Which sander?

[joseph77]

Hi there,

I have a cheap orbital sander which is pretty useless so im thinking of getting a new one. Which should i go for a belt sander or a random orbit sander. The main use for this would be to sand down flaky paint on plastered walls ready for re-painting.

Thanks

 

[big-all]

wouldnt use a belt sander if i where you
they are great for removing large amounts off material quickly

now once youve got used to holding it properly and flat on wood and your down to the odd small trench or hollow then you could try it on walls but you need to practice
you can put a 3mm deep trench in a few seconds on wood if you dont hold it flat

 

[petewood]

Random orbit any day of the week. I have both and the belt sander rarely gets used unless you have something really heavy duty to do, it is just not as versatile as the random orbit. Have a look at the Metabo SXE 450.

 

[Ukwoody]

yep I agree. Belt sander is brill for heavy work thats all. stick with orbiter for what you want.
Woody

 

[makitaman]

Orbital definitely...........look at the Makita range

 

[bludger]

Hello,

I'm sure you're right when it comes to the tool for the job. However, I've had three bad experiences with Makita and would take a deal of persuading before I bought another.

Many years ago I bought a Makita percussion drill because everyone said that the make was so reliable. Mine wasn't and it soon became uneconomic to repair. A few years later I bought a 12v cordless Makita and the chuck , never very firm, soon starting slipping on smaller drill bits. I have the drill still and am now looking for something better.

About two years ago I hired a Makita electric breaker which failed on me during use. Once again it was the chuck that didn't hold the chisel! The hire firm came out and replaced it for me and the man said that I wasn't the first....

From what I read on the American forums, Milwaukee seem to be the most robust tools going. However they are a very expensive proposition over here and I'm still looking for an alternative.

Bludger

 

[makitaman]

I suppose is that age old adage.............we stick with what we know and hope it will be reliable.

I've read great things about the Milwaukee range too, but the price is a non starter in the UK (at least for me).

 

[gcol]

I used to buy Atlas Copco cordless drills for the shopfloor workers at a firm I used to work at. Then I changed to Milwaukee cause they were a little cheaper, and what I noticed is that they used the exact same moulded body, trigger, selector switch. The only difference was the colour of the drill and the name on the side. I can't speak for the internals, though I would expect they were also the same.
Walking through B&Q on Friday, I was perusing the powertool section (as you do) and looked at the AEG tools. Would you believe that they too used the same body, trigger etc. Now I'm not suggesting that some manufacturer somewhere is knocking these drills out and just rebadging them, but it does seem likely. I read somewhere (I think it was on an amazon review on their usa site) that the Milwaukee drill wasn't actually made in the usa but in the czech republic. Go figure.
GCol