When buying tools....

[Rick]

My Porter Cable 333 has sanded two boats already and is now being used on 7 Nice Canoes. So far, so good. I've used it on a ton of woodworking projects without any failures. I also own a PC 97366 6" right-angle grinder-style sander that works fine, too, and gets used for rougher sanding jobs on boats and woodworking projects.

No explanation for the different experiences, but I remain a solid Porter Cable sander fan.

- Rick Tyler

[Edward]

Mine was the PC333VS . I actually heard from PC after I signed off with that last post. The tech guy was puzzled about the specifics of what I was sanding and what made it react this way. I contacted S3 about it too and they said that the sander should be aggressivily blown out after each use. S3 feels like it's a problem with the model design and I tend to aggree. So I would not buy another of this model type. It seems like its not reacting well to the epoxy dust generated. PC is sending me a new unit and I'll use it because it's a good sander when it works. But I'll blow it out after each sanding session. PC stated to blow it out through the holes in the pad with the dust collector cup off. We'll see what happens

[The_Rookie]

I remember when I was part one of Uncle Sams Misguided Children that I moonlighted at Sears.
Craftsman Power Tools unless they changed were manufactured by Ryobi, this also adds extra value to the purchace because you can extend the waranty on any power tool to 3 yrs with an additional 10% of purchase price.

I dont work there any more but a good mid priced tool with automatic replacement for 3 yrs is always a good value.

If the manufacurer has changed all you have to do is ask an associate and most of the time they will tell you.

Look at the specs of the manufacturers brand tool and look for like item in craftsman brand and performance is the same and ususally at abetter price.

Ritz
AKA The Rookie

[TimeWalker]

I just can't agree with the NO black and decker comment I've used a b&d random orbit sander throughout the construction on my boat and now that I'm getting near the end the boat the sander is just now getting a little less random like ( and I have a feeling it's from a paint buildup)

[Edward]

Black and Decker will suprize most people who haven't tried them They are the Mother company of Dewalt. B&D has a few of it's tools that are inline with Dewalt. Yet they do have a line that is just cheap. I have seen alot of quality tools from off brands too. Chicago Electric is one I can think of. Ryobi has always puzzled me in their tool line. They have a bunch of really nice tools and a lot of real cheap ones. Their router line all have plastic housings and measuring systems yet they charge premium prices. Sears was far better served when Emerson made their tools. I'm fustrated because I usually buy higher end tools. I learned long ago to buy a good one once and not a cheap one three times. YET thet PC sander I got did not live up to the other PC tools I have and that fustrates me to no-end. Regardless you should look any tool over and compare it to others...cheap tools reveal them selves the first time you hold and use it .

[Todd]

I started with a Makita palm sander, which worked fine, but someone then recommended buying a compressed air sander (approx. $70) for fairing the hull, and this turned out to be our best tool purchase thus far. Only problem was that the sandpaper they sold at Pep Boys was apparently for automotive bondo or something, and it wouldn't cut through the fairing compound and kept tearing apart. Have since been using belt sander belts cut to fit. They work great and have a fabric backing that won't tear. I don't know how we would have completed the hull without it.

[TimeWalker]

Have since been using belt sander belts cut to fit. They work great and have a fabric backing that won't tear. I don't know how we would have completed the hull without it.

Well I would suggest looking in the "ads" back of wooden boat and http://www.islandesign.com/boatbuilding/ some of the sites have great "catalogs" for your materials I've tried the new super papers that 3-m puts out (hook n loop 8hole round) great papers deffinetly cut faster and lasted longer but the cost and package size was prohibitive havn't tried the stuff in the back of woodenboat because I have yet to find it for hooknloop unlike the stuff for air and other types of tools the press pads are much more readily avail

[Rick]

A good source of bullet-proof sandpaper is Klingspor's consumer products group (http://www.woodworkingshop.com/). Klingspor is primarily a supplier of industrial abrasives. I have heard, with no evidence to back it up, that their consumer products group started as a way to use up the ends of their big industrial products. I guess that the roll-ends of paper used to make 48-inch-wide sanding belts could be a useful source for the comparitively small bits of paper we use.

I've found their paper to be tough and the abrasives cut fast. Someone wrote that their numerical grading system is not the same as the one used in the US, and that their grits are rougher than normal. I don't know if this is true or not, but I find that I usually use one level finer in Klingspor abrasives than in other brands (in other words, I use Klingspor 100 where I would use 80 grit of another brand).

The only problem I've ever had was some old (10-years-plus) sanding belts coming apart during long sessions with my Porter Cable 361 on a really hot day. I think the glue on the tape holding the belt together failed under the heat of the day and friction with the platen.

[jondoe]

My latest technique when buying power tools is to find someone in the store who looks like he's worked there for more than a week and ask - which tools get returned or repaired most often?