I’m considering a small palm finish sander, saw the 1/4 sheet PC and Ryobi units, and an assortment of orbitals. Are the 1/4 sheet sanders and orbitals intended for differeent applications? Any favorites or brands/models to avoid? There’s quite a price difference. This will be for non-production hobby work.
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Go with the orbital, In my opinion anyway, faster and a better result in my experience. Only advantage I can see in the 1/4 sheet sanders is they can get closer into corners then the orbital.
My 2 cents ..............For a general purpose sander, I think a random orbit sander is the better choice. With the proper grit paper, you can remove a lot of stock or get a fine finish. I like the PC 333. The 1/4 sheet sanders may give you a finer finish but they won't remove a lot of stock quickly. The best 1/4 sheet sander imho is the PC 330P Speed Bloc. It's disadvantage- no dust collection and price; it's over $80.00. PC does have another 1/4 sheet sander, the 340K. It's a lot less money and has dust collection. Its a matter of opinion but I prefer hook and loop paper vrs the adhesive type. You might want to check out the reconditioned sanders at Tool Crib/Amazon. Great prices, new tool warranty, and free shipping.
Pc is the best vibrator , and bosch has the best orbital. PC also has a vibrator out that has a dust pick up, but you have to buy holed paper for it for that to work. Its lighter too. Just doesnt have the opm spped.
The pros of orbital have been mentioned already , but the con is that it doesnt do as well on edges . You can change paper easily and changing paper grit four times sanding a lone item is handy . You can get by with a vibrator , it just takes longer. There is a need for both if you do very much.
Tim Mooney
just so you know...
the pc comes with a little piece of plastic to punch holes in regular paper. It's like a second base with little spikes aligned with each hole on the pad. push the sander down onto it and go....
i have two for my kids to use and they work pretty well.
palm sander =swirls swirls swirls
I second jc's post especially and others who say PC makes the best orbitals. For every day use they make the most sense. For hobby use like you are planning, I would recommend a random orbit sander. You will have a lot less swirls, and you can sand cross grain joints easily without scratches. The only problem will be getting into corners should you need to. For this, break out the hand sanding block or invest in a Fein oscillating detail sander if you have the $.
I have been drooling for a random orbit for a long time but I've had a porter cable speed block for ten years and it's been holding up to way too much abuse.Can't complain Rik
I've got a Ryobi 4-1/2 inch. As crappy as everyone says Ryobi is I cannot complain. I've gone thru 3 of the hook side of the hook & loop paper pads. Even the little screen housing for sanding dust works well. At the minimal 65 smackers for a variable speed device it really has been a good value over the last 8 years or so.
Someone says swirls? No way. I always got the little oval/circles from the vibrators (Makita) but this one with the rotation and the vibration is the cats patootie. It is beyond my eye if there are swirls. If you are getting them try some klingspor paper. Maybe it is the sanding paper rather than the machine.
My only reservation is the size of the pad. Bigger equates to faster. I'd really like a 5-1/2 to 6 incher. Any experience out there for one with a good dust pickup and that size pad? I could use a big brother sander to this beauty.Jack of all trades and master of none - you got a problem with that?
I'm probably going to get accused soon of pimping for porter cable, but I have there 6 in ros, it looks like a grinder body with a sanding head. VS and can remove A LOT of material if you let it, or dial down the speed and it works as a moderatly fine sander.
There is a dust collection shroud for it, but I don't have it so I cant offer anything more.View ImageGo Jayhawks
I like PC. I own two of the routers. A 691 and whatever number the plunge is. They make good stuff that is the standard (read parts and accessories always available) in the tool world.
I looked at that and it looked bulky. I kind of like to one-hand it with the ryobi while I caress the wood looking for offending terrain to smooth.
Doesn't the PC have the holes in the paper to suck the dust thru? That really is the saving grace of the Ryobi in that it unloads the paper by just lifting it up for a second and the paper shakes itself clean while sucking the dust into the ports.Jack of all trades and master of none - you got a problem with that?
The hand held pc ROS has 5 holes, which is kind of a PITA because everyone else seems to use 8. But the large 6 in grinder style does not have holes, and the one I have is a PSA pad, I do not know if they make it with a hook and loop padView ImageGo Jayhawks
Ditto about the holes ........ it's either PC paper or Klingspor. The 8 hole paper will work in a pinch if you don't mind not very effective dust collection.
Porter Cable Speed Block!
No doubt about it....and I don't even like PC tools!
Who cares about the useless dust pick up.....one less thing to throw away after it don't work.
The Speed Block can be used to rough down a piece quickly...then do an even better job at making for a stain grade finish.
Very...very...very comfortable to use too.
Three thumbs up.
JeffBuck Construction Pittsburgh,PA
Fine Carpentery.....While U Waite
You paid $65 for a Ryobi? The basic PC is less than that, and twice as good.Do it right, or do it twice.
I really don't know how much I paid. I've replaced three of the hook and loop pad from the bottom of it and that might have been 8 years ago. PC didn't have one at that point I don't think. Whatever, it is a good deal as it is far better than the jitterbugs I was using.Jack of all trades and master of none - you got a problem with that?
Another 3 thumbs up for the PC Speedblock, or, in my case, Rockwell 1/4 sht. orbital sander. This excellent sander of mine is approaching 30 years of age with god knows how many thousands of hours of hot run time! No wonder (and how fortunate) the same machine is made today. Winner! Winner!
Ken Hill