KH

Ken Hall

20/09/2003 1:27 PM

Orbital Sander Disks Wear Out Quickly


I have a Porter-Cable 333VS random orbital sander. I works great with
a fresh disk, but the disks seem to wear out very quickly. I'm
currently using Sears Craftsman disks, but previously I've used other
brands and my first ones were PC.

Do others have this experience?

Ken


This topic has 14 replies

Mm

"Myxylplyk"

in reply to Ken Hall on 20/09/2003 1:27 PM

20/09/2003 7:45 PM

the bulk mirka's i have are great.
Mostly i find it depends on what you're sanding. Raw wood like oak, cherry, maple, black
walnut allows the discs to last a long time. Heavy resin woods like pine, gum up quickly
as do finished surfaces.

Myx

"Ken Hall" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> I have a Porter-Cable 333VS random orbital sander. I works great with
> a fresh disk, but the disks seem to wear out very quickly. I'm
> currently using Sears Craftsman disks, but previously I've used other
> brands and my first ones were PC.
>
> Do others have this experience?
>
> Ken

aT

[email protected] (Tony D.)

in reply to Ken Hall on 20/09/2003 1:27 PM

21/09/2003 1:18 AM

Yea, Hooking up the sander to a shop vac seems to help too.
Sands better, disks last longer...............
Thanks, Tony D.


"Jim Stuyck" <[email protected]> wrote in message news:<[email protected]>...
> > Do others have this experience?
>
> No. I have the Porter-Cable 333 and use Norton hook and
> loop disks (buy them by the "contractor pack" of 25 at Home
> Depot) and they haven't made me think they "wear out very
> quickly." My experience is mostly with white oak and, no
> matter the grit, I fill the collector (get lots of dust) and never
> give "changing the disk" a thought.
>
> Jim Stuyck

Cc

"CW"

in reply to Ken Hall on 20/09/2003 1:27 PM

22/09/2003 2:39 AM

The proper use of planes and scrapers extend the life of sanding discs
immensely.
"Jim Stuyck" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> "Ken Hall" <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> >
> > I have a Porter-Cable 333VS random orbital sander. I works great with
> > a fresh disk, but the disks seem to wear out very quickly. I'm
> > currently using Sears Craftsman disks, but previously I've used other
> > brands and my first ones were PC.
> >
> > Do others have this experience?
>
> No. I have the Porter-Cable 333 and use Norton hook and
> loop disks (buy them by the "contractor pack" of 25 at Home
> Depot) and they haven't made me think they "wear out very
> quickly." My experience is mostly with white oak and, no
> matter the grit, I fill the collector (get lots of dust) and never
> give "changing the disk" a thought.
>
> Jim Stuyck
>
>

BA

Bay Area Dave

in reply to Ken Hall on 20/09/2003 1:27 PM

20/09/2003 10:17 PM

define "quickly"

dave

Ken Hall wrote:

> I have a Porter-Cable 333VS random orbital sander. I works great with
> a fresh disk, but the disks seem to wear out very quickly. I'm
> currently using Sears Craftsman disks, but previously I've used other
> brands and my first ones were PC.
>
> Do others have this experience?
>
> Ken

JS

"Jim Stuyck"

in reply to Ken Hall on 20/09/2003 1:27 PM

20/09/2003 10:27 PM


"Ken Hall" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
>
> I have a Porter-Cable 333VS random orbital sander. I works great with
> a fresh disk, but the disks seem to wear out very quickly. I'm
> currently using Sears Craftsman disks, but previously I've used other
> brands and my first ones were PC.
>
> Do others have this experience?

No. I have the Porter-Cable 333 and use Norton hook and
loop disks (buy them by the "contractor pack" of 25 at Home
Depot) and they haven't made me think they "wear out very
quickly." My experience is mostly with white oak and, no
matter the grit, I fill the collector (get lots of dust) and never
give "changing the disk" a thought.

Jim Stuyck

BA

Bay Area Dave

in reply to Ken Hall on 20/09/2003 1:27 PM

21/09/2003 5:46 AM

well, if a disk lasted for 20 solid minutes at full speed (the only
speed I use, since I didn't get a VS PC sander) I'd consider that
normal. I buy 25 packs of ROS papers and replace worn pads often. I
don't even think about it, as the cost isn't that high... Now if I was
buying those little packages, I might get my shorts in a bunch if every
couple of minutes I burned through a bucks worth of paper...I'm just as
likely to tear a pad as wear it out, anyway, on some projects.

dave

Ken Hall wrote:

> On Sat, 20 Sep 2003 22:17:16 GMT, Bay Area Dave <[email protected]>
> wrote:
>
>
>>define "quickly"
>
>
> That's a really good question. I thought about trying to define when
> I posted the question and I wasn't sure enough to say how long. But,
> if I had to make a guess . . .
>
> Let's say a 100 grit disk at full speed on yellow pine will last about
> 10 minutes before it begins to take off so little material it's hardly
> worth continuing. Of course it doesn't quit suddenly and I've never
> tried to time it, so maybe that could be 5--20 minutes.
>
> Maybe that's about 15-20 sq-ft of Baltic plywood.
>
> All those are wild guesses.
>
> Ken

AB

Andrew Barss

in reply to Ken Hall on 20/09/2003 1:27 PM

21/09/2003 5:59 AM

Ken Hall <[email protected]> wrote:
: On Sat, 20 Sep 2003 22:17:16 GMT, Bay Area Dave <[email protected]>
: wrote:

:>define "quickly"

: That's a really good question. I thought about trying to define when
: I posted the question and I wasn't sure enough to say how long. But,
: if I had to make a guess . . .

