ORBITAL SANDER does it spin or not?

[happyhero]

Hi

Do a fair amount of woodwork and have a few different sanders but I am now thinking of adding an Orbital sander to my collection ( being honest i'm not sure exactly why but I think it will be useful on certain jobs).

I am a bit confused, do they spin or do they move in an orbit or both? If they spin then don't they leave circle marks on the work? Whats the difference in a RANDOM orbital sander and an orbital sander that is not random and what difference does it make to the work piece? Also is there anything to look for especially? Last question, would you use them in preference to any other sander for any job and why?

Thanks for any info in advance.

 

[breezer]

orbital sanders are no good for this

 

[Hitachimad]

An 'Orbital' sander doesn't spin, but the pad moves in an orbit, of a tiny circle, most of them are either rectangular or square.

A 'Random Orbit' sander or 'Dual action' sander does the above, but uses a round pad, which also rotates.

 

[happyhero]

Thanks Hitachimad.

To give me some idea then, if I wanted to sand an oak front door or an oak or pine table top which one would you go for and why.

Any help appreciated.

 

[petewood]

Thanks Hitachimad.

To give me some idea then, if I wanted to sand an oak front door or an oak or pine table top which one would you go for and why.

Any help appreciated.

Personally I would use a 6" random orbit every time. Use a coarse disc to flatten out and sand out marks and filler, then a fine disc to finish. Festo is excellent but v. expensive. I had a Bosch random orbit but it would sometimes leave slight sanding marks. The Metabo (something like SXE 450) is pretty good, we have 4 of these at work.

 

[ms2004]

I have a Porter Cable random orbit sander. I swear by it, it leaves no swirl marks, the dust collection is good and it runs for hours a day without any problems.

I think they now come as a Flex model but basically its exectly the same.

 

[Hitachimad]

I bought a 5"Draper Random orbit, about 3 years ago, for about £20.
Have used and abused it, dropped it, and still works fine.
Only downside is the dust collection isnt the most effecient.
But at £20, compared to the ones mentioned above, you could probably by 10!! So if your only using it for a few odd jobs, a good buy i would say.
It can leave some slight sanding marks, but a quick hand sanding with the grain removes them in seconds.

 

[happyhero]

So it looks like everybody is buying the RANDOM round orbital sanders as opposed to the non-random orbital sanders which do not spin and are usually square, but why?

What do you use the orbital sander with the square base for, if the RANDOM orbital sander is so good?

 

[petewood]

better at getting into corners but don't sand so well.

 

[matz]

I enquired about buying a replacement traditional orbital sander a while ago and was told that no one buys them anymore. Random circular sanders are all the rage. I was dubious about this but at the start of the year I worked at a set up that used this in air powered form and I have to say they were fantastic tools. Much easier to handle and less sanding marks which are the bane of square obitals with grit less than 240. The only nagging doubt I have is the ability of a random sander to keep say a table top dead flat when sanding. Randoms are much easier for more detailed work as well like edges

 

[Dewy]

The reason you found an air powered random orbital sander is that they were originally used in the motor industry for getting a good finish before paint spraying.
The finish is much better than other sanders.
It later moved into the woodworking realm.