I need to replace my stolen Milwaukee (5540 I think). I am looking for recommendations. Are Milwaukee sanders made in China now? Is there a good US made sander out there?
Thanks.
Tim
US made??? Probably not. On Amazon you can pick up a new Makita for $200 or less. Lighter weight and “soft start”. My choice these days for the $$$. Still have a good condition Milwaukee that Pete C went thru for me last year, but my preference these days is the Makita. Good quality and easier to handle. Having said that I was using a Harbor Freight $29 Model last nite.
Cant say enough good things about the dewalts.
We have 6. 2 years. Heavy daily use, only one has had an issue. So far aside from the trigger on the one, weve done nothing else.
Dewalt.
Mall the best
My Dewalt had one of the copper strips on the commutator break off Unit was hardly used, but older then one year and dewalt wouldnt warranty it. Threw it in the trash and bought a Milwaukee.
Thanks to all for the input.
Chicago Pneumatic gets my vote. I got myself a used one shipped from US and it’s fantastic. Heavy but solid, which I would prefer to light but weak. I have had two brand new ones within 6 months, the only good point being they were still under warranty so I got replacements, but that doenst help the person waiting for the board to be finished. I trust very few brand new items now, I prefer to pay almost as much (sometimes more) for well cared for but OLD stuff. It just isn’t made like it used to be, not only due to “planned obsolescence” which certainly exists. No wonder beaches are covered in plastic and junk, everything is built to be replaced (unless you but the “extended warranty” which usually means paying twice as much or more!)
I have two Chicago Pneumatic / Harbor Freight sanders. Both required repairs outside of warranty. One lost an output bearing that will keep failing due to a wallowed casting, the other was a fix to the electronics of the speed control. Tempting when they are 30$US with a coupon and a pleasant morning’s drive there and back to pick one up…
Then there is getting the better Ferro or Flex or Power pads and nicer paper so that the spinning bits cost more than the HF sander itself.
If I did more sanding I think I would want a more durable replacement / addition to the stable. Maybe I’ll just bide my time and hope to find a vintage beast at a second hand store or the like.
I have a friend who said the same with a modern/new CP sander, were yours new modern ones? I compared mine to one of his and it feels a damn sight heavier and more solid, it is pretty old though. Hopefully it will last a while, it certainly doesnt feel cheap like the £60 ebay cheapies I have tried before
$52.00 aint too bad.
Got one of these - made in USA - for free on ebay. I won the auction for $.98, and then the box it came in got a hole ripped in it and the handle fell out, so the guy refunded me… Fortunately for me, I was able to adapt a handle to work. Not a heavy unit, but no problems. It’s been good for years now.
Reply to Helter’s ? above-
One of them is close to 5 years old, the other maybe 3 years old but sat ‘new in the box’ for a couple years and did not get called into service until the first one had bearing issues. I have yet to try the latest and greatest, I think some of those have a digital speed control.
Harbor Freight for me. But I agree, I need to get better paper.
Ah yes, I avoid the “digital” anything. I am not qualified to say modern stuff is crap, but I have my own extensive experience of all sorts of gear in all sorts of industries, and for me, anything modern is crap. Call me prejudiced, it’s probably true! Whether it’s a refrigerator, car, power drill, dishwasher or car stereo, everything seems designed to go wrong in a specific time now. And i know for a fact that in the commercial compressor industry (for big refrigeration units) they are built and designed to go wrong, I say I know this for a fact because I know the CEO of one of the UK’s biggest makers of such stuff, and he told me word for word, they had a meeting and “decided” when their gear should start failing. Makes me wanna puke, but I can’t change the world, i can however choose what I use! And in general, older lasts longer, in my experience.
P.S. I am not saying modern stuff is no good, it’s often PRICED accordingly and therefore when talking “value for money”, my way is not necessarily better and may even be more expensive than buying dirt cheap replaceable stuff. I do that with flashlights, they last around a year from China, sometimes only a few months but at $5 each, thats ok, as the alternative for a REALLY well made light, its $100 and even most of that price bracket has chinese crap in it too! For a backyarder I would say the cheap stuff may well be fine, I just hate throwing stuff in landfill and oceans, and I don’t believe the “recycling” BS where (in the uk) they load up container ships, send it to India where kids wade through piles of it. That’s not recycling in my view, it’s shipping the problem on!
Don’t have a Dewalt Sander, but have lots of Dewalt power tools. Best tools for the $$$
Indasa Whiteline and Redline and Flex Pads or Ferro Pads. Ferros are super durable, but be careful which one you buy. They only make two that are surfboard suitable. I love Flex Pads and they will last a long time if you don’t run up the RPMs and put them away properly.