Description
This article is from the Woodworking FAQ
Collection 5, by multiple authors.
49 Re: Orbital Sander
From: bergman@m2c.m2c.org (Michael Bergman)
Date: 11 Dec 89 21:55:44 GMT
Hi. I recently bought a palm sander. Previous to buying it, I had
read an article in fine woodworking that rated palm sanders, and
recalled that the Porter-Cable had been highest rated, if one ignored
price, and that the differencdes in price had not been all that high.
I couldn't remember who the runner up was, but I had access to a
Makita, and a friend owned a PC, so I compared them. The Makita was
much lighter and easier for a small hand to grip (I have large hands)
and easier to use on a vertical surface (because of its light weight).
It also had a more sensible loading system for the sandpaper, that did
not require a separate (easily lost) lever, and took a sixth of a
sheet of sandpaper instead of a quarter. Contrariwise, I found that I
couldn't use it for more than a half hour because of the vibration
making my hand hurt. The PC did not make my hand hurt, and also
seemed to sand better (i.e. faster, for a given grade of sandpaper on
the same job (note this may have been subjective)). For horizontal
surfaces, the weight of the sander provides the needed pressure,
making it actually easier to use, as well as not hurting the hand.
The larger sheets of sandpaper needed to be changed less often, and
there is a adhesive backed sandpaper system that can be used instead
of regular paper. I bought the PC, and have been quite happy with it,
though it might be nice to have a Makita as well for vertical
surfaces. I got mine at Somerville Lumber, on sale for $56. There
were a couple of mail-order places with similar prices, I don't recall
which off hand.
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