Orbital Vs Palm

[luthier1206]

Not only for guitars, but in general woodworking, when would you use an orbital sander over a palm sander and vice versa

[killemall8]

orbital and palm are the same thing??? or are you thinking RANDOM orbital? I hate hte stupid little square ones that vibrate... they have always been useless for anything ive ever done. there are some of the porter cable ones that are really nice, but they are like 200$. I like Random orbital sanders. cut faster.

[luthier1206]

I mean the square vibrating ones vs the circular ones.

[Mender]

I mean the square vibrating ones vs the circular ones.

The circular random orbital sanders seem to cut faster and smoother than those square things, just make sure the thing is sat flat on the surface you want to sand before you switch it on, otherwise you'll have a curved groove on the surface where the pad makes first contact.

Don't ask me how I know...

[Southpa]

There are also DA sanders ie. "dual action" which are orbital but do not spin in a perfect circle. They provide a little extra lateral movement which is much more effective for finishing. I've used them quite a bit on boats etc. where an extremely smooth surface is required with fine grits. There are also random orbital sanders which work well for rough surfaces bugt on close inspection you can see a path of little curlicues made by the grit.

http://www.ehow.com/about_6673244_dual-act...on-sander_.html

Edited July 14, 2010 by Southpa

[Mattia]

A good random orbital is what you want. I can heartily recommend the Festool 5" one. Worth every penny. On the wood itself I finish off by hand-sanding with the grain, 220 or 320 grit. Finish just gets the ROS treatment with high grits/abralon. And some hand sanding. And buffing.

[Woodenspoke]

A pad sander (vibration) VS the RO or random orbit sander, is really old VS new, Quality Pad and RO sanders are about the same in price. there is a big difference in most areas

1, As was mentioned the RO cuts faster and you will spend less time on the project

2. RO paper is more expensive as it is cut to fit. If you are in the states stick to a 5" 8 hole model sander as paper is cheaper.

3. Most RO sanders have a velcro type system and its is much easier to change paper only takes seconds.

3. Pad sanders use sheet paper cheaper but require you clamp in the sheet and frankly does nott last as long. Some pad sanders use Velcro or sticky back paper but you are back to a special paper. Some Ros also have sticky back but stick with velcro as paer will not get ruined with age (glue hardens)

4. The RO sanders all have dust collection, pad sanders do not (none that I have ever used).

I have two Pad sanders a 1/4 sheet and a 1/2 sheet and never use them. I have 3 RO sanders and use them all the time. Dont buy a pad sander its really old technology.

[luthier1206]

I already have a functioning pad sander. Is it worth buying a RO or will suit the purposes fine.

[ihocky2]

It should suit fine for the time being. The one area I find RO sanders useless is on carved tops. They are too agressive at times and depending on the carve have a harder time getting into the contours.

[Mattia]

It should suit fine for the time being. The one area I find RO sanders useless is on carved tops. They are too agressive at times and depending on the carve have a harder time getting into the contours.

See, that's precisely where I do use ROS; rough carve with an angle grinder, clean up with an ROS, recurve with planes and scrapers, finish sand with ROS and by hand. It's all about controlling the tool. I hand-sand for finishing, or use a soft foam interface pad.

[Musiclogic]

My favorite sander is my rockwell jitterbug(pneumatic RO sander) you can do bevels in White Ash with it....LMAO I use electric RO's for most of my large surface sanding, I have 2 pad sanders that work fine for getting scuffs and sanding marks out, but my RO's are the goto sanders for any pre hand work.