sander question

[timoub007]

Okay, so my in-laws got me a sander for Christmas with some help from my wife. They purchased me a nice DeWalt, heavy duty, 1/4 sheet palm grip sander (model # DW411K.) Now no where on the box does it say that it is a random orbital sander, which is what I requested. The guy at the big box store told them that it was a RO sander, but I'm not too sure.

Do I need to return this one and get a different model?

Thanks guys, and Merry Christmas!
Tim

[Copro]

What you have is a finish sander, which makes things pretty. It will come in handy many times during your build, but is not real effiecient at removing large amounts of unwanted material. It however is not the same as the 5 or 6 inch round random obital sanders. They are much more agressive and will remove lots of unwanted material in fairly quick fashion. They are much easier to control then the belt sanders, which remove same unwanted material even much faster. I would suggest getting all three, but if you can only have one I would suggest a 6 inch adjustable speed random obital. Make sure which ever one you get has replacment backup pads available, as those pieces of rubber tend to wear away quite fast.

Jody

[timoub007]

Thanks for the quick reply Copro. I did acquire a belt sander prior to starting the build. This is a new Craftsman unit that works well, as I've used it to remove some cured epoxy already.

So, should I keep this finish sander since I have a belt sander as well? I will be putting a dull, camo finish on my boat so a perfect fairing job will not be the goal. I'll get a RO if that will suit me better.

Thanks guys,
Tim

[Rick]

I'd return it and get a random orbit sander. You won't be sorry you did. You can do fine finish sanding with a RO, but you can't do fast stock removal with an orbital finish sander.

[PatrickO]

I'd recommend the Porter-Cable 6" RO. Looks like a small angle grinder, has variable speed and is bullet proof. Kinda spendy but a lot of tool for the money.

[Daddy]

I second the dewalt 6 inch ro, it is a great tool and really works well for this type of work, bag the finish sander.
Daddy

[Daddy]

Sorry, I had a brain cramp. Porter Cable is what I meant to say, not sure where the dewalt came from
Daddy

[timoub007]

Thanks guys. I'll make a trip to HD tomorrow and get the correct one. I applaud the in-laws for at least making the attempt.

I hope you all have/had a Merry Christmas.

Take care,
Tim

[Old E.]

Yeah, what rick said. I have had a PC 5" R.O. sander and after almost 10 years of heavy abuse it is finally about to give in. Someone gave me a dewalt, and it is fine too. You will difinately want the R.O. sander for your build - they are the round ones.

[DrBones]

I used the DeWalt 1/4 sheet sander on my OD 16 build. I have an RO sander and a belt sander. The sander I ended up using most (aside from the belt sander) was the 1/4 sheet DeWalt.

It's a great little sander and you won't regret having it. It's true the RO sander is much more aggressive..but it's also much more so over a larger area and it's harder to control when you want to sand off a drip of epoxy.

Here's what I learned in many, many, many hours of sanding:
Belt Sander: Most important tool when it comes to rounding edges for glass tape and evening out those boarders that aren't as nice as they should be. It's sort of a "sculpting tool" when it comes to making the plywood conform to your idea of "fair"!

Random Orbit sander: Great tool for finishing off large flat surfaces. It's for the type of sanding you do when everything almost looks perfect..but still requires several hours of finish sanding to get to the real thing.

1/4 sheet sander: Great tool for getting in corners, or to knock off edges that stick out or getting rid of bumps and valleys. You can wedge it, tilt it, or sand flat with it. The only sander you can do that with effectively is this type of sander.

My opinion: You absolutely need a 1/4 sheet sander. In my build I made the mistake to buy first a Black and Decker one, which of course died early on. The DeWalt is a ferocious little machine that won't let you down.

If I were to drop a sander (and that's just because I'm not into the 'finish sanding' as much as others), I'd drop the round Random Orbit one.

..that's my 10 cents on this issue.