kmmcrafts Posted September 30, 2019 Report Share Posted September 30, 2019 Okay, so my Bosh sander has been loosing power again.. (gets a lot of use) .. last time this happen it needed new brushes in the motor.. and when taking it apart I damaged a seal that sealed up the two half's and the dust port wasn't working as good due to the seal I suspect.. anyway Harbor Freight Bauer brand I had a coupon for and others here had posted it was a decent sander.. Just came in from sanding about 60 ornaments.. while I don't consider this sander piece of junk but I'm not giving it a big praise either.. Probably not a bad sander for the occasional user.. I use these sanders a lot.. comfort level for me was the thing was heavier and more awkward to hold.. much more vibration in the hands / arms from use.. Sanding 60 ornaments takes me a good 20-30 minutes and when done my arm wanted to fall off .. The dust collection thing works a little worst than my Bosh with the bad seal.. Obviously not horrible but certainly could be both better or worst.. The power of the thing is decent at the higher end of the VS dial.. but it's a little on the fast side for doing delicate work and turning the thing down much seems to have lost it's ump.. It's usable and in a pinch I'll keep it around... but defiantly will be fixing the Bosh again.. or getting a new one.. The sanding pad was more firm than what my Bosh has.. I might try swapping out the pad and see how it works that way.. HF also has a new brand of sanding disc.. ADMIRAL brand.. For about the same money you can get Norton made stuff from Menards.. The ADMIRAL brand stuff is a thicker paper maybe and or the glue used to make it reminds me more of grinding disc rather than sandpaper.. The stuff seemed to work well on BBply.. but when sanding solid wood ( Cherry ) it wanted to clog up a bit.. but after sanding the cherry and going back to the BBply it seemed to clean itself out.. did seem to be able to do a lot of sanding with the same disc.. I'll use what i have a little more and maybe have a better opinion on it later on with more use.. My thinking with what little I've used this stuff.. I'll buy my usual Norton stuff from Menards.. Anyway just my take on the sander.. coming from a name brand little higher end sander to this.. I guess the value is there for some hobbyist.. But Honestly if one waits it out.. The Bosh sander come up on sale quite often and is pretty price compatible to that of the Bauer at the regular price.. I bought my Bosh 4-5 years ago on sale for $43 and shopping online some are priced at that now I believe.. Coming from that piece of crap Chicago tool sander that HF also sells.. This thing is a dream compared to it, LOL OzarkSawdust and OCtoolguy 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl S Posted September 30, 2019 Report Share Posted September 30, 2019 I'm not familiar with the HF. sander but just a heads up C.P.O. Tools has a Bosch refurbished ROS for forty bucks. Factory Reconditioned Bosch ROS20VSC-RT 5 in. 120V VS Palm Random Orbit Sander Kit with Canvas Carrying Bag I have the Bosch that I bought about four or five years ago( Refurbished) and it has performed flawlessly. You might check them out if you are thinking of getting a new sander. I'm sold on the refurbished tools personally. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmmcrafts Posted September 30, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2019 4 minutes ago, Karl S said: I'm not familiar with the HF. sander but just a heads up C.P.O. Tools has a Bosch refurbished ROS for forty bucks. Factory Reconditioned Bosch ROS20VSC-RT 5 in. 120V VS Palm Random Orbit Sander Kit with Canvas Carrying Bag I have the Bosch that I bought about four or five years ago( Refurbished) and it has performed flawlessly. You might check them out if you are thinking of getting a new sander. I'm sold on the refurbished tools personally. Thanks for the heads up on that.. Yeah I'm thinking a new one this time round because the dust canister has a crack in mine and also when i changed out the brushes it just really hasn't been right.. though it lasted quite awhile.. I think I may retire the one I have and just buy a new one.. Yeah, I've bought a lot of Refurbish from those guys. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCtoolguy Posted September 30, 2019 Report Share Posted September 30, 2019 I'm really sorry you had such a bad experience Kevin. I guess I've never had the fortune to use a really high-end sander. Years ago I had a very nice Dewalt but it got sold. I, for one, think the Bauer sander is just as good as my Dewalt. But, if I was sanding 24/7 I might have a bit more discretion too. For $25, I can put up with it. kmmcrafts 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmmcrafts Posted September 30, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2019 (edited) 22 minutes ago, octoolguy said: I'm really sorry you had such a bad experience Kevin. I guess I've never had the fortune to use a really high-end sander. Years ago I had a very nice Dewalt but it got sold. I, for one, think the Bauer sander is just as good as my Dewalt. But, if I was sanding 24/7 I might have a bit more discretion too. For $25, I can put up with it. It's not a bad sander Ray for the money.. You got a great deal when you bought yours.. I had a coupon but it was still $33.. for $7 more I could buy