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Post by jm on Jun 24, 2015 0:24:13 GMT -5
So I originally followed the advice that's dished out quite often on the FOG, to get the RO150 and the RO90 to cover 90% of most work.
I found the RO90 didn't fit my needs well, the sander in Rotex mode was hard to keep flat, and the delta mode worked well enough, but a $400 for a corner sander wasn't a good use of money. I replaced the RO90 with a Bosch 1294VS, which I'm pretty satisfied with.
And the RO150, while I'm happy with, doesn't work well on some stuff that comes up. Namely, it's too large for stair risers (though works well on treads).
I think it's time for me to pickup a rectangular orbital sander, but it seems like the 1/4 sheet sanders are all made to hit around the $50 price point. Are there really no high end 1/4 sheet sanders other than the RTS400?
There's also the option of half sheet, although much larger and heavier than most 1/4 sheets. RS2E is rarely mentioned anymore (is it not well executed?), and Bosch has the rather new OS50VC, which looks pretty well featured. The decoupled sanding base from the body looks like it eliminates a ton of vibration, but it's 6 lbs, which is a lot for horizontal use.
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Post by MrToolJunkie on Jun 24, 2015 1:50:26 GMT -5
So I originally followed the advice that's dished out quite often on the FOG, to get the RO150 and the RO90 to cover 90% of most work. I found the RO90 didn't fit my needs well, the sander in Rotex mode was hard to keep flat, and the delta mode worked well enough, but a $400 for a corner sander wasn't a good use of money. I replaced the RO90 with a Bosch 1294VS, which I'm pretty satisfied with. And the RO150, while I'm happy with, doesn't work well on some stuff that comes up. Namely, it's too large for stair risers (though works well on treads). I think it's time for me to pickup a rectangular orbital sander, but it seems like the 1/4 sheet sanders are all made to hit around the $50 price point. Are there really no high end 1/4 sheet sanders other than the RTS400? There's also the option of half sheet, although much larger and heavier than most 1/4 sheets. RS2E is rarely mentioned anymore (is it not well executed?), and Bosch has the rather new OS50VC, which looks pretty well featured. The decoupled sanding base from the body looks like it eliminates a ton of vibration, but it's 6 lbs, which is a lot for horizontal use. I love the RS2E and it is one of my favorite and must-have sanders. If I had the coin I would probably opt for the Mafell as it is ultra smooth and uses Abranet...but the Festool is a great sander. I have heard great things about the Bosch too - but it is not hook & loop so you need to use the clamps and buy rolls of paper in different grits or cut your own from a sheet - that can be a pita, especially if switching grits so that is why I have avoided it. I have said this before, but I think that every woodworker should have a 1/2 sheet sander in their tool box. If you need corner sanding, consider the DTS400 - I love that sander too and it has a curved pad that allows you to sand to a perpendicular surface without the sander bouncing away. |
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Post by holmz on Jun 24, 2015 3:33:32 GMT -5
I have the UVA 115e and rate it highly.
My other sanders are a Festool DX93 and a 5" Bosch RO, and Bosch 5" grinder that I put flap wheels onto for removing stuff.
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Post by jm on Jun 28, 2015 0:34:42 GMT -5
The UVA is really interesting, it says 24k OPM, which is more than double that of any half sheet sander that I've found. I'm curious how that translates into sander performance (vibration, power, etc), and why most mfgs settled on something in the 10k-12k OPM range. So I actually ended up buying a Makita BO3710 1/3 sheet sander, I'm pretty happy with it so far. Vibration is well controlled, and it's the lightest sheet sander (3.5 lbs) that's not a 1/4 sheet, which makes it great for stair risers (the Festool RS2E is 5.5 lbs, the Mafell UVA is 6 lbs). I also calculated the power/area for each sander, and the Makita isn't too far off the Festool (7.8 watts/in^2, whereas the Festool is 8.1 watts/in^2). The Mafell is far and away more powerful at 11.1 watts/in^2, but almost double the weight of the Makita. The Bosch OS50VC is almost exactly 10 watts/in^2. Dust extraction is good as well, you can use a copper 3/4" to 1" NPT pipe connector and it'll drop right onto a Festool hose (I have the "real" adapter coming from Makita, but Makita is super slow with parts, and this adapter actually works great).  Even if I pickup a more powerful 1/2 sheet in the future and use this specifically when I'm sanding vertically, for $55, I'm rather pleased. Despite being really inexpensive, I'm finding it hard to fault this thing right now. |
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Post by holmz on Jun 28, 2015 4:09:39 GMT -5
The UVA is really interesting, it says 24k OPM, which is more than double that of any half sheet sander that I've found. I'm curious how that translates into sander performance (vibration, power, etc), and why most mfgs settled on something in the 10k-12k OPM range. ... Even if I pickup a more powerful 1/2 sheet in the future and use this specifically when I'm sanding vertically, for $55, I'm rather pleased. Despite being really inexpensive, I'm finding it hard to fault this thing right now. I thought that the UVA was only ~12k Orbits/min. But I ran it on about 3... You would be mad not to like the Bosch. And it is probably more controlled than a RO job. |
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Post by MrToolJunkie on Jun 28, 2015 9:57:37 GMT -5
You might just want to keep using that copper fitting - great idea, BTW - this will likely allow the anit-static capability of the vacuum to work. I hate little shocks when sanding and it has happened in the past using tools with non-antistatic fittings connected to the vac.
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Post by lincoln on Jun 29, 2015 23:53:38 GMT -5
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Post by jm on Jun 30, 2015 3:19:19 GMT -5
lincoln That should be a good sander. Looks like its based off the SXE450 Turbotec, which is almost universally loved. Too bad Metabo stopped importing sanders to the US. holmz All the specs I've seen say the UVA runs at 24k OPM, does it not run noticeably faster than most sanders?
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Post by holmz on Jun 30, 2015 6:28:27 GMT -5
Well it doesn't shake so my hands are not numb.
People tell me how much better that RO90 and RO125s are, and that they take material off quickly.
I have only run it on 3 and it seemed like it was fast enough.
I'll run it again this weekend and let you know.
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Post by holmz on Jul 7, 2015 7:58:56 GMT -5
... holmz All the specs I've seen say the UVA runs at 24k OPM, does it not run noticeably faster than most sanders? Well I wish I could say with certainty. But the old sander was a 5" RO. I would say it is twice as fast with a 240grit than the 5" with the 150 grit. And the control seems better, as I can sand one handed which I sometimes need to do when I get lazy and break/chamfer the edges with the sander and holding the board at a 45 degree angle. I made a door frame from Merenti today, which is like mahogany so it is easy sanding. The wood was joiner/thicknessed to 32-mm, and I went straight to the 240 abradnet. Both sides of the frame and the top, sanded all 6 surfaces on each of the three boards, and it was maybe 10 minutes... so ~1/2-minute per board on each long side The chop on the planner was not extreme, but it went through that lickty-split with the 240gr |
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