I realise the following isn't really Mafell territory but I AM a Mafell customer (MT55cc) and I know there are some experienced and level-headed people on this forum, so I see no harm in asking it, as an aside to my usual Mafell-specific posts.
I currently use a Mirka DEROS (5mm orbit) for
general sanding tasks and I love it - it's a brilliant little
lightweight sander that is ideal for light duty and decorating tasks (but not for crevice and mouldings sanding, which are better suited to DEOS),
and I enthusiastically recommend the DEROS to anyone looking for a finish
sander that is easy to use single-handed without undue fatigue
(especially for overhead work, for which tasks, it's an absolute
game-changer). It's extraction is also superb.
Anyway, I'm looking for recommendations for a much HEAVIER DUTY disc sander, please. Disc size in the range of 150mm-200mm. This sander to be used for miscellaneous property renovation tasks (wall paint removal prior to plastering, small areas of plaster removal, small parquet floors, etc. etc. etc. A wide range of tasks that need reliable power and high stock removal not possible using run-of-the-mill sanders).
I don't want a Festool Rotex RO150FEQ
I don't want a Makita BO6050
I don't want a Bosch GEX 150 AC
I know there are mixed (but mostly positive) reviews for the Rotex machines, but I'm not willing to buy into Festool for a sander, when there are plenty of very decent alternatives, added to which, I'd like something a bit more heavy duty. Not massively so, but a bit. I do recall seeing a youtube video, last year, where someone was sanding end-grain solid timber butchers blocks (a very demanding sanding task) using a Festool sander that was larger than a Rotex RO150FEQ, with plenty of die-cast alloy in the sander chassis, but I don't know if it is a discontinued product and I don't know if it was just a rotary-grinder type of sander.
Like the RO150FEQ, the Makita and Bosch machines are also not quite as heavy-duty as I'm looking for, added to which, I find it difficult to take either of them seriously when they are each rumoured to have issues with their gearboxes, when used under load, on account of incorporating plastic components within their gearboxes
For example:
youtube.com/watch?v=HF0dR98wEHg
If anyone has any suggestions (and possibly personal experience) of heavy duty disc sanders, I'm keen to hear it, please.
Obviously, high stock removal heavy-duty sanders have a substantial amount of forced rotation.
With that understood, I am not completely ruling-out a pure rotational sander, but I'd ideally prefer to consider sanders that have some degree of randomisation of the stroke, as the disc rotates (which we all know the above 3 sanders do have). It seems some of the heavy-duty rotary disc sanders have an 'eccentric' motion, which I am assuming is a compromise solution to try to avoid rotary swirl marks as much as possible, under load conditions (or high stock removal conditions) that perhaps don't permit random orbital.
Flex offer a few sanders, some of which are pure-rotation ('grinder-style'):
flex-tools.com/en/products/se-14-2-150-set-2/
They also offer a ROS (8.8mm orbit), but it doesn't appear to incorporate any forced rotation for high stock-removal, so it seems it would probably just be a beefier incarnation of my DEROS, and thus not what I'm after:
flex-tools.com/en/products/x-1107-ve-2/
Fein have the MSf 636-1, which they claim is powerful, but 380w (input) doesn't sound especially powerful:
fein.com/en_uk/machines/grinding-polishing/metal-automotive-marine/sanders/
Rupes BR112AES (12mm orbit) doesn't appear to incorporate any forced rotation:
rupes.com/product/br112aes/
Rupes EK200AS does have forced rotation, but doesn't appear to have any eccentricity (so it appears to be a 'grinder-style' sander):
rupes.com/product/ek200as/
Can anyone offer any insight, commentary, or education on my options, and/or any other possible machines to consider?
As I said, I haven't totally ruled-out a pure rotary machine, but I know from experience that trying to sand with pure rotation tends to result in very rapid disc-clogging, and leaves very obvious swirl marks on the work material (obviously, going up through the grit grades can mitigate the swirls to some extent. but the point still stands).
Some way down the road, I may invest in a Rokamat GEX (renovation grinder), as well, but for now I'm looking for something approximately the size of an angle grinder, like the Rotex, only heavier duty.
