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+-- Thread: half sheet sanders (/showthread.php?tid=7366563)
half sheet sanders - onewood - 12-14-2021
My ancient Milwaulkee half sheet sander is on its last broken leg. It recently started squeeking and sometimes grabs and shakes across the wood. It might be resurrected, but being 20 years old, and having no dust collection, it is time for a new one. In addition to cheap crap that I won't take a chance on, there are two that I can find: The Makita BO4900V, and the Bosch OS50 VC. The Makita is $199, but does not include the sandpaper punch plate, available for another $22, and also does not seem to include an adapter for a standard vacuum cleaner hose. The Bosch includes those items, but costs $337. Has anyone tried these, or both? My Milwaulkee was powerful, and could remove wood fast, much faster than most random orbitals. I especially want a half sheet sander as it tends to leave a flat surface more easily than smaller ones, while working on a larger area.
Do either or both of these new ones work well to remove wood? They both claim low vibration. Is that real? I am leaning towards the Makita partly because of cost, and also they seem to have much better customer service than Bosch.
RE: half sheet sanders - Cooler - 12-16-2021
I gave up on my 1/4 sheet sander because of the swirl marks. Does the 1/2 sheet do the same?
I use a 5" random orbital sander.
RE: half sheet sanders - KyleD - 12-18-2021
I think swirl marks have more to do with the quality of the sandpaper than the sander when it comes to 1/4 or 1/2 sheet sanders. I have a half sheet I like to use on large flat planes (mostly Oak ply or solid glue ups) to keep the surface grain flat. The only time I had trouble with swirlies is when I ran out of the usual 3M paper I use and ran to the local hardware store and bought some off brand. I felt very lucky to not sand through the veneer on that job.