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Have to change pads every once in a while but that is to be expected. Used it to sand the bottom of my boat nad it worked great.
There a number of review praising this machine and I agree with them. It has survived a few drops off ladders and an extraordinary amount of dust and debris. I highly recommend this sander to anyone. The is a true workhorse of a sander at a relative bargain price and has proven very durable. It taken about many years of regular use including prepping two San Francisco Victorians for paint to finally bring this sander to a halt and I have happily ordered another one.
It can almost take the place of a belt sander in your tool collection. After using and abusing one of these at work for 3 years, I bought one for my self. The handles really give me the control I like.
When I reattached it, it did not perform as well as previously. Now the power was gone from this unit. I'm unsure if the allen head scre4w should be tight or allowed to float slightly. I still rated it a 5 because even if it craps out, it is still worth the money. I was able to sand over 400 sq feet of hull in three days. I bought this sander for refurbishing boats. It works great for stripping off paint and exposing fiberglass, and also for sanding off fairing material. A powerful external vacuum cleaner will make dust negligable.
The backing pad started to shake off. Although it sometimes picks up and performs like it did out of the box.I gave this unit a lot of use, and wish I had another one, but I can't give it top marks because the problems I've encountered. Also, I found that at times the power seemed to drop, perhaps due to bad contacts on my extension cords, perhaps low service voltage, or possibly something internal. I wish the manual provided service information to maintain it.I'm now planning on buy a competing 6" sander of similar design. After the first time the pad started to shake off, I was unable to make it perform like new.I tried changing extension cords. On windy days I can sand without a facemask and only need eye protection. The internal dust seal was damaged, the first time the pad started to shake itself off, which increased the amount of dust that could not be collected. It outperformed all my other sanders, by a huge factor.
If left slightly loose it tends to shake itself looser. I can do ten times the work, with a better final finish.However, I got less than a year of service out of it. With other sanders I'd need a crew of men and multiple sanders, and it still would take longer.I use 60 grit "hook and loop" pad and I duct taped a vacuum cleaner to it. The variable speed works ok, although I had trouble with it later which may be related to some internal probelms after I serviced it.It is the best all around sander I've used and out performed palm sanders by a factor or 10:1.
The motor is smooth and powerful, but comfortable to use for extended periods with one or two handles. So when I found myself in a kitchen going back and forth a short distance between cabinets, it was almost impossible to reverse course without leaving a scar shaped like the mark a paint roller leaves if you just touch it to a surface.In all the time I've used this random orbit sander it's never left a scar of any kind. Sure, you have to crouch down on one knee, but you avoid the risk of hernia and pulled muscles that you run when load the massive drum sander into your car.The random orbit technology is an advance comparable to the ball point over the fountain pen, or the laser level over the line level. This little unit even gets a couple inches under the toe kick.
If I'd had this tool when I finished my first oak floor I could have saved about $150 in rental fees and a number of scars on the floor itself. And your hand doesn't vibrate for half an hour after you've stopped as it does with some palm or belt sanders. There may be other brands or models that are even better than this one, but I have no complaints. The sander I rented, a drum sander nearly as big as a lawn mower, was not very maneuverable.
With a 60 grit paper it will take down an eighth inch difference between planks in a few seconds. Another advantage over a belt sander is that it won't devour shirttails or shoelaces or, in the worst case scenario, long hair. It had to move parallel to the grain of the wood. The big drum couldn't come closer than a foot from the cabinets.
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