Hi,
So what's the best type of sander for furniture refinishing?
There are so many types and confused by them. (What's the difference
b/w disk and orbital? Oscillating and vibrating?) Rather than figure
all of this out and graduate from the school of sanding with high
honors, can I cheat and just have one of you tell me what the best kind
of sander for refinishing small furnature is? For the open areas and
for the corners? (I heard random orbit is a candidate.)
Thank you!
Aaron Fude
The two basic types you're concerned with are orbital (a.k.a. 1/4 sheet
sander, palm sander), which has a rectangular pad, and random-orbit,
which has a round pad that orbits and spins.
An orbital 1/4 sheet sander has the advantage that it will fit into
corners. It leaves an OK finish with finer grits (150+), but if you try
to get aggressive, you'll be punished with the dreaded squiggly
scratches.
A random-orbit sander is more effective all around: better finish with
fine grits, faster stock removal with coarse paper, better dust
collection when connected to a vac, less vibration for the user.
If you absolutely can't get both, I'd say get the random-orbit and use
a hand sanding bolck to get into corners.
<[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Hi,
>
> So what's the best type of sander for furniture refinishing?
>
> There are so many types and confused by them. (What's the difference
> b/w disk and orbital? Oscillating and vibrating?) Rather than figure
> all of this out and graduate from the school of sanding with high
> honors, can I cheat and just have one of you tell me what the best kind
> of sander for refinishing small furnature is? For the open areas and
> for the corners? (I heard random orbit is a candidate.)
>
> Thank you!
>
> Aaron Fude
>
What kind of furniture? What kind of finish in on them. It all matters for
the *best* sander.
Sometimes a belt sander is king, other time a Fein detail sander is the one
you want. There are others in-between. If I was forced, kicking and
screaming, I settle with a half sheet random orbit and scrap or hand sand
the smaller stuff. Fortunately no one will get any of my sanders until
after the deep digging and sad singing!
Dave
Teamcasa wrote:
> <[email protected]> wrote in message
> news:[email protected]...
> > Hi,
> >
> > So what's the best type of sander for furniture refinishing?
> >
> > There are so many types and confused by them. (What's the difference
> > b/w disk and orbital? Oscillating and vibrating?) Rather than figure
> > all of this out and graduate from the school of sanding with high
> > honors, can I cheat and just have one of you tell me what the best kind
> > of sander for refinishing small furnature is? For the open areas and
> > for the corners? (I heard random orbit is a candidate.)
> >
> > Thank you!
> >
> > Aaron Fude
> >
> What kind of furniture? What kind of finish in on them. It all matters for
> the *best* sander.
> Sometimes a belt sander is king, other time a Fein detail sander is the one
> you want. There are others in-between. If I was forced, kicking and
> screaming, I settle with a half sheet random orbit and scrap or hand sand
> the smaller stuff. Fortunately no one will get any of my sanders until
> after the deep digging and sad singing!
>
> Dave
Thank you for the responses.
OK, what if I could get 2 sanders. One is the random orbit. What would
be the other?
How about the Ryobi DS1100 or CFS1501K?
Also, don't mean to start a long discussion here, but if I want to make
this a moderate hobby (say, refinish 1 piece a month) is the price
difference between Ryobi and DeWalt worth it?
snip
> OK, what if I could get 2 sanders. One is the random orbit. What would
> be the other?
> How about the Ryobi DS1100 or CFS1501K?
>
> Also, don't mean to start a long discussion here, but if I want to make
> this a moderate hobby (say, refinish 1 piece a month) is the price
> difference between Ryobi and DeWalt worth it?
I'd pass on both.
If I could only get two, it would be the Porter Cable 330 and 505.
If my budget could not stand both, the 505 would be my choice.
If the 505 is out of range start with the 330.
Dave
Teamcasa wrote:
> snip
> > OK, what if I could get 2 sanders. One is the random orbit. What would
> > be the other?
> > How about the Ryobi DS1100 or CFS1501K?
> >
> > Also, don't mean to start a long discussion here, but if I want to make
> > this a moderate hobby (say, refinish 1 piece a month) is the price
> > difference between Ryobi and DeWalt worth it?
>
> I'd pass on both.
> If I could only get two, it would be the Porter Cable 330 and 505.
> If my budget could not stand both, the 505 would be my choice.
> If the 505 is out of range start with the 330.
>
> Dave
Thaks very much for the advice. Is the 340k similar to 330?
Finally, I have a very silly question. Where do I buy the sand paper
for these? I'm looking on the home depot website but not finding
anything.
>> > How about the Ryobi DS1100 or CFS1501K?
>> >
>> > Also, don't mean to start a long discussion here, but if I want to make
>> > this a moderate hobby (say, refinish 1 piece a month) is the price
>> > difference between Ryobi and DeWalt worth it?
>>
>> I'd pass on both.
>> If I could only get two, it would be the Porter Cable 330 and 505.
>> If my budget could not stand both, the 505 would be my choice.
>> If the 505 is out of range start with the 330.
>>
>> Dave
>
> Thaks very much for the advice. Is the 340k similar to 330?
>
> Finally, I have a very silly question. Where do I buy the sand paper
> for these? I'm looking on the home depot website but not finding
> anything.
The Porter Cable Site can better explain the differences. To me, the 330,
square base (no special sandpaper required) is easier to use than the round,
(special sandpaper required)340k
I use Stikit paper for most of my sanding jobs. Search Amazon and other
sites.
Dave
> If you absolutely can't get both, I'd say get the random-orbit and use
> a hand sanding bolck to get into corners.
