1/4 sheet palm sander recommendations
gdblake
| Posted in Power Tools and Machinery on
I need to get a new 1/4 sheet palm sander. Haven’t seen any tool reviews lately on these. Open to suggestion on which one’s the best.
Replies
I own a P-C 330 which is generally considered one of the best 1/4 sheet palm sanders. It's pluses are it's reasonably quite, has low vibration, light weight and is well built (mine is 6 years old so very pre-Black and Decker merger). The downside is it has NO dust collection what so ever and no provisions to retro fit any dust collection.
Since buying a Festool ETS 150/3 and Festool CT 33 vacuum I rarely use either the PC 330 or PC 505 sanders anymore..
Make sure about paper availability
I bought one at HD – salesperson set me up with a sander and paper. Paper almost fits but not quire.
On a 1/4 sheet sander paper availability should never be an issue. The whole idea is that you can take any standard sheet of sandpaper, cut it into fourths, mount it on the sander, punch the holes for dust collection and off you go. The system for clamping the sandpaper to the tool should be robust enough to hold the paper in place. The dust collection should do a reasonable job, the sander should have an even scratch pattern, be fairly ergonomic, and have a decent motor.
Anybody know which model has the best combination of these features?
Thanks.
After wearing out a Makita, I, too, bit the bullet and bought the PC 330. Amazing tool! Lets me sand in ways I never could before. Asked the owner at a Woodcraft store why they cost almost double other palm sanders. He said (tongue firmly planted in cheek) it's because they only get to sell one--they never wear out and never come back.
Bob
I like the newer Bosch model that's on the market. The paper-retaining clip on the back of the sander makes it easy and quick to change out the paper.
Plus, the micro-filter dust collector works reasonably well, though it's sometimes a pain to get the top of it off in order to clean out the collected dust. I'm impressed that it does, in fact, catch a lot of the dust though...
Zolton
If you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon
One thing I forgot: You can buy an adapter for the Bosch sander (cheaply, about 3.75) that allows you to hook up a dust collection hose from a shop-vac to the sander. I've got one for my random orbit sander (also Bosch), and it works amazingly well. I can't really see (or taste!) much dust floating in the air while I'm sanding with it.
I hooked the shop vac hose up to the palm sander a few times, but the hose makes it difficult to maneuver, so I just let the built-in dust collection do the work - and I wear a mask, of course. Bosch makes a slim hose that is designed for dust pickup to their sanders, but it was more expense than I wanted to get into when I bought the sander. I might consider it now though, after seeing what a huge difference it makes with the random orbit unit.
I was just sanding with the random orbit sander this morning, on some 1/4 inch plywood, and was able to lift the pieces up off the bench with the suction through the pad when the sander was not going. Pretty good suction..
Zolton
If you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon
Re useful dust collection for the Bosch, I found that Woodcraft stocks and sells separately the slender Porter Cable 1 1/4" x 12 foot long orbital sander hose. It is flexible enough that it stays reasonably out of the way and collects dust very well when connected to either of the Bosch sanders (palm or ROS) and the shop vac.Don't buy what appears to be the same hose from Bosch - it's a 1/4" smaller in diameter and does not flow worth a darn.Mike D
Mike,
That Porter Cable hose is the exact one I have, and it hooks up perfectly to the Bosch sander adapters. Plus, I use it on my DeWalt biscuit joiner, and on the dust collection ports on my Bosch plunge router too. A very versatile bit of kit.
Put a 25 buck Clean Stream filter in a shop vac, stick a 25 buck Porter Cable flexible hose between it and the tool you're going to use and you're in poor-man Festool heaven. I'll put on the flak jacket now to get ready for all the rebuttals that that statement will surely stir up..
So, will you and Nazard tell us about your experiences with the smaller diameter Bosch hose, and why it doesn't work well?
ZoltonIf you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon
Zolton,
I'll put on the flak jacket now to get ready for all the rebuttals that that statement will surely stir up..
Three cheers and a standing O for ya man! Thats takes a lot of intestinal fortitude to stand up there and show the world a better way.
Love to sneer and jab at the Festus toolies,Bob @ Kidderville Acres
A Woodworkers mind should be the sharpest tool in the shop!
Zolton,
I no longer have the Bosch hose, but IIRC it is a smaller diameter than the Porter-Cable. Smaller hose - less air flow. I don't do an excessive amount of sanding, but I use that PC hose hooked up to my central shop vac everyday for clean up.
Best!
-Jerry
"I'll put on the flak jacket now to get ready for all the rebuttals that that statement will surely stir up."
Better put your earplugs in, too.*
-Steve
*Figuring out why is left as an exercise for the reader.
Well, the Clean Stream filter is most certainly a much needed upgrade for the POS filter included with most shopvac's, but it still doesn't solve the 'scream like a wild banshee' shreak of most shopvac's. Please do understand that I too upgraded my Shopvac with said filter, just seems you shouldn't have to wear the same ear protection used on Navy aircraft carriers when using a shopvac.
Edited 6/25/2008 12:24 pm ET by BOBABEUI
No question Shop Vacs are loud. But they've really improved in recent years. Mine are 5-10 years old, and they do indeed scream like banshees. My neighbor just bought a new one though, and while far from completely quiet it is a signficant improvement over the ones I have.
Not that I'm looking to spend money, but it has me wishing mine would burn out so I could replace them..
Thanks for the input on the deficiencies of the Bosch hose, too. The explanation made a little sense to me, a non-engineer.
Zolton
If you see a possum running around in here, kill it. It's not a pet. - Jackie Moon
I have had two PC330s for about 25 years. The bearings and coupling between the balancing weight and motor have been replaced many times. They still keep going.
You should have bought your Shop Vac when and where I got mine. It lasted twelve months. The motor man couldn't get parts so I just junked it. Got a PC in its place.
The smaller Bosch hose looks like it would be the cat's meow. It's nice and long, and very flexible.Regrettably, it is just too small in diameter to allow laminar flow at any volume past the turbulence created by it's ribbed side profile (impressive technospeak, huh?). It whistles mightily, but does not get the job done. It actually seems like more dust comes out the sides around the connection and around the edges of the sander than makes it down the hose. That's probably not altogether accurate, but you get the idea.Mike D
Is this the porter cable hose you are talking about?http://www.deltaportercable.com/Products/AccessoriesDetail.aspx?ProductID=13279If not could you paste a link?Thanks
"Don't buy what appears to be the same hose from Bosch - it's a 1/4" smaller in diameter and does not flow worth a darn."
Ditto what Mike said. Ask me how I know that....
-nazard
I have the PC and use the pc hose connected to the shopvac with ear mufs on when in use. It does good on the cutting wood, but the dust collection just plain sucks (pardon the pun). Others will get on me for saying this but so be it, go for the festool. I was skeptical till I bit the bullet and made my first purchase the domino and ct33e dc. Dust collection from the ground up is the best I have ever seen. You pay and its not cheap, but whats your lungs worth. My wife is a resperatory therapist and as I'm getting older, and experiencing what she shares after working with folks, dust better be in your mind! I could just walk into my shop look around and see the dust everywhere and know that a big chunk of the stuff is in my lungs. Its a slow gotcha as well. It builds laying low till your lungs fill up a bit and get stiff and no longer work and its too late and COPD is an awful disease. I now have their (festool)router, and kapex and will soon be getting the rotex orbital sander (soon as I save my pennies). If dust collection is not an issue then PC would be a good choice. I have had a lot of PC tools over the years. I'll have a PC OS(I know you are looking for a 1/4s sorry) in the classifieds real soon along with a PC 894pk router kit. Good luck
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And if it stops moving, subsidize it.
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