbital sander, I think it will make refinishing the vanity project go much faster. I’m leaning towards the dewalt but I’m open to all brands. I don’t know if I would ever really need variable speed, at least for woodworking applications, but working with other materials it might come in handy.
What do you guys think? Bosh, Crapsmen, Dewalt? Too many too choose from.
As always I am able to buy this tool because I did some side work. I only have about $100 to spend on the sander though.
I have a Makita RO. Nice sander. No complaints at all.
Conductor is right! I have the makita also and it’s the best one I’ve owned.
Are you talking about this guy?
Makita 5 in. Random Orbit Sander: Model # BO5030K $69.97
Great price, or the variable speed model?
The Bosh also looks good.
Bosch 2.5-Amp Orbital Power Sander Item #: 294221 $59.00
But I dont know if I like the dust collector
I am a fan of the Bosch RO. The Makita is a pretty slick machine too. Although I love Milwaukee I’ve never used their sander. Believe it or not I have a Hitachi 5″ RO too, that is a pretty slick machine. I bought it on Big Sky tools as a recond unit. As usual it appears and acts like a new machine (at least when I got it….not so new looking now). I paid $29!
I just bought the Bosch 5″ ROS20VSK.
It’s my first ROS, but after lots of research I went the Bosch over the Dewalt. That dust filter is amazing. I honestly don’t feel the need to wear a mask or glasses unless I’m sanding above chest height. If this is high on your priority list, look no where else.
Check out this comparison that I found helpful.
http://www.toolsofthetrade.net/work-order-tracking/tool-test–5-inch-random-orbit-sanders_6.aspx
Last time I bought a sander was in 2008. I walked into home depot, looked at em’ all, held them all, and ended up buying a ridigid. It’s been great but if I had to do it over, I’d probably buy a bosch.
I have the one you linked, not the variable speed. I got it because my Makita 1/4 sheet sander held up so well, and the RO turned out to be great too.
The Bosch would be a fine choice too though.
I’ve read good things about the bosch ros as we’ll, but I like my Mikita
I have the makita without the variable speed. Like it a lot the only complaint is that the dust collector bag falls off too much during use, but that problem could be easily fixed. I remember reading about the porter cable winning best overall award in a comparison with other major brands
You know…if you want drop some BIG money get the Festool RO90. Massive quantities of material removal with it down to super finesse. Big bucks though. The link that Dwain provided is what I used when I bought my Hitachi. It’s a really awesome RO but like everyone else, I’d go with the Bosch. I’ve got the RO90 with the Midi (Eric and Dan did an awesome review of those tools) and it simply cannot be beat. I also have the Metabo 3″ SXE 400 too and it is an awesome tool too. Amazon sells the Metabo for $119 but it has a vac port and is a well made German machine.
I dont have money for the festool, wish I could go that route. Looks like I will be putting which ever sander I get to good use. We are going to sell our house and there is lots of work needed to get it in shape. The vanity project will be put on hold and Ill start knocking out some honey do’s.
Im leaning towards the Bosh RO. The price is right and reviews are awesome. The Mikita is also in the running. I’ll make a decision before the week is up.
The Makita is 3 amps. The Bosch is 2.5 IIRC
Yeah the Bosch isn’t leading the pack for for stock removal. Makita and Hitachi do better. The Dewalt (though 3 amp) also fairs poorly in this spec.
Go makita! I use it almost every day in our shop and we don’t baby it! It really holds up, also someone mentioned the bag falling off! If you put it in fairly tight you shouldn’t have that problem, it has fell of with a shop vac hose connected tho!
So, FNG orbital sander question: is a variable speed handy/necessary, or do you typically just crank it up to 11 and let ‘er rip?
I personally don’t see much need for variable speed, but maybe that’s just me.
One of my jobs I work through winter is at a furniture store servicing broken tables, chairs, couches, ect the varable speed works for me cause it’s good for finishing table tops! But idk I could still do it on full speed too! But for control vise it’s on point
Depends on the paper and finish you want. I like variable for fine work it really helps out. But truth be told I normally keep it at max for material removal.
Okay, thanks, fellas.
I want the festool so bad to use the polish pads! Then the varable speed is great as we’ll!
Do it….do it man….get into da choppa…..!
The biggest benefit to variable speed is when sanding material other then wood. reduce the speed =reduction in friction/heat. Sanding materials like plastic at high speed will gum up the paper and melt your work piece.
I have the Ridgid R26011 and have no complaints. Ive used the Dewalt D26451K quite a bit as well but bought the Ridgid simply because it felt more comfortable in my hand. For the few extra dollars I would definitely buy a model with variable speed. As others have said it works well for sanding different materials but also simply for control of the sander. Sometimes your want to just go to town and rip down quite a bit while other times more finesse is needed and this keeps the sander from jumping around.
Well, you guys suck. Last week, a sander wasn’t even on my radar, now I’m the proud new owner of a Bosch 5″ ROS20VSK. Now, do I need to get a 1/4 sheet orbital as well? (Anythnig worth doing is worth overdoing…)
I have had 2 milwaukees and on one the belt broke after a month, although my dad is a shop teacher and the use all milwaukees there. I don’t use dewalts because a lot of people used to have problems with them, but I’m sure they have been fixed. I held the makita at Home Depot and it feels great in your hand, but after reading reviews online I heard it was underpowered, but I may reconsider after all that you people said about it. The ridgid is a little big and the switch is hard to access but many people have said its nice. I intend to purchase a Bosch it’s the most comfortable to me, variable speed (nothing special many sanders have variable speed), terrific dust collection, good warranty, visually stunning, only down side a little pricier than most sanders, great overall tool, I recommend picking from the makita, Bosch, ridgid, milwaukee, portercable, and dewalt, they are all pretty well built, and then get the one your most comfortable with hope I helped.
