If you had to choose.......

[Tony Spear]

If you already had a variable speed belt sander and a (very) old 1/3 sheet orbital sander, which vibrates like hell and probably won't last much longer and had a very tight budget (say £60 - £100) what would you go for at this stage: ROS, Palm or Delta?

Main use would be for finishing things like door panels (raised and/or rebated), stiles and rails of said doors, book case frames and shelves etc.

Which is the most important feature for a decent finish, orbit size or speed?

I should say that the belt sander can be inverted and can be fitted with a sanding frame to avoid dig in when used conventionally on panels.

Edit: I should also point out that I should be able to get another sander at similar cost wthin the next 2 to 3 months, but don't want to wait that long and buy a more expensive piece of kit unless there are good solid reasons to wait.
And also that I am very much a hobbyist and don't do loads and loads of woodwork.

 

[goldeneyedmonkey]

If you could I would wait to get this Metabo R.O.S but then there's been a thread about this recently, worth a gander: here

that's my 2 cents for thee. Cheers_Dan

 

[Richard S]

Hi Tony

Personally I would go for a Random Orbit Sander (ROS), with a selection of discs you should get a finish almost good to go. I use a DeWalt ROS which is a palm grip type for virtually all my finish sanding and find it almost beyond criticism. The "random" orbit action in the main eliminates the tell tale swirls you often get from a standard orbital sander such as your current 1/3 sheet machine.
I also own a DW 1/4 palm sander, DW 6" angle grinder style ROS, Makita Belt and 1/3 sheet but nearly always reach for the DW 5" palm grip ROS as it's comfortable, quiet, easy to control and gives an excellent finish. I do normally give everything a final once over by hand with the grain.

I think I paid about £99 for mine although if you shop around you might get one a bit cheaper and I am sure there are alternative, equally good or better options out there, but in answer to your question, ROS every time for me.

Hope this helps

Richard

 

[Hudson Carpentry]

I would also go for a ROS. Metabo if you can stretch but if not maybe the AEG has some merit.