Random Orbital Sander

I’ll put it bluntly, as a woodworker, you need a random orbital sander. As with all tools, there are different types though. You want to buy a palm grip body style orbital sander. It has a 5 or 6 inch diameter circular pad and should be adequate for all you woodworking needs, unless you are mostly going to be sanding large tabletops, where you will want a larger disc pad.

Random orbital sanders (ROS) are pretty much all the same, besides the fact that there are electric and air powered orbital sanders. Unless you have a good sized compressor, you will want an electric orbital sander. Buy one from a brand you trust, (mine is a Dewalt and I am happy with my purchase). I recommend that you go to the store and feel the fit in your palm. There are occasions where you might be sanding for long periods, and you want your hand to be comfortable if you want the job to be done properly.

The air powered orbital sanders are variable speed by their nature, and some electrical sanders have variable speed as well, but I have not really had an instance where it was necessary to slow down or speed up the sanding process, so it’s not very essential to have this feature.

Dust Control

One essential feature of the random orbital sander is the control of dust. This sander kicks up a lot of fine dust. Dust is probably the most dangerous thing in your shop because half the time you don’t know you are breathing it in. The sander will come with a collection pouch. This won’t necessarily be adequate for the job. Although it makes the sander more bulky to use, you will want to hook it up to a vacuum collection hose if you have one.

Besides the sander, you will also be buying sandpaper. Buy good quality sandpaper, like Klingspor or Norton3X. The grits that you will need most of are #100 and #120. It is a good idea to get some #150 and #220 also, but you will not need as many. Remember that the sandpaper discs that you buy should have holes corresponding to the holes in your sander for the dust to be taken up by the vacuum hose.