the refurb Bosh.. that's all I'm sayin.. I don't hate the sander.. and would probably love it for sanding larger work pieces and for shorter periods of time.. I try to keep in mind that most everyone here are hobbyist and not production like me.. I believe I said that in my post that its not bad for the hobbyist or the occasional user.. It does work well enough.. and maybe with time I could build some muscle in my arm to use it for a hour at a time like I normally do.. Sanding those little ornaments.. I get tired with my Bosh as well.. 60 ornaments is about a half a batch from my normal.. The process is holding the sander up off the table and in the air the majority of time.. You sand one side lift up flip the ornament to the other side and sand it.. pile it in the sanded stack and grab another unsanded one.. so yeah I'm holding the thing up a lot.. I only do a quick sanding as I pre-sand my blanks.. That is time consuming too because I stack cut 4-6 at a time but with the blanks I start sanding with 100Grit then 150, 220, 320.. after the ornaments are cut I just hit them with the 320 again.. Not uncommon for me to run that sander 1+ hour a day this time of year.. I don't consider a Bosh "really high end " Nor do I consider a DeWalt high end either.. LOL My point is if you're going to pay the HF regular price.. you might be better off buying a different brand.. Edited September 30, 2019 by kmmcrafts OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCtoolguy Posted September 30, 2019 Report Share Posted September 30, 2019 The day I bought my Bauer, I used it for a good 2-3 hours. I burned through a package or more of paper. So, I figured that was a pretty good test. That's before I posted about it. I wanted to use it first. But, it looks like this is just one of those times that we will have to agree to disagree. Furthermore, are those Bosch refurbs always available or just once in a while if you're lucky? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Karl S Posted September 30, 2019 Report Share Posted September 30, 2019 25 minutes ago, octoolguy said: The day I bought my Bauer, I used it for a good 2-3 hours. I burned through a package or more of paper. So, I figured that was a pretty good test. That's before I posted about it. I wanted to use it first. But, it looks like this is just one of those times that we will have to agree to disagree. Furthermore, are those Bosch refurbs always available or just once in a while if you're lucky? They are usually always available and they have other brands as well if you want DeWalt they have them also. You need to go to their website to investigate OCtoolguy and kmmcrafts 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmmcrafts Posted September 30, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2019 @octoolguy I'm not too sure on the sanders as I haven't kept an eye on them all that much.. back when I was looking for my miter saw I had one picked out that I liked and just checked in everyday. took a few weeks before they had some in stock.. The Bosch I have now I got on sale locally from Menards.. about 4 or so years ago.. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCtoolguy Posted September 30, 2019 Report Share Posted September 30, 2019 I had heard of that place but never checked them out. I just did and they do have some great prices. Thanks for the heads up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmmcrafts Posted September 30, 2019 Author Report Share Posted September 30, 2019 I bought a refurbished Dremel 1800 scroll saw from CPO years ago.. first one that came wouldn't work.. but they provided a label for me to print and I had to drop the saw off at the local UPS store.. they sent another once tracking showed I had dropped the one off.. That one worked very well for me for a couple years.. I bought two 1/4 sheet sanders, my hand held circular saw, miter saw, and cordless drill from bigskytool all of them was refurbished.. and everything so far that I've bought has worked really well for me.. I think I'bought more than that from them.. but these are the things I remember off the top of my head.. They used to be cheaper than CPO Outlet on some things.. back in the day.. I haven't followed along with them in quite a few years now so I don't know how well their stuff is priced etc.. Mostly because the stuff I got is still working, LOL.. and other things they haven't had or I got a good deal locally.. so just haven't done any business with them since around 2008-9 https://bigskytool.com/hitachi-reconditioned-tools.html OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodmaster1 Posted October 1, 2019 Report Share Posted October 1, 2019 My woodworking club just bought some ridgid sanders so far they seem to be fine. The lifetime warranty is a plus as long as you register it. kmmcrafts and OCtoolguy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sycamore67 Posted October 1, 2019 Report Share Posted October 1, 2019 I have gone out shopping for RO Sanders and found big differences in How my hand fits. My criteria are hand fit, vibration and dust control. The HF did not fit my hands but may be fine for others. OCtoolguy and kmmcrafts 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John B Posted October 4, 2019 Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 I have the same experience Kevin, but with Ryobi and AEG. I