Orbital sander vs sheet sander Reddit

I am no no means an expert so stand to be corrected.

A random orbit sander is quicker and less likely to leave a swirl pattern but velcro backed consumables can be pricey. A sheet sander you need to be more careful but sheets of paper are cheap. If you are going to be sanding finishes or paint often (working reclaimed wood for example) then I'd be after cheap consumables as the paper gets clogged fast especially with acrylic paints.

I've owned all sorts of sanders and the one I keep going back to is my little 1/4 sheet palm sander or my belt sander if I need to be brutal. I always try to finish with a hand sand on fine work as any electric sander will leave some marks.

I'm going to Horrible Freight in an hour or so, I'm refinishing a few pieces of furniture (two stools, four chairs, and a smaller dining table) and hand sanding it is not working out (I'm six hours deep and i haven't got a finish I'm happy with on the first stool). I'm thinking the detail sander would be the best for stripping the finish and getting into the joints, but i figured I'd check with reddit. Would it be better to get a sheet or disc sander and do the nooks and crannies by hand?

Note: I'm not looking for opinions on HF tools, i know they're crap, but it's a small project and if I end up using it a lot, I'll buy a nicer one. Y'know?

There are actually three common types of electric sander. You're getting comments on only two.

1. Belt sander. Belt moves in one direction. These remove material very quickly but require a light touch and can leave massive scratches, which must be sanded out with a more delicate type of sander (or by hand) prior to finishing. Belts are expensive to replace but tend to last a pretty long time.

2. Palm sander. These are the cheaper vibrating sanders in hardware stores, equipped with a rectangular sanding pad (most often 1/4 of a full sandpaper sheet). They wiggle the sanding pad in a rapid circle, which can leave faint swirls in the finish. They're cheap and easy to use, because they remove material slowly and you don't have to be very cautious. They're also very easy to control and good for smoothing edges and both inside and outside corners. The sheet sandpaper for these is dirt cheap, which is good because you tend to go through a lot of it. Don't buy a velcro-backed palm sander unless you're rich.

3. Random orbit sander. These are the more expensive small sanders in the store. At first glance, they look a lot like palm sanders, but they're more complex. Instead of just wiggling in a circle, they sand in a chaotic random wiggling + spinning pattern, which allows them to take material off faster (but still nothing like a belt sander) and still leave a smoother finish, with no visible swirls. They have a round sanding pad which sucks for inside corners, and the spinning motion makes them difficult on outside corners as well. And it's always velcro-backed, which is again expensive.

From those descriptions, you probably already know if one is particularly appropriate for your uses. If you're not sure, you probably don't need a belt sander, and should let the budget decide between the other two. I think a random orbit sander is a lot more versatile than a palm sander, as long as you're not hoping to sand a bunch of inside corners, or trying to save money. Random orbit would be my first choice.

Sure, there are lots of cases where you want a sheet sander due to greater flexibility for what you put on it - like the scotchbrite another user mentioned, done that too. I've even seen one used to frost glass, but it was a complicated set up.

One area where a sheet sander is far better than an RO sander is any situation where you are sanding something smaller than about 60% of the area of the RO sander's pad. Without significant contact area, the RO sander is not random and you get obvious and annoying squiggles. Insufficient contact area also rips the pads and wrecks the velcro that almost all of them use to keep the paper in place.

there are 3 primary types of powered sanders: inline, orbital, and random orbital.

inline: this would include reciprocating and belt sanders. these leave primarily (or entirely) linear scratches. mostly these are for heavier leveling applications, where shaping is the goal, not finishing.

orbital: these are very common. the motion is a very small circle. some examples would be like the pad sanders, or the b&d mouse. these can leave a passable surface, but tend to leave a lot of squiggles and curly-q's. i'm not a fan tbh, with the exception of some of the fine sanders designed to get into tough corners and tight spaces

random orbital: king of sanders. it uses a combination of movements to randomize the scratch pattern, which is the goal of sanding. not all random orbitals are created equal however. as far as good quality woodworking sanders that are affordable and available i like the bosch. when you start to get into higher level stuff you can discover more stuff. i am in the process of upgrading to air, and air sanders have more options. they have different oscillations, ranging from roughly 3/8" to 3/64". the 3/8" is the most aggressive and leaves the roughest pattern, while the 3/64" is very fine and used primarily on finishes. the most used for woodworking is 3/16".

using any type does require some practice for getting desired results, but the learning curve is typically not steep. usually the biggest thing is not bearing down too much on the sander and just letting it eat. also to keep the sander moving some

Is an orbital sander better than a sheet sander?

What is the difference between an orbital sander and a 1/4 sheet sander?

Why is a random orbital sander better than a palm sander?