Palm/Detail Sanders

Nomad

Any thoughts on these sanders for doing smaller areas? I'm thinking of getting something that is large enough to sit flat on a surface by itself, but manageable in on hand for things like vertical edges, sloping bits, etc.

Are the multi sander ones with the extension bits any good, or is that more of a gimmick? What about the little dust boxes that some have? Do they actually work. Velcro sandpaper attachment or self-adhesive?

Thinking of this Bosch one...

http://www.diy.com/departments/bosch-corded-100w-multi-sander-psm100a/651352_BQ.prd

I know some of the reviews there slag it off, but it's well regarded on the Wickes web site. Can always get my money back if it does pack in or fail to perform. The weight looks pretty good compared to others.

Thoughts?

Sarge

Not used the Bosch, but I do use the B&D mouse, it's loud and vibrates like a bastard but gets the job done really well, plus theres plenty of aftermarket sanding sheets on eBay.
It has the wee finger extension which is great for getting inside the horns and cutaways, roughly £30.
@Skodadad found a rotary sander at Lild or Aldi which is cheap, worth asking if it's any good...

Skodadad

I like it, it's a 3 in one type not the fastest in the world but does the job. Does tend to stall a bit under hard pressure. You could definitely do better but not sure you could do it for the £25 price. Disposable tool really but with the Lidl three year warranty it's essentially free to me. I will destroy it, guaranteed I also have the Bosch and it lasted me a banister and 8 doors before the velcro pad gave in.

Sporky

I have a few detail sanders - the B&D Mouse like Sarge, which isn't bad for short-term use, an Axminster quarter-sheet sander which is pretty decent and a Dremel Multimax thing which includes sanding pads. Each good for different things, but the Mouse is probably the least useful to me.

Nomad

Got the Bosch (at Wickes, for 30 quid), and just been having a play. It's a nice size in the hand - easy to use on a level surface, and light enough to hold at angles. The little dust box thing works very well (virtually no dust getting spread about), but does seem to fill up quite quickly. It's also a bit stiff to get off and open for emptying, but not too bad - might loosen up a bit with time. The power switch is good - positive action, sliding affair with a fingertip dimple, and works fine with one finger in a natural position.

In the few minutes I played with it, noise was tolerable enough, and vibration seemed pretty low. Might be a different story after an hour, but I dare say some earplugs and soft leather gloves would help a lot.

Going through the sandpaper grades on a bit of scrap meranti (40, 80, 120, 180) was pretty damn quick and the end result was impressively smooth.

The plastic briefcase box-thing that it comes in is, of course, a useless piece of over-bulky shite. The sander can sit on a bench somewhere, and I might put smaller offcuts of metal in the case.

Overall, it feels like good quality and seems to work well.

octatonic

I have a Festool ETS that is crazy good but also around £400.

Jaden suggested I get it and he was absolutely right- brilliant bit of kit.

Nomad

octatonic said:

I have a Festool ETS that is crazy good but also around £400.

Jaden suggested I get it and he was absolutely right- brilliant bit of kit.

Aye, very nice, but perhaps a tad more expensive than I'd like for occasional hobby use. I do have a cheaper version of that type somewhere, but never used it (was bought with mops and pads and stuff, in a flurry of good intentions to polish the car I had at the time, which also never happened). A bit chunky for the stuff I want to do with the Bosch, but I should probably dig it out and see if there's a use I can put it to.

Anybody got any thoughts on mesh sandpaper? Wickes didn't have any delta sheets for the sander, so I went back to B&Q to get some (knowing I would get robbed for having the audacity to want it today). While there, I saw this...

http://www.diy.com/departments/jcb-mixed-sanding-sheet-of-4/679907_BQ.prd

Full size sheets, cut to fit (no problem) and supposed to last 4x longer than something or other (probably cheap shite glasspaper). The mesh structure means no holes needed, apparently, and it sticks on with the hooky-loopy stuff. Not sure how many I'd get out of a sheet, and probably not much cheaper than buying the made-to-fit stuff, but it might be handy if only because it can be used with other kit including sanding blocks and various home-made formers for weird shapes.

Sporky

I like the Mirka Abranet stuff - lasts ages and very clog-resistant. Definitely worth getting a pad saver though - basically a bit of foam with velcro either side, so that instead of wearing through the velcro on the sander you go through the pad instead.

Andyjr1515

Sporky;945858" said:

I like the Mirka Abranet stuff - lasts ages and very clog-resistant. Definitely worth getting a pad saver though - basically a bit of foam with velcro either side, so that instead of wearing through the velcro on the sander you go through the pad instead.

That's a good tip, @Sporky. Never thought that such a thing would exist!

Skodadad

I'll have to look for these pad savers myself, Cheers @Sporky

Deadman

I've got a spare 150mm if you want it @Skodadad

Skodadad

Thanks Bud but you may need it, I found some on ebay really cheap. Very kind anyway

Deadman

Welcome

Sporky

Skodadad said:

I'll have to look for these pad savers myself, Cheers @Sporky

http://www.axminster.co.uk/mirka-pad-saver-for-delta-sanders-502531

http://www.axminster.co.uk/mirka-disc-pad-savers-ax851925

And the Abranet itself (other suppliers exist):

http://www.axminster.co.uk/mirka-abranet-delta-abrasive-sheets-pkt-10-ax872748

http://www.axminster.co.uk/mirka-abranet-ace-abrasive-discs-150mm-ax946741