: Let's say a 100 grit disk at full speed on yellow pine will last about
: 10 minutes before it begins to take off so little material it's hardly
: worth continuing. Of course it doesn't quit suddenly and I've never
: tried to time it, so maybe that could be 5--20 minutes.

: Maybe that's about 15-20 sq-ft of Baltic plywood.

: All those are wild guesses.


The disc cost you 50 cents at the most, if bought in bulk. 20 sf of
sanding is petty good -- 2.5c a sf. Sandpaper is considered
an item you have to replace often --
-- Andy Barss

KH

Ken Hall

in reply to Ken Hall on 20/09/2003 1:27 PM

21/09/2003 12:01 AM

On Sat, 20 Sep 2003 22:17:16 GMT, Bay Area Dave <[email protected]>
wrote:

>define "quickly"

That's a really good question. I thought about trying to define when
I posted the question and I wasn't sure enough to say how long. But,
if I had to make a guess . . .

Let's say a 100 grit disk at full speed on yellow pine will last about
10 minutes before it begins to take off so little material it's hardly
worth continuing. Of course it doesn't quit suddenly and I've never
tried to time it, so maybe that could be 5--20 minutes.

Maybe that's about 15-20 sq-ft of Baltic plywood.

All those are wild guesses.

Ken

PP

"Pat Payne"

in reply to Ken Hall on 20/09/2003 1:27 PM

20/09/2003 12:01 PM

I found the gold colored disks seemed to last longer than the grey disks.
The gold ones I have are put out by
3M.

pp

peter

in reply to Ken Hall on 20/09/2003 1:27 PM

20/09/2003 8:13 PM

On Sat, 20 Sep 2003 13:27:06 -0500, Ken Hall <[email protected]>
wrote:

>
>I have a Porter-Cable 333VS random orbital sander. I works great with
>a fresh disk, but the disks seem to wear out very quickly. I'm
>currently using Sears Craftsman disks, but previously I've used other
>brands and my first ones were PC.
>
>Do others have this experience?

Yes. The experience changed with I changed to professional
quality disks. I'm using Klingspore and find they last about a dozen
times longer. Check the archives and you'll probable find other
brands recommended.

Good luck,

Peter

sS

[email protected] (Sambo145)

in reply to peter on 20/09/2003 8:13 PM

20/09/2003 9:36 PM

>Yes. The experience changed with I changed to professional
>quality disks. I'm using Klingspore and find they last about a dozen
>times longer. Check the archives and you'll probable find other
>brands recommended.

I have also had good results with the Klingspore disks and you can get some
good deals in their "bargain boxes" in bulk quantities. I was using the PC
brand but they seem to be really low quality.

EP

"Edwin Pawlowski"

in reply to Ken Hall on 20/09/2003 1:27 PM

22/09/2003 2:56 AM


"CW" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:Ahtbb.544898$uu5.90793@sccrnsc04...
> The proper use of planes and scrapers extend the life of sanding discs
> immensely.

I think you're on to something. I had a board of rough cut 5/4 cherry that
I needed to take down to 3/4". Took me a whole box of sanding disks to get
it there.
Ed

DC

"David Chamberlain"

in reply to Ken Hall on 20/09/2003 1:27 PM

21/09/2003 9:51 AM

Someone published a study a few years ago comparing sandpaper costs to
labor costs. I just looked and cannot find the study but maybe someone else
has it.

The study had a chart that showed how often you should change the
sandpaper based on the cost of sandpaper and the cost of labor. If you were
paying $10 per hour for labor and X for sandpaper, you should change the
paper every Y minutes.

The amazing part was that the study recopmmended changing the paper every
three to five minutes for most reasonable combinations of paper and labor
costs. The sanding efficiency of the paper dropped off quite quickly so it
made exonmical sense to change the paper early and often.

I hope that some can find the original study. It might have been done by
Klingspor.


--
dbchamber at hotmail spam dot com

Remove the spam to reach me

"Tony D." <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Yea, Hooking up the sander to a shop vac seems to help too.
> Sands better, disks last longer...............
> Thanks, Tony D.
>
>
> "Jim Stuyck" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:<[email protected]>...
> > > Do others have this experience?
> >
> > No. I have the Porter-Cable 333 and use Norton hook and
> > loop disks (buy them by the "contractor pack" of 25 at Home
> > Depot) and they haven't made me think they "wear out very
> > quickly." My experience is mostly with white oak and, no
> > matter the grit, I fill the collector (get lots of dust) and never
> > give "changing the disk" a thought.
> >
> > Jim Stuyck

tT

[email protected] (ToolMiser)

in reply to "David Chamberlain" on 21/09/2003 9:51 AM

21/09/2003 2:03 PM

What about the quality of the sandpaper? The type of grit will make a big
difference in the life of the paper.


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