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What do you think about palm sanders?
Except for heavy removal where I'll use a belt sander, any other sanding I've done by hand with sanding blocks or pads. I've always felt I had the best control and it's easy to do. Lately I've wondered about the benefits of a palm sander, and how it might work better getting into corners and harder to reach areas. Any thoughts on them, like how good they are, faster sanding or not?
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Hate them. They transfer too much vibration into the hand. I used one for hours on a job years ago and my hand was tingling for an hour afterward. I also feel that a ROS like the Bosch 3725 has better control. I also would never buy one without variable speed.
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For years (actually decades) I hated pam sanders, they were slow and transferred far too much vibration. I then got a Festool DTS and later a RTS and was amazed at how well they worked and how little vibration they transferred. They work great on rails and stiles and getting into the corners of panels and other tight places. However, at this years IWF I found an even better sander, the 3" x 4" Ray Sander by Surfprep. This is possibly my favorite sander I own. It uses an outrunner brushless motor and has tons of power and near zero vibration. It is small and very maneuverable and does a great job for all the jobs one uses a palm sander for. The only drawback is the price.
In the end for most people sanding blocks can get the job done and for me are preferable to the vast majority of palm sanders available. If one has enough of this type of work (or just really likes shiny new tools) there are palm sanders that do an excellent job they just tend to cost significantly more than the ones you see at HD and Lowes.
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01-03-2019, 01:36 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-03-2019, 01:37 PM by jteneyck.)
Both of the two palm sanders I've owned would leave cross grain scratches on stile/rail joints. Then I bought a ROS. Game changer. It can sand anything, including stile/rail joints better than I can by hand. No, it can get into a corner, but that's it's only short coming.
I gave away my palm sander and have no plans to buy another.
John
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Nope. Too many scratches left behind
Steve
Mo.
I miss the days of using my dinghy with a girlfriend too. Zack Butler-4/18/24
The Revos apparently are designed to clamp railroad ties and pull together horrifically prepared joints
WaterlooMark 02/9/2020
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I have both a plam sander and a random orbital sander. I have not used the palm sander in years.
The ROS cuts faster and at low speeds leaves a smoother finish.
At one point the ROS was vastly more expensive than the palm sanders (which is why I started with a palm sander), but nowadays the ROS units are far more affordable.
I have been using the Shop Smith sanding blocks and velcro sanding papers lately. The blocks are very comfortable to use and the grit cuts much better than regular sandpaper. It also lasts far longer and when the sandpaper gets clogged I just run it under a strong stream of water and it rinses out. It has found its place in my shop and has cut down on the amount of times I use the ROS.
Anyone want to buy a lightly used DeWalt palm sander?
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Used to be indifferent, but over time I've noticed that they leave obvious swirl marks on the surface. I also second those who have talked about the vibration being uncomfortable...usually that leaves an itchy/tingly feeling in my hand if I use the offending tool for too long.
My DeWalt palm sander is over 12 years old and I've only had to replace the backing pad, but I'm thinking of selling it for cheap (like $15) or just giving it away to someone who could use it for projects that don't require as good of a surface to be left behind. My Bosch 5" ROS works great, and although it was somewhat expensive for a ROS ($220), I love it! Plus, if you hold the sander by the two handles rather than the top of it, you get A LOT less vibration.
I'd suggest looking into random orbit sanders instead of a palm sander.
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I’ve got a Dewalt 1/4 sheet palm sander in need of a new platen.
If someone has one in good working order for sale cheap, please let me know.
Gary
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I don't pretend to be the expert in sanding but will tell you that I use several sanders on a project. I start with a belt sander to do the heavy removal then move up a grit or 2 with my DeWalt 1/4 sheet palm sander. When I'm ready to go for finish sanding I use my Porter Cable ROS and finish up with hand sanding in places I couldn't go with the power tools. So, bottom line is I consider my palm sander to be an important part of the process.
The only change I might make in the future is changing out my Porter Cable corded ROS with a cordless DeWalt. Would love to be able to avoid the cord!
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(01-03-2019, 06:09 PM)Gary G™ Wrote: I’ve got a Dewalt 1/4 sheet palm sander in need of a new platen.
If someone has one in good working order for sale cheap, please let me know.
I'm sending you a PM about this, Gary.
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