I had a Milwaukee 1/4 sheet sander. I have it away. It was the biggest piece of shit I ever owned.
Just bought a dewalt sheet sander and I like it! I only used it three times but it seems to be good so far
Punda1991 wrote:
Just bought a dewalt sheet sander and I like it! I only used it three times but it seems to be good so far
I’ve been drooling over a DeWalt 1/4 sheet sander every time I go into HD or Lowes…
Get it man, it’s a good little sheet sander
I’m sure I will, eventually. I just bought an ROS, and I need to get an oscillating multi tool first. Maybe an M12, maybe a Fein, though I’m kinda stalling on both, hoping a Fuel M12 comes out first, or Fein intros the 350 watt (vs 250 currently) in their Multimaster.
I use the m12 and it’s great, I don’t use them all that often but I have used this one and really pushed it! With a 4.0 battery it’s kick ass too me! But thes the only one I’ve used besides a dremel
Variable speed is good for wood too! Slower speeds remove less stock and can be controlled easily
Good bit on Family Handyman….I like that site:
The guy above me is an idiot…he followed this thread, and just remembered this article, and info on variable speeds, and didn’t think that we are discussing different tools here…what a dope!!!
Dj skater boy cool your jets….
he was talking about himself methinks 🙂
Bosch 5″ ROS20VSK is a very nice one I’ve beat it down and it’s still runing strong and the dust collector works pretty good also
Hi guys, just found this website on google. I am in a big doubt on whatever i should go with the Bosch, Makita or Festool sander. Milwaukee was also on my list before i read all of the posts, but now i decided to eliminate it. If you have owned any of the above please share your honest experience…
Milwaukee updated their sanders recently, but Bosch and Festool seem to be the king of sanders. Festool works best if you buy into their whole system of dust extractors.
sanders wrote:
33 minutes ago, sanders said:Hi guys, just found this website on google. I am in a big doubt on whatever i should go with the Bosch, Makita or Festool sander. Milwaukee was also on my list before i read all of the posts, but now i decided to eliminate it. If you have owned any of the above please share your honest experience…
It depends what you are going to be doing. If you have a couple of projects a year, any brand will do. If you have one in your hand several hours a week, Festool would probably cost twice what others cost, but be worth it.
They all make different models. You want one with a forced rotation mode for heavy sanding.
Go to the store and take a look at some of them. To me the Bosch seems like the most comfortable to use. For Festool, I doubt you can get hands-on so just compare the design to similar designs.
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I bought a Bosch ROS20VSC last summer and love it. It doesn’t vibrate much and does the job well. It does not leave swirl marks on whatever material I sand. Also, it happened to be on sale that day because of a Bosch event and a rep gave me a T-shirt and flashlight. How could I say no to that! I recommended the sander to a relative who later purchased one.
I have a Bosch 5″ orbital and love it. Looking to get a sheet sander and a larger forced rotation sander in the future. Most likely Bosch again. I love their designs and products are solid. I used my orbital this year to sand my entire deck (bare wood) and it never skipped a beat with 150 then 220 grit.
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At school I had the opportunity to use one of the Bosch orbital sanders and it worked great. The tool had a nice balance even with the rectangular dust extractor installed, the variable speed was a handy feature because you could lower the speed for removing scratches quicker, and it had a trigger and a trigger lock so you aren’t required to hold down the trigger but have the option to if needed. I suggest not getting a palm sander but instead get one with a handle on the back. Also variable speed if a must.
Then there’s mirka…. If you have $600 for one
I have bought Makita BO5041K but after one year it doesn’t able To keep the effectiveness of hook and loop sanding discs at their best, and to keep them clean and free from sawdust at all times. I recently got Tacklife PRS01A from the help of this guide : https://www.bestreviewslist.com/best-random-orbital-sanders/
I am very thankfull that it is working well till now.
sanders wrote:
On 9/6/2016 at 7:27 AM, sanders said:Hi guys, just found this website on google. I am in a big doubt on whatever i should go with the Bosch, Makita or Festool sander. Milwaukee was also on my list before i read all of the posts, but now i decided to eliminate it. If you have owned any of the above please share your honest experience…
Love seeing these older posts pop up. Welcome to the forums dude.
It’s fun reading my old posts and how much my shop has changed. I now run two sander now in my shop. I have a Bosch ROS65VCL with both the 5 and 6 inch pads and the Festool RO90DX. Everything else? Gone.
I run dust dust collection on both units and the two do fantastic work. I use Festool paper on both machines but also use Mirka paper on the Bosch. Dust collection is amazing on both when you use it and the finish from both machines is amazing. Just using paper on a piece of rough hewn flaky old crap pine I was able to burnish the surface to glass smooth where I don’t think I would have been able to use a finish.
Both machines are expensive and I wouldn’t use any sander on a fine piece of work without dust collection and these machines benefit from it.
Good luck!