have had the AEG for quite a number of years and it has worked it's behind of. A couple of months ago it gave up the ghost (Needed Brushes). While I was waiting for the brushes to turn up in the mail, I bought a Ryobi ROS. The Ryobi does the job and would be an alright tool for the handy man who only uses it occasionally and for short periods. The AEG, although over Double the price, is as smooth as silk and has enough weight to not require any pressure from the user. The old adage, "you get what you pay for" rings true. OCtoolguy and Karl S 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sycamore67 Posted October 4, 2019 Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 I just finished a large sanding job. It was all of the parts for two large bookcases. They contain a bit over 5 sheets of red oak plywood. I used a 5" DeWalt ROS and a Festool ROS. The DeWalt works well but the Festool had a lot less vibration . For small jobs, it makes little difference but with hours of sanding it makes a big difference. John B and OCtoolguy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Scrappile Posted October 4, 2019 Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 (edited) I have purchased several "refurbished" tools over the years, never had a problem with any of them. It is now what I look for first. And now I have a refurbished Bosch ROS on it's way. Replace my pretty worn out DeWalt. Thanks guys. Edited October 4, 2019 by Scrappile Karl S and OCtoolguy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmmcrafts Posted October 4, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 4, 2019 I've been using the HF sander quite a lot the last few days and the dust collection canister I have yet had to empty, LOL.. Normally my Bosch I have to empty it after sanding 5pcs of 7 x 11 inch BBply blanks for cutting ornaments with just the 100 grit paper.. after the 100 grit they almost can be sanded through the other grits up to my final of 320 grit with only one more emptying.. So far I've sanded 20pcs.. and my dust canister is only about 1/4 of the way full.. I thought must be a much bigger canister.. that is until I was done sanding and looked up through the window on the other side of the shop.. Thought it was foggy out there this morning, LOL.. Had both my ceiling filtration running and my box fan with filter.. The filters were covered in dust even though I just cleaned them up the day before.. Probably my biggest complaint of the sander really.. as it does work good.. Not very comfortable to use for long periods.. I think I'm going to order a refurb Bosch and be done with the dusty shop.. My old one only has bad brushes.. but the last time I took it apart to change them I damaged the rubber seal between the two half's and it was leaking some of the dust out into the air.. Was going to order $10 brush's for it but the dust canister is also cracked which is another $10 part.. Probably farther ahead to just keep it for parts and buy another one.. My wallet is making me wait a few weeks though now that I spent the money on this HF one and I bought way too many patterns recently, LOL.. OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachnlearn Posted October 5, 2019 Report Share Posted October 5, 2019 A tip that comes around yearly is clamp the sanders and bring the work pieces to the sander. With small parts, or a heavy sander or vibration, your control is going to improve, less weight on the arms and wrists and no vibraton to recover from. RJF OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kmmcrafts Posted October 5, 2019 Author Report Share Posted October 5, 2019 1 hour ago, teachnlearn said: A tip that comes around yearly is clamp the sanders and bring the work pieces to the sander. With small parts, or a heavy sander or vibration, your control is going to improve, less weight on the arms and wrists and no vibraton to recover from. RJF actually would be better to just buy a drum sander for pre-sanding the blanks.. could you see me trying to hold a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood up to a mounted orbital sander... OCtoolguy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OCtoolguy Posted October 5, 2019 Report Share Posted October 5, 2019 9 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said: actually would be better to just buy a drum sander for pre-sanding the blanks.. could you see me trying to hold a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood up to a mounted orbital sander... That's why I bought the Ridgid drum/belt sander. I love that thing. I also use my Harbor Freight 4" x 36" tiny belt sander with the 5" disc a lot too. They both perform wonderfully so far. I'd hate to lose either of them. John B and kmmcrafts 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teachnlearn Posted October 5, 2019 Report Share Posted October 5, 2019 51 minutes ago, kmmcrafts said: actually would be better to just buy a drum sander for pre-sanding the blanks.. could you see me trying to hold a 4 x 8 sheet of plywood up to a mounted orbital sander... It does work to hide behind your bench and put wood pieces on the clamped sander to shoot at your enemies. For 4 x 8 sheets, I'll check for a portable 4 x 8 sander to clamp down. RJF kmmcrafts and OCtoolguy 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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