Post by huntsgemein on Sept 18, 2017 19:34:29 GMT -5
The Rotex type of sanders really aren't that bad to handle: here I include the 150mm Bosch & Makia equivalents, & the defunct Mafell/Kress twins too. Once learned, the handling & manouvreability become rather intuitive. Somewhat akin to a floor polisher. Tilt forward to go left, & back for right. The wide, flat pad & rear bodygrip allows an element of "balance" to be achieved. This is all predicated, it must be said, by the necessity of a two handed grip, esp in rotary mode.
Where I've quite literally come unstuck is in trying to be too clever. Atop a ladder, stripping paint off weatherboards is particularly nasty. A one handed grip centred over the axis of rotation has lead (when the papers get stuck in the weatherboards' gap). to quite nasty rotational torque reactions. But for stripping, flattening and general heavy duty tasks the 150mm Rotex type tools reign supreme, bettered only perhaps by true rotary (angle grinder type) and belt sanders, which both have attendant problems of handling, ergonomics & gouging tendencies.
Smaller Rotexes aren't (for me anyway) anywhere near as useful. The 125mm Rotex is less powerful, slower in that it lacks the degree of orbital eccentricity of its siblings, and has only about 50% of the abrasive surface area of its bigger sibling.
The RO 90 is a right diabolical little beast. It may have its uses in stripping narrower stock. Some users actually like it. Why I'm not quite sure. I personally loathed & detested mine, & literally could'nt wait to dispose of it as quickly as possible. Woeful ergonomics & a nasty tendency to jump, kick & otherwise do its best to ruin the integrity of delicate surfaces makes it for me the most difficult to handle sander I've ever used. Instead of being ideal for renovating window frames & the like, it was for me anyway the absolute worst choice. By contrast, the more compact & lighter Deltex & Bosch GDA280 E delta & Metabo SXE400 80mm dia random orbital sanders are absolute exemplars of good mannered, well behaved, easily controllable tools that serve to highlight the RO 90's abysmal ergonomics and crudity.
Where I've quite literally come unstuck is in trying to be too clever. Atop a ladder, stripping paint off weatherboards is particularly nasty. A one handed grip centred over the axis of rotation has lead (when the papers get stuck in the weatherboards' gap). to quite nasty rotational torque reactions. But for stripping, flattening and general heavy duty tasks the 150mm Rotex type tools reign supreme, bettered only perhaps by true rotary (angle grinder type) and belt sanders, which both have attendant problems of handling, ergonomics & gouging tendencies.
Smaller Rotexes aren't (for me anyway) anywhere near as useful. The 125mm Rotex is less powerful, slower in that it lacks the degree of orbital eccentricity of its siblings, and has only about 50% of the abrasive surface area of its bigger sibling.
The RO 90 is a right diabolical little beast. It may have its uses in stripping narrower stock. Some users actually like it. Why I'm not quite sure. I personally loathed & detested mine, & literally could'nt wait to dispose of it as quickly as possible. Woeful ergonomics & a nasty tendency to jump, kick & otherwise do its best to ruin the integrity of delicate surfaces makes it for me the most difficult to handle sander I've ever used. Instead of being ideal for renovating window frames & the like, it was for me anyway the absolute worst choice. By contrast, the more compact & lighter Deltex & Bosch GDA280 E delta & Metabo SXE400 80mm dia random orbital sanders are absolute exemplars of good mannered, well behaved, easily controllable tools that serve to highlight the RO 90's abysmal ergonomics and crudity.