Gloat / Good Luck Story

[BpB123]

Well, I always a like to read about people on this forum having good luck acquiring tools.  As we all know, you can never have enough tools (or is that clamps, or is that both ? ?)
 
Anyway, I was very fortunate recently to have won one of the Day for Dad giveaways from Popular Woodworking.
 
This is what I won:
 
“Congratulations on winning one Uneeda EKASAND Electric 3”x4” Central Vacuum orbital sander for the Popular Woodworking “Day for Dad Giveaway”. “
 
https://shop.sandpaper.com/ekasand-e-ser...e-p-105287



I was not sure if this was “real” until the box arrived. 
 
So now I have the dilemma of what to keep vs what to get rid of.  I know I know, I already said you can never have enough tools.  But I have limited space in my part of a garage shop.  So I need to think long and hard about what I keep and what I get rid of.  I am a hobbyist woodworker and I already have a 5” (round) random orbit sander, a belt sander, and even a cheap-o belt/disk stationary sander. I make mostly flat stock items (boxes, cabinets, cutting boards, small furniture, etc.).  So, I am not sure if I should ditch the Dewalt round 5” sander (but I have a lot of sand paper for it) and keep the new one, or should I try and find a home for the new one.
 
Thoughts?

-Brian

[Alan S]

Try it and see which you prefer?

[stav]

That's an interesting looking sander.  I'd definitely give it a try for a while before I made any final decisions on it.  Besides, hand sanders are relatively small so it is not like it is pushing out a table saw or something.  If you ever have shop helpers, you may need an extra sander or something anyway. Or use one as that loan out tool with the expectation it may not return.

Congrats on the win, btw

[Bob Vaughan]

Fine grit on one, coarser grit on the other.
That looks like a quality portable power tool that would be a great addition under the work bench.
Like many, I have a multitude of sanders with various grits for various purposes and don't want to get rid of any of them.

[BpB123]

Thanks all for your thoughts and suggestions!

I will try it out and see which I prefer on my next project

[Cabinet Monkey]

That 3x4 sander IS NOT a substitute or replacement for a 5 or 6” ROS. 

First , it’s an orbital action , not random orbit. 

Second, it’s not a large orbit, so not very aggressive.  

Third, it covers a much smaller area. 

I don’t think it’s a good candidate for an all around sander unfortunately.  It does excell at getting into corners and is well suited for keying finishes between coats. Lots of re-finishers use them to prep doors moldings, spindles , columns , ect……  There is a large offering of sponge abrasives available for this contour work.   

The on/off mechanism is a royal PIA two step affair and you’re supposed to power down before unplugging it . Changing grits is also awkward because of the paddle switch.  Which means you’ve got to be rather dexterous to avoid engaging -or- you’ve got to power off.  Attaching to a vacuum / dust extractor is also a PIA. Sure there’s a dust port, but it doesn’t mate to any hose on a vacuum that I’m aware of.  Which means you need an adapter that is only available from the distributor.  Which they don’t tell you ahead of time.  It’s only $10 but I wish they’d not waste everyone’s time by just including it. Better still would be to ship with a vacuum port that fits vacuum hose ends already established in the marketplace.

[Bob Vaughan]

That 3x4 sander IS NOT a substitute or replacement for a 5 or 6” ROS.

Great evaluation.  Finishing is what we all do from time to time and a tool particularly suited for part of that process is good to know about.  Like many, I've wrecked a finish or two with an ROS.

[BpB123]

Thanks for the insight

A follow up question. The website describes this as a random orbit sander

Are your comments regarding the sanding action based on use of this or a similar product?

If it was truly random orbit, would that change your thoughts? (I know it does not impact of the switch location and vacuum connection.)

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts and insights

[Cabinet Monkey]

Thanks for the insight

A follow up question. The website describes this as a random orbit sander

Are your comments regarding the sanding action based on use of this or a similar product?

If it was truly random orbit, would that change your thoughts? (I know it does not impact of the switch location and vacuum connection.)

Thanks again for sharing your thoughts and insights

I have the sander, and a lot of others. It’s a really useful and handy tool to have.  If it were my only sander, I’d be in trouble.  If it were my only sander and I paid $500 for it, I’d need my head examined. 

Whether (or not) it’s random orbit doesn’t change my mind one bit.  It’s simply not aggressive or big enough to be a do all sander like a 5” ROS. The more I use it , the more I hate the on~ off button.  But I keep using it. The paddle switch isn’t my favorite, but I can live with that.   For free, I’d have a different perspective I’m sure.

[BpB123]

THANKS!

That helps a lot. I really appreciate your thoughts here. 

I will NOT get rid of my Dewalt 5” ROS since I sometimes use it for aggressive sanding

- Brian