Detail sander and dust extraction

[Martin Bonner]

I need to sand the staircase where I have stripped paint from it. I tried a Random Orbital sander, but that's too big and doesn't get into enough of the corners. I think I need a detail sander. I was thinking of the Bosch GDA280E Delta Sander. Any obvious alternatives?

In order to avoid a complete spring-clean of the house when I'm finished, I also need some dust extraction. Is there any advantage in buying a Festool CTL Midi (at something north of £300) rather than a Numatic Henry (which is nearer £100)?

I don't mind spending extra on quality (I will have a real need for decent dust extraction capabilities in future for radial arm saw, table saw, router, planer, etc), but I don't want to spend more than I need ... actually, that applies to the sander too!

[Edited to actually put question marks on my questions. Oops]

 

[n0legs]

Welcome.
I've seen and used the Festool extractors, granted in a body repair shop, and to be honest I'm less than impressed.

 

[Martin Bonner]

I've seen and used the Festool extractors, granted in a body repair shop, and to be honest I'm less than impressed.

Oh dear. Any recommendations then?

 

[carlb40]

I think the Fein extractors are often recommended as alternatives to festool.

 

[MMUK]

If it's just in the house, what's wrong with using your existing vacuum cleaner?

 

[Martin Bonner]

If it's just in the house, what's wrong with using your existing vacuum cleaner?

I don't have a vacuum cleaner; senior management has a vacuum cleaner, but they have objected to the way it filled up when I connected it to the random orbit sander. (Also, the vacuum cleaner hose had an awkward handle on the end of the it, so it tended to fall out.)

 

[n0legs]

I've seen and used the Festool extractors, granted in a body repair shop, and to be honest I'm less than impressed.

Oh dear. Any recommendations then?

I recommend, and if I was in the market for one, the Mirka or the 3M models.
We had both on test at the bodyshop and both worked very very well. However for home use I'd go for a workshop or wet/dry type vacuum cleaner.
In my "workshop" for the portable tools I use my old Kirby G4 and as yet I haven't found anything that beats it. The small capacity and bag changes are a little bit of a pain but there's not a lot of dust about when she's running

 

[MMUK]

If it's just in the house, what's wrong with using your existing vacuum cleaner?

I don't have a vacuum cleaner; senior management has a vacuum cleaner, but they have objected to the way it filled up when I connected it to the random orbit sander. (Also, the vacuum cleaner hose had an awkward handle on the end of the it, so it tended to fall out.)

In that case I'd go for a Numatic. The James model would be ideal (that's what I use) and £30 cheaper than the Henry

 

[Grahamshed]

Quite a few people on here have said they use Henrys in the past and it seems a good solution in the house but I doubt you would find it big enough for serious workshop use.

 

[Stu_2]

I'm a bit of a sceptic when it comes to the expensive shop vacs. Personally, I don't think they're worth the money. I prefer the bagless type, too. I bought a Parkside shop vac from Lidl a couple of years ago for about £55, with a view to upgrading it when I found something better. I've never bothered as it's a properly good bit of kit, and has a 3 year guarantee. It has a PTO, although only rated for switching up to 1400w, which is fine for everything except the big router and the table saw, but it's hardly an effort to turn it on and off manually. It runs on for a few seconds after you switch the tool off, too, which is a handy feature.

I also use one of these over the the cartridge, and haven't needed to change the cartridge once in 2 years, and no expensive bags to worry about. Just need to pop the lid open and knock the dust off that filter cover now and again to get it sucking at full strength. Once a month the filter and filter bag get hit with compressed air. Hardly any dust comes of the drum filter as the filter bag does such a great job.

I've knocked the cr@p out of this vac it's never let me down. Hope I've not jinxed it with that statement

 

[MMUK]

I've knocked the cr@p out of this vac it's never let me down. Hope I've not jinxed it with that statement

Is that smoke I see coming from your workshop accompanied by a strange whirring sound? :wink: :lol:

 

[Martin Bonner]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I've just ordered the Bosch and a Charles vacuum (a tad more expensive than the Henry, but the wet vac option seemed worth it, and Amazon had a lightly bashed one available cheap.)

I'll let you know how I get on with it ...
--
Martin

 

[MMUK]

Thanks for all the advice guys. I've just ordered the Bosch and a Charles vacuum (a tad more expensive than the Henry, but the wet vac option seemed worth it, and Amazon had a lightly bashed one available cheap.)

I'll let you know how I get on with it ...
--
Martin

So you weren't tempted to get a pink Hetty then? :lol:

 

[MMUK]

I reckon one of these would make a good dust extractor with some minor modification...

 

[Grahamshed]

No MMUK. Thats a dust exterminator.

 

[MMUK]

No MMUK. Thats a dust exterminator.

OK, it can help keep the rats down as well then :mrgreen: