Hi,
after i glass my fish, I intend to learn to use a sander of some sort to sand the hot coat and perhaps if im keen and have the energy, buff the gloss coat. I looked up the archives and read a bit about random orbital sanders vs sander/polishers etc. as with everything else, opinions vary with some firmly in the ROS and others in the S/P camp.
ROS are pretty cheap and s/p less so,
Any ideas?
cheers
ado
ROSs are slow (don’t sand off much material) but generally don’t mark the surface. S/Ps sand much faster but take some getting used to before you do a good job with them. They are also very easy to sand THROUGH resin, glass and foam on your first try… Better try them on some old battered board for a start…
If your going to do more than the odd board I’d definitely go for a sander/polisher, plus I’m not sure you could buff gloss with a random but maybe someone will tell you different. The random orbital way is super slow, however you do need good technique with a sander/polisher, I was taught by someone in the industry which is the best way. If you can’t get shown how to, check one of the how to do surfboard making vids out there. My best advise for using one is go easy to start with ie; slowly with finer ,(say 100 grit), paper and always keep it moving. Good luck and don’t be to upset by any rub throughs you get as you learn, they can be fixed.
Ado
I use a ROS, but i probally only do a couple of boards a year. I have used it to sand and buff with no problems, its a varible speed and i have it hooked up to a vacumme cleaner so get little or no dust which is gold… I use 80grit to knock the hot coat back then go to 120 or 220 grit then to hand sanding with wet. Last board i sprayed arylic then back to the ROS for final 1200 dry grit then hand rubbed with rubbing compond, came out shinny.
I still got a few sandthrus on my last board even with a soft pad and 120g.
I have even used it for doing an 18 foot canoe which was a hell of a lot of sanding…
cheers
AJ,
I think from memory you are in WA (update your location).
If you go to www.ebay.com.au, there are a few different Sander / Polishers that are going from a few of the tool sellers (I think they have boxes of them and are off-loading). They are going for about $50 to $80 depending on the biddering at the time. I’m not sure how durable they are, but if you’re only doing a few boards it should be fine.
-Cam
Sorry,
Very daft of me not to put up a link as an example.
This model S/P keeps coming up from the same seller… seems to always start at $59
There is another one that has been coming up and starting at $0.01 but normally gets up to $50 - $80. Cant see any of those on there at the moment.
-Cam
Get a powerful ROS, I got a tiny one (300watt) that does the job with a bit of technique but you can’t go past more power…
Look in Bunnings and check the power ratings, mine was a Ozito, cheap and nasty but they have a 2 year warranty, hang onto the box and receipt…
Thanks for the advice gentlemen. Ebay does have some sander/polishers for reasonable prices. Will check them out. Other wise a Random Orbital may be the go. Time is not an issue so it doesnt really matter that the Random Orbital is slow. Not really too fussed at getting a showroom glossy shine as the boards i will be making will be ridden by me and i figure that wax will be going on the deck anyway so why bother. Still, i might get excited and try to imitate Mr Brucker (but with different and potentially scary results im sure!). Maybe aftet getting the hang of the random orbital i can upgrade to a sander/polisher.
Thanks again
Adrian
get a dual action random orbital. best of both worlds.
they kick ass. they’re no slower than an s/p if you use the right grits, usually come equipped for vac hook-up, insuring a dust free environment and you’re less likely to get sand throughs. a good one will cost about as much as a decent s/p.
I use mine on random only, with a polishing mop for polishing; dual action for cutting down hotcoats, or laps or whathaveyou and have been happy with the results…as good as the “right” tool for polishing? no. That said, I think they’re better for sanding than a polisher is (and will definitely serve you for far more purposes around the house); horses for courses.
I bought this one, factory reconditioned; best tool purchase I’ve made in years. I’ve gone as far as to use it to cut rail bands in place of my planer before, it cuts so quickly and smoothly…buy yourself a big stack of 40, 80, 120, 180, 220 and 320 grit from an online sandpaper retailer (for ~ 50$ you ought to be able to get ~20 disks of each grit, hook and loop, with the exhaust holes already cut).
http://bosch.cpotools.com/sanders/random_orbit_sanders/1250devs.html
hth
Cheers GWN - I will look into them
Does that Bosch work like a Festools Rotex 125?
or is it a different action…
I heart my festools
I wish I could afford more of them
been eyeing up the jig and linear sander with its custom curved faces
I think Bosch and Festools are made in the same area in my homeland or Bremen?
In my shop I have a pile of sanders. Lets see. 2 bosch,2 Makita, 4 Portercable, 1 Ryobi, 1 black and decker, I Dewalt, 1 Ridged,. All of these ar 5 inch variable speed random orbit. I get at least one new sander each year and retire them aftere 3 years unless they are really good then I keep them untill they die. I also have 2 sander polishers angle drive variable speed. These machines are evolving fast and get better every year. A 3 or 4 year old sander can not compete with the newer ones. A good random orbit sander can almost keep up with a sander polisher if you are useing good sandpaper. Bargain sandpaper is not worth useing. I would say that the festool sander is the best . I don’t have one because it is just to expensive. I have never had the perfect sander but they get closer every year. My favorite right now is the Ridged R2600 . It is 3 amp runs strong and cool ,is comfortable on the hand. My second favorite is the Bosch 1295 DVS, 3rd are my Porter Cables although they do not pic up the dust as well and run a bit hot and not as much power, they just want to run forever. The Dewalt has a lot of power but seems to want to jump around and is not comfortable in my hand. The makitas eat bearings fast and don’t pick up the dust to well but in their day they were the best. Ryobi and Blackand Decker are not even worth having around. 2007 sander will be another Ridged and time will tell how long they go. I do not use 6 inch random orbits because they are to big to work with one hand but would be good for large flat surfaces. The Ridged and the Bosch are very comfortable as a one hand tool and work curves well. All of these can be had for less than $80 new and around $50 if factory rebuilt. I use a shop vac with all my sanders. I use Norton 3X paper. I start sanding at 60grit 100grit 150grit and then go to wet sanding. Since I started useing the Norton 3X paper with shop Vac I get 0 swirl marks. Aloha Wood_Ogre