Which ROS?

[Phil Thien]

I had an old-school PC but it was old and some sort of belt broke and came out of the thing.

I have ready from time to time that some sanders do a much better job at preventing swirls, than others.

So I'm wondering, if I'm in the market for a ROS that won't break the bank, what should I look at?

I do have the 1" hose I like to connect to my sander and vac, BTW. I notice a lot of newer sanders have a canister with a sort of oval connection. I suppose if it does a great job at collecting dust, fine. But I'd like to be able to use my hose, if possible.

Thanks.

[jteneyck]

The green Kool-Aid crowd will be here shortly extolling the virtues of those machines, so I'll pounce early to tell you I LOVE my Bosch ROS65VC. It has very low vibration (that's what VC is for in the product name, a great on board dust collection canister (highest rated in FWW's test, comes with a round hose adapter, and best of all, leaves a swirl free finish. It's available in 5", 6" (what I bought), and as a kit with both size pads. I recommend the kit because some abrasives are only available in 5" and others only in 6". I ended up buying a 5" pad after the fact, and changing form one to the other is easy and secure, unlike what I've read about some of the green machines.

John

[Jeremy s]

It is just a $1.50 little rubber band that you need.

[Phil Thien]

Jeremy s said:

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It is just a $1.50 little rubber band that you need.

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But maybe a newer unit would provide a better finish?

Liking the Bosch John is talking about.

[Bill Holt]

Phil, I have three of the older PC ROS and loved them. Replaced the pads and belts on each one. Then a friend gave me a Makita 5" with the same hole pattern (very important cuz I have a large supply of 8 hole disk). I won't say for sure that the Makita does a better job, but it is easier on the hand and the ear. Have not used a PC ROS in two years.

[Phil Thien]

Bill Holt said:

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Phil, I have three of the older PC ROS and loved them. Replaced the pads and belts on each one. Then a friend gave me a Makita 5" with the same hole pattern (very important cuz I have a large supply of 8 hole disk). I won't say for sure that the Makita does a better job, but it is easier on the hand and the ear. Have not used a PC ROS in two years.

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Well I was never a big fan of the finish I got from the Porter Cable. It loved to create swirls. So much so that I got pretty good at using a scraper instead of, or after.

The unit John has linked appeals to me, too, because the canister works well so I won't have to run the vac while using the thing. The hose nearly pulled the old PC off the bench a couple of times, too.

I have about $25 in Menards gift cards now and they carry the Bosch there w/ a 5" pad (not the kit w/ 5" and 6", regrettably). But still, I think it will be a good choice for me.

[SteveS]

Bosch sanders, like the one John links to, are my preference.

[AHill]

I used to have a Bosch ROS. It did the job. Horrible dust collection. Upgraded to a Festool ETS 150 and it's a night and day difference. I do use my shop vac with my ETS. That alone is half the improvement. To be able to sand with almost zero dust is amazing. I was able to pony up the cash for my Festool. I'm certain you will get decent results with a good name brand that's less expensive, as long as you are able to use dust collection. My shop vac is also a Festool. I can vary the suction and that also makes a difference when sanding. Too much suction, and it sort of defeats the purpose by creating too much friction between the sander and the wood. There are ways to vary the suction on shop vacs without that feature. I'm not saying Festool is the best sander out there. It certainly isn't the most affordable, and it's not the most expensive either. You can get an adapter for a shop vac for the Bosch. Google the RS006 adapter. Very inexpensive. $7.99 at Amazon, and as cheap as $2.89 elsewhere.

[MichaelMouse]

I've got a Big Bosch ROS (like 3725), a small Bosch ROS (like 10), and a "finishing" orbital Bosch (like 1297).

The final grit still uses the Rockwell speed bloc. No swirls if you don't tilt and dig, because the orbit is so small. No dust collection, either.

[Eurekan]

I have a Milwaukee 6034. Came with hook face and PSA face. Lifetime warranty. Wish the on/off switch was bigger but never seen swirl marks and does a decent job of dust collection.