Even if you’re not a carpenter, you may benefit from the best orbital sander. This power tool may help speed up tough tasks like smoothing out jagged paint on the exterior of a home or cleaning up flea market furniture before repainting it. It’s also useful for deburring a rough edge on a piece of metal, smoothing drywall, a rough tool handle, and removing rust.
Top 14 Best Orbital Sanders For Woodworking In 2021
The best orbital sander is truly important for tasks around the house and in the shop. That’s why we gathered and evaluated both corded and cordless best orbital sander to help you pick the machine that’s right for you.
Recognize your Best orbital sander
The majority of our test best orbital sander are random-orbit models with a five-or six-inch circular pad. “Random orbit” indicates that the pad rotates and oscillates in a random way. This lowers the possibility of creating swirl marks on the surface and allows you to move the best orbital sander both with and across the grain. We also put an orbital sander with a square pad to the test (also called a quarter-sheet sander). These sanding tools sand in a regular orbital motion and are slower to use than random-orbit types.
They can also reach into corners thanks to the square pad. Another distinction is that the random-orbit variant uses sandpaper discs that are attached to their bases with hooks and loops. Best orbital sander employ precut or custom-cut peel-and-stick sandpaper, or you may connect an abrasive sheet to the tool using the clamps on the sides. Both types of sanders contain a bag that collects the majority of the dust produced by the instrument. If you foresee requiring even more dust management, search for a sander with a circular exhaust outlet that can be connected to a shop vacuum.
Corded vs. Battery-Powered
We tested both battery-powered sanders (commonly known as cordless sanders) and corded sanders. We questioned at the start of the test if the battery would make a cordless sander overly weighty. When we weighed the two types of tools, we discovered that they weigh roughly the same if the cord’s weight is taken into account. If you spend a lot of time on job sites and already have a lot of cordless tool work, use a cordless sander. Because you don’t have to bother with the weight of a wire hanging down, cordless tools are useful while mounting a ladder or scaffold.
Cordless sanders are especially useful in this context because they provide greater mobility than corded instruments. If you want to sand for lengthy periods of time at a bench, choose a corded tool, especially if you can plug the sander directly into an outlet without using an extension cable. Cord drag isn’t a concern in these circumstances, and there isn’t a compelling requirement for movement. Consider sanding down a piece of furniture. Simply work your way down through each grit, gradually improving the sanded surface.
How Do We Test best orbital sander?
To put these instruments to the test, we drew rectangles on oak and maple, plywood, and softwood and sanded each one with an 80-grit disc. Following that, we emptied the dust container or bag to determine the amount of dust gathered by the sander. We also washed off the work area carefully to see how much dust the sander missed. We evaluated the sander’s vibration and if it caused an uncomfortable gyroscopic effect when we raised it off the test board while we worked.
Examining the sanded surface to check if the tools left swirl marks was as critical as any of the other tests. Any of the sanders in this test would be suitable for a homeowner. Professional-grade tools, such as those made by Makita, DeWalt, Bosch, and Metabo-HPT, vibrate less and last longer than consumer-grade tools. However, a less costly tool outfitted with a high-quality abrasive sheet would do for the majority of household tasks. At the end of this post, we’ll go through how to get the most out of your sander and how to keep oneself dust-free. Continue reading for that, as well as our assessments of the top sanders available today.
1.
The Bosch is the most comfortable corded sander we tested, sands quickly, and has the best dust collection of the corded sanders we tested. Because of its excellent dust management (thanks to a rubber O-ring seal on the dust port, sufficient ventilation, and an airtight dust canister), less dust remains on the surface to be ground into the abrasive pad. As a result, the pad remains cleaned and lasts longer. Its speed control dial is located behind the handle; it is easily accessible, but it is possible to accidently knock it out of position. It left a very excellent sanded surface—a little less smooth than the Milwaukee’s below, but still of professional grade.
2.
DeWalt’s DCW210D1 was the quickest and most aggressive sander we tested at maximum speed. Nonetheless, it sands with very little unpleasant vibration. It’s also worth noting that it performed better at lower speeds than many other sanders—some display greater vibration and loss of efficacy when the speed is reduced, but not this one. If you already have a cordless system from the firm, this gadget is a logical addition. Even if you aren’t, it’s a good place to start because it includes the sander, a charger, a battery, and a bag. And the firm manufactures a wide range of tools, from drills and impact drivers to saws that use the same battery.
3.
This Ridgid orbital sander, which is nearly as excellent as the DeWalt, offers a soft-start option that gradually ramps up the machine’s speed. Our only quibble is that the tight fit between the dust-bag collar and the battery makes removing the bag difficult.
4.
