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5mm stroke needed or not when I already have a tried

  • 3mm is fine

    Votes: 2 40.0%
  • 5mm is best even with rotex

    Votes: 3 60.0%

  • Total voters
    5
For finishing i use a Mirka DEOS 3mm orbit with Mirka Abranet Ace sheets most of my work is hard woods finished with callous sanding sealer then waxed and buffed
Wood usually comes off the spiral head planer thicknesser through the drum sander at 120G then once finished Deos sander 180G 240G sometimes 320G sanding sealer denib at 400 just a quick rub by hand with a block the wax and buffed
The dust collection and low vibration off the Deos is worth the money. One of my next purchases when finances allow will be a Mirka DEROS 5650 which has 125mm & 150mm pads and a 5mm orbit to replace a very old Dewalt random orbital
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I am in the market for a new sander, I am currently weighing up whether to get a 5mm stroke sander or if I can do with a 3mm stroke. I have a Festool rotex 150mm so part of me thinks I could be fine with just a 3mm sander but at the same time I think a 5mm will be very convenient.
Be glad of thoughts of those with a similar set up.

Your question is somewhat INCOMPLETE...!, Let's see:
There are TWO main categories of rotary sanders as of today:

ONE: the "standard", ubiquitous, and "plain" ones with the following characteristics:

a) A 125mm platter;

b) A Free wheeling bearing that allows that platter to rotate thanks to the sanding disc presenting a drag, and an Excentric shaft that carries that bearing, so that the excentric rotation makes a given sanding grain to describe a "kind of" epicycloidal motion, so that the sanding disc leaves a miriad of scratches that blend together, thus the other name: "Random Orbit Sander" or ROS;

c) A Bearing Excentricity of around 3 mm or 1/8", loosely called "orbit";

d) A motor of approximately 300 to 400 Watts of input power, a little less or a little more...

Examples of commercial models are numerous, like DeWalt, Milwaukee, Ryobi, and too many others.

TWO: The SERIOUS ONES.... With the following differences:

1) A GEARED, forced rotation plus circular oscillation swichable option, in addition to the free-wheeling bearing guided platter.


2) The larger (150 mm) platter;

3) A larger Excentricity or "orbit" of about 5.5 to 6 mm or 1/4";

4) A noticeably more powerful motor, above the 800 or more input watts.

These characteristics make the SERIOUS ones a way more versatile tool, because those can perform in a more useful manner the task commonly asigned to medium power, medium size Belt Sanders (say 3" X 21" belt), while at the same time providing the capability of producing very fine Sanding and Polishing tasks... And the capability of taming down their power thanks to ample range of variable speeds.

While more expensive, they can easily sand much larger surfaces than the run-of-the-mill 125 mm-400 W sanders, like a large dining table, a large wooden desk, a long wood stair between floors, or a large Concert Grand piano, which will take many more hours for sanding with lesser sanders.

In my country, we have only three such models available; from Festool, Bosch and Makita. In my case (and limited budget), the Festool is way too expensive (more than A THOUSAND US Dollars!), the Bosch has been pointed to have weak gears, thus I bought the Makita BO6050 at about 25% of the outreageous price of the Festool...

This sander is much more than a sander; I have polished two car windshields, one automotive paint job, a lot of wood, several fiberglass parts and even a Marble top. I bought it after years of using my older Bosch PE12 AE 125mm sander, which was desperately slow, weak and only for for small jobs, I would say up to a small desk size. Anything larger just took too much valuable time. Compared to the "standard size", 125mm, less than 500 watts, 3mm orbit, non-geared Random Orbit sanders, it is like light day and night! Now my old Bosch is seldom used at all. The only CAVEAT these larger sanders have: They do demand a Learning-Curve... They need to be handled with aplomb, FIRMLY planted on the floor, held with BOTH hands, always using the lateral handle (like an angle grinder!), and taking care and observation of the selected speed. Their dust creation flow needs one to use a vacuum and hose, as well as a well fitting sanding disk hole pattern. The Makita has some more vibration than the Rotex, but using gloves and replacing the lateral handle with the better grade Vibration absorbing one (not expensive) gets it perfectly under control at a net value.
 
The Makita belt sanders are powerful... but lack the all too important (for me) VARIABLE SPEED. I do not always sand just woods, many times I need to sand plastic parts, fiberglass parts, and other surfaces that demand a low speed to avoid melting, or for more control; like a Polycarbonate lens of a car headlight!... THUS, my Makita BO6050-J ROS is the one to have, as it is almost as fast and powerful as a medium size Belt Sander, but with the advantages of having the raw power of such belt sander PLUS the finesse of sanding a fine finish and polishing it too, sometimes as delicate as an automotive paint! Last week, I sanded and fine polished a large piano to "mirror-finish" with my Makita set to Random (not forced rotation) position. The same day, I got a VERY ROUGH surface on a wood piece obtained from a pallet as terse as the proverbial Princess's cheek... with exactly the same machine. Like having two machines in one.
 
The Makita belt sanders are powerful... but lack the all too important (for me) VARIABLE SPEED. I do not always sand just woods, many times I need to sand plastic parts, fiberglass parts, and other surfaces that demand a low speed to avoid melting, or for more control; like a Polycarbonate lens of a car headlight!... THUS, my Makita BO6050-J ROS is the one to have, as it is almost as fast and powerful as a medium size Belt Sander, but with the advantages of having the raw power of such belt sander PLUS the finesse of sanding a fine finish and polishing it too, sometimes as delicate as an automotive paint! Last week, I sanded and fine polished a large piano to "mirror-finish" with my Makita set to Random (not forced rotation) position. The same day, I got a VERY ROUGH surface on a wood piece obtained from a pallet as terse as the proverbial Princess's cheek... with exactly the same machine. Like having two machines in one.
This is a woodworking question on a woodworking forum though, the restoration of polycarbonate car lenses is a separate issue.
 
I got the Festool EC ETS 125/3. Maybe a bit spendy but I have the Festool system including a Festool CT extractor so it made sense to go this route. I also know for myself whether I get the Festool now or on 5 years it will inevitably happen so it's just a case of whether I buy 2 other sanders on the way there and be moderately satisfied or just bite the bullet now 😄
 

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