I agree also. I've been very happy with my $35 Ryobi RO sander, but I
haven't used the big names, so I can't comment on those.
As far as paper, if you must buy from Home Depot, I'd definitely look
at Norton 3X sandpaper discs. They might not have it on their website,
but I think they almost certainly would in the store. Even better than
that, I'd recommend Mirka Gold discs from Amazon (do a search depending
on the size and number of holes you need). Lee Valley is a top-notch
company to deal with, and they also have several types of sanding
discs, such as
http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=3&p=42510&cat=1,42500 if you
need 5" discs. I'd recommend looking for something that says no-load
or reduced loading - finish, glue, etc would gunk up regular sandpaper
pretty quickly, and low-loading paper would reduce this somewhat.
Finally, I'd recommend hooking whatever sander you get up to a vacuum,
even if it comes with a little dust collection bag. The vac will keep
your air cleaner, but will also extend the life of your sandpaper as
less gunk will have a chance to build up. Of course you'll need discs
with holes to match your sander for this to work (standards are either
5- or 8-hole).
Hope this helps,
Andy
Phisherman wrote:
> A disk sander is a large rotating disk, usually stationary with a tilt
> table. This is great for sanding angles on pieces you can hold.
>
> A random orbital sander is hand-held. It is very popular and requires
> purchasing special round papers.
>
> A palm sander is hand-held and most can use regular sandpapers. Not
> as good as a detail sander, but it can get into corners. I like this
> sander a lot and it is fairly inexpensive.
>
> For small items a detail sander is a good choice.
>
Thanks! Is the following a detail sander? Is is a detail sender by
definition very small?
http://www.homedepot.com/prel80/HDUS/EN_US/diy_main/pg_diy.jsp?BV_SessionID=@@@@0692653072.1144097342@@@@&BV_EngineID=cccladdhhdikiekcgelceffdfgidgml.0&CNTTYPE=PROD_META&CNTKEY=misc/searchResults.jsp&MID=9876&N=2984+3966&pos=n24
> A belt sander is usually handled with two hands, very aggressive, and
> used for larger areas.
>
> In all fairness each sander has strengths and weaknesses. I suggest
> you start out with a palm sander.
>
> On 3 Apr 2006 06:53:54 -0700, [email protected] wrote:
>
> >Hi,
> >
> >So what's the best type of sander for furniture refinishing?
> >
> >There are so many types and confused by them. (What's the difference
> >b/w disk and orbital? Oscillating and vibrating?) Rather than figure
> >all of this out and graduate from the school of sanding with high
> >honors, can I cheat and just have one of you tell me what the best kind
> >of sander for refinishing small furnature is? For the open areas and
> >for the corners? (I heard random orbit is a candidate.)
> >
> >Thank you!
> >
> >Aaron Fude
In article <[email protected]>,
[email protected] wrote:
> If you absolutely can't get both, I'd say get the random-orbit and use
> a hand sanding bolck to get into corners.
I agree.
A disk sander is a large rotating disk, usually stationary with a tilt
table. This is great for sanding angles on pieces you can hold.
A random orbital sander is hand-held. It is very popular and requires
purchasing special round papers.
A palm sander is hand-held and most can use regular sandpapers. Not
as good as a detail sander, but it can get into corners. I like this
sander a lot and it is fairly inexpensive.
For small items a detail sander is a good choice.
A belt sander is usually handled with two hands, very aggressive, and
used for larger areas.
In all fairness each sander has strengths and weaknesses. I suggest
you start out with a palm sander.
On 3 Apr 2006 06:53:54 -0700, [email protected] wrote:
>Hi,
>
>So what's the best type of sander for furniture refinishing?
>
>There are so many types and confused by them. (What's the difference
>b/w disk and orbital? Oscillating and vibrating?) Rather than figure
>all of this out and graduate from the school of sanding with high
>honors, can I cheat and just have one of you tell me what the best kind
>of sander for refinishing small furnature is? For the open areas and
>for the corners? (I heard random orbit is a candidate.)
>
>Thank you!
>
>Aaron Fude
On 3 Apr 2006 08:49:27 -0700, [email protected] wrote:
>Also, don't mean to start a long discussion here, but if I want to make
>this a moderate hobby (say, refinish 1 piece a month) is the price
>difference between Ryobi and DeWalt worth it?
IMHO, no. Ryobi 1/4 sheet sanders are good kit (UK models anyway).
They'll wear out in time, but for hobby use you'll see a good lifetime.
A random orbit (Bosch PEX400 is a good hobbyist machine) gives a better
finish, but for furniture you can only really use it on tabletops,
because of the access.
If you're doing big stuff, then the Skil 666 1/2 sheet sander is the
machine to have. These things are great solid beasts capable of a lot of
work.
I would second the PC 330, mine doesn't have dust collection but it
uses pressure stick abrasives and is like the eveready bunny it just
keeps ticking. Gotten so when I get to that point in the project that
the 330 comes out I get a little giddy. LOL
Mike M
On Mon, 3 Apr 2006 08:53:13 -0700, "Teamcasa" <[email protected]>
wrote:
>snip
>> OK, what if I could get 2 sanders. One is the random orbit. What would
>> be the other?
>> How about the Ryobi DS1100 or CFS1501K?
>>
>> Also, don't mean to start a long discussion here, but if I want to make
>> this a moderate hobby (say, refinish 1 piece a month) is the price
>> difference between Ryobi and DeWalt worth it?
>
>I'd pass on both.
>If I could only get two, it would be the Porter Cable 330 and 505.
>If my budget could not stand both, the 505 would be my choice.
>If the 505 is out of range start with the 330.
>
>Dave
>