If you already own a Kobalt 24-volt power tool set, you may feel confident adding this sander to your collection. Despite its weight, which is owing in part to the fact that we equipped it with a four-amp hour battery, it packs a lot of sanding power. In any event, the KOS450B-03 will quickly provide you with a finish-ready surface. We found its dust collection to be excellent, and its vibration isolation to be adequate—though not as effective as that of most of our corded versions. The KOS450B-03 sands the smoothest and with the least vibration at maximum speed, so set the speed dial to six and leave it there. We do have a problem with the fact that the tool is only available as a bare tool and not as a kit.
5.
The Makita sander seems to sand as quickly as the DeWalt, which is surprising given that its peak speed is 1,000 rpm lower. Despite the large battery, it seemed well-balanced, and its dust collection is adequate. Downsides? The sander has a strong gyroscopic movement that necessitates a modest forward bias to keep it sanding on track. You’ll be OK after you’ve gotten used to it. (The price listed above is for the entire package, which includes two batteries, a charger, and a carrying case.) If you’re looking for the utility by itself, go here.)
6.
This little sander is perfect for the job. It’s not as aggressive as the others, but it sands beautifully and with great control. Its dust collection was remarkably good for such a low-cost and basic piece of power equipment. And this is more of a remark, but the power button is a little stiff. Overall, we think the P411 is a decent choice for the budget-conscious power-tool buyer.
7.
The BDCRO20C isn’t heavy-duty, but it’s an excellent small sander for the price and quite lightweight. There’s little doubt it’ll perform well for minor weekend fix-up chores, especially when sanding less-demanding materials like white wood. While wearing a mask with any sander is a good idea, it’s especially important here because the dust collecting is quite poor.
8.
This sander doesn’t require any strength to hold it in position, and it seems as though it glides across the board’s surface. However, the shape of the dust canister and how it hangs out over the back of the tool is a bit cumbersome, especially given that this is a cordless sander. We would have liked it to be a little more agile. So smoothing out a table top or dealing with a rough place on wood siding is the right use. It’s preferable there, for instance, to working inside a drawer. To be fair, if you don’t want to use the canister, you can easily connect a hose from a shop vacuum to its output connection.
9.
sander-porter Cable’s is lightweight and powerful, making it an excellent choice for ladder-based work; you should have no trouble holding it overhead while smoothing scraped paint. But be cautious before climbing that rung. It’s easy to believe that the small plastic finger that secures the dust canister is engaged when it isn’t. If you are not paying attention, you may cause a dust leak, which will create a mess for you and the work environment.
10.
The only quarter-sheet (non-oscillating) orbital sander in the test was Metabo’s SV12SG. It’s a good power tool that transmitted very little vibration to our palm as it worked, gradually achieving a clean surface free of swirl marks. Its dust collection is adequate (albeit not as excellent as that of other corded versions), but its dust inlet is not easily adapted to a vacuum. On the other hand, it has a significant benefit over other sanders in that you may use a variety of abrasive sheets with it. You may use peel-and-stick, pre-cut 5.5 x 4.5-inch sheets meant for such machines, or buy a roll of 4.5-inch-wide abrasive paper and cut portions to fit the sander.
11.
The RS290G is a basic and reliable sander, but its dust-control bag is not nearly as effective as the sealed canisters found on the Bosch and Milwaukee. This isn’t to suggest it performs a bad job of picking up dust, given that its competitors do it practically flawlessly. This Ryobi sands quickly and powerfully, and it finished sanding its test regions in roughly the same amount of time as its competitors. In terms of the sanded surface quality, we’d say it’s surprisingly nice for the price.
12.
The Milwaukee sander ran the smoothest of the corded sanders, with no gyroscopic wobbling and a comfortable vibration-free operation. It had good dust management, but removing the dust cap from the canister was quite difficult. Furthermore, the lid may feel as though it is snapped on when it is not. After a few minutes of sanding, you see that the sander, as well as the surface, is a dusty mess. Then you must clean off the sander, the surface, and maybe yourself. Just make sure the lid is correctly fastened, and you’ll be rewarded with a useful power tool. It works swiftly and smoothly, creating a beautiful surface.
13.
DeWalt’s DWE6421 is a journeyman power tool—a good, robust, smoothly functioning machine that feels and sands similarly to the Craftsman below. We undertook a minor disassembly of them both after seeing the similarities, removing their bases and top housing covers. There may be anything buried deep inside the DeWalt to give it a durability advantage, but it wasn’t visible from above or below. Aside from aesthetic differences in color and slightly different rubberized surfaces, these appear to be equal in terms of sanding performance, start and stop speed, weight, and setup.
14.
The CMEW231 performs smoothly, as does the DeWalt, and leaves a well-sanded surface. Even after a cursory disassembly and examination, it looks to be substantially identical to the DeWalt. We can’t swear they’re mechanically identical, but the DWE6421 may include heavy-duty components that this sander does not. However, if you’ve already committed to the Craftsman brand, you might prefer this sander.
