I try to stick with ryobi for tools, but a friend used one of those when doing their house and it seemed to do the job ok.

Im more of a fan of the rectangular "half sheet" ones where you can get the rolls of paper and cut to length, but even those have a too-soft backing that will have it contour over rough spots. The velcro backed discs are even worst a that and I find the holes in them tear out really easily if you sand over the remnants of a staple or something, whereas with the rolls of heavy yellow sandpaper it seems to resist that to a much greater degree.

Not sure on that one, but last week I purchased the No8 1/3rd sheet orbital from Mitre10 for sanding down some doors to be repainted.

It worked fine for the first couple of sheets of sandpaper, after that, it would not hold on to the paper - it would just come off as soon as I started sanding.

Returned it and bought a Bosch for $99 - it is great - twice the power, much less vibration in the hand too.

trig42:

 

Not sure on that one, but last week I purchased the No8 1/3rd sheet orbital from Mitre10 for sanding down some doors to be repainted.

 

It worked fine for the first couple of sheets of sandpaper, after that, it would not hold on to the paper - it would just come off as soon as I started sanding.

 

Returned it and bought a Bosch for $99 - it is great - twice the power, much less vibration in the hand too.

 

I've already have the Bosch sander for about ten years and I hate having to change the paper on the thing. I've never been impressed with it's sanding capabilities and can after watching a few youTube videos a 'random orbital sander' seamed the best for the best quality finish. Hence the reason on buying a new sander.

You'll only use it a few days a year, so no need to spend lots of $

Just make sure it works with the generic (ie cheap) round sanding sheets . That way new sanding pads will allways be available, everywhere
If it only takes Ozito sanding pads ,no others will work,  then I wouldnt buy it .

The velcro isnt an issue . I find I wear out the sandpaper long before the attached velcro becomes an issue . Havnt had
an issue caused by the holes either , unless I hit a hidden nail .

Being round, it wount get into corners or tight spots. You can buy a sanders that use that small triangle sanding pad top get into corners
And a belt sander for the big jobs, like the side of a house :-)

Sure. Consider it a one year rental, if it breaks they'll replace for a year, but since it's cheap probably not much longer.

We had a great pile of ozito and xu1 heatguns on a constant merry go round back to bunnings when helping a friend do up their house. Had all his friends over with heatguns and scrapers taking decades worth of poorly applied brushmark ridden paint off all the trims and windows.

Sanders were much better luck with them. When they fail the motor still goes around but the amount of sanding falls way off, so watch for it starting to go really slow and when it does it is time to take it back for a swap out. I think only 3 of them went back for a swap. Cant recall which house brand they were however.

I got a little ozito belt sander (palm sized) a while back at bunnings and they have dropped it from the range now and for paper what is on the shelf is all they have they said. Bought a few more spares and when I run out will have to see if it is a standard belt size or not.

I should all so explain that I'm not using the sander for removing paint but for woodworking finish of Rimu wood. The main problem I have is trying to remove the last of the excess glue over-spill when clamping wood and saw blade burn.

"You can never have enough clamps!"

timmmay:

 

Sure. Consider it a one year rental, if it breaks they'll replace for a year, but since it's cheap probably not much longer.

 

@timmmay. most of those brands have 2 or 3 year warranties. Usually they will replace them no problem within the warranty. Just make sure you scan the receipt.

I find they are fine for occasional usage. I have plenty of "cheap" tools and never really had a problem with any of them - except my chainsaw which had a fuel line issue (Mitre 10 replaced with a new one).

I have a previous model Ozito random orbital sander purchased for about $40. It is going strong after 10 years. It got much better once I replaced the hook pad with a Norton brand one. Which technically makes it a $52 sander.

I've got a B+D random orbital sander. It's my go to sander, I use it much more often than a vibrating sander (technically an orbital sander but that's way too confusing), belt sander or angle grinder. You can use it for both shaping and finishing so very versatile, and is much much less likely to leave sanding marks or waves when sanding larger surfaces. It's ideal for sanding out burn marks. My only reservation would be using it for glue. You will clog the sanding discs, even the no-fill ones. You're better off using a plastic (i.e. no scratch) spatula to scrape off as much as possible before taking to it with a sander (apologies if that's teaching you to suck eggs though).

I haven't used Ozito stuff in a while. Have had very mixed experiences with Ozito (and GMC, Bunnings predecessor bottom of the line brand). For not much more, the Toolshed has quite a nice unit (I don't own it but have seen it in store). Much higher wattage motor. But also, I really like the two handed option. You get much better control when shaping and less muscle fatigue when sanding. 36 month warranty too, which is pretty impressive at that price point (maybe 2 years; the website seems to contradict itself?).

It all depends what you are doing with it and how much you want to use it. I can't see many issues with getting cheap sander, apart from how the paper is attached, and the price of consumables. The power could also be an issue. eg if you apply too much pressure , will it slow down?  My orbital sander is square and I just cut down a piece of sandpaper, and it locks with clamps. Probably 20 years old, bu it was a couple of hundred to buy.

D1023319:

In the situation of the pic, I'd use a belt sander.

100% agree - I've done a lot of this sort of stuff in the past - careful belt sand with the grain will clean up the glue / burns, then if needed a very light finishing sand.  By then, probably just a small block with 200+ paper will make it look wonderful.  Thumbs up!

jimbob79:

 

I should all so explain that I'm not using the sander for removing paint but for woodworking finish of Rimu wood. The main problem I have is trying to remove the last of the excess glue over-spill when clamping wood and saw blade burn.

 

 

 

e

 

 

 

"You can never have enough clamps!"

 

This is what I need to sand, the shelf not the door. Well I do need to do the door that but it's going to be painted and the shelf will be stained & varnished.

You can see the darker patches where the glue was. I scrapped it off but it's left a residue stain.