Sanders Reviews

Let me start by saying that I have LOVED all my Dewalt tools. But, this sander sucks! At least the one I received. I have an eight year old DW 421 ROS that has served me well with my only complaints being the rubber sealed switch that has always been tempermental and it being underpowered. I have been shopping for a new ROS for a while now with variable speed and more power being two requirements. The highly rated Porter Cables never quite felt right in my hands and the Bosch sanders seemed to have too much vibration when in use. I was excited to see the ad about the new Dewalt sanders- bigger motor, cool new look, and it is a Dewalt!...I was on the list to receive one of the first ones. It finally came, it looked a little plasticy, but still cool. I plugged it in and turned it on (same lame sealed switch but not worn out like my old one) and the sander came to life- it had a wierd high pitched kazoo-like sound that had me concerned but I was going to see how it sounded in action. The variable speed control was really hard to turn, but I suspect that would get easier as it wears.

I put on a new 150 grit sheet and tested it out. It didn't feel good in my hands, the top was big and odd shaped. The high pitched vibration sound was still there. It sanded as well as my old sander but not better. I decided to do a three way comparison with my old DW421 2.0 amp, my friends Bosch 1295 DVS 2.2 amp, and the new D26453K. The Bosch had both Dewalts beat on build quality and power when sanding but without the CFS it just doesn't sand as well (I think what I'm sensing is consistent pad speed on and off the wood that the CFS provides for the Dewalts) The Bosch had more vibration than my old Dewalt but less than the new one.
The pad on the new Dewalt stalled as easily as my old one and as I previously mentioned I couldn't tell that this sander was more powerful. I could not rotate the variable speed switch with my thumb while operating it- too stiff. And that horrible sound!!
I'm sure I got a less than perfect copy, but I am still disappointed in Dewalt for either poor quality control or if they are all like that, for a sucky new ROS.

I was disapointed b/c in all the stores the sander comes with a case.. I had to order the case in addition to the sander which after shipping made it about 25.00 more than the local store.. just not happy

I bought this sander to replace my DW421k which had started to show the signs of aging after 5 years of hard use. I usually check out all the reviews on Amazon before buying but this was a new release and had seen positive reviews so I went for it. After having it for almost 2 months, I've used it just about every weekend and this is what I think:

Pros:
Improved dust collection
Has the power to remove lots of material
Variable speed allows an excellent finish

Cons:
Extra torque makes it harder to control than the 421
Larger grip makes it harder to hold

That's all for now, will update after I've had it for a year.

The Fein multimaster is a great tool for specialty cutting jobs, provided only cutting soft materials and limited use. I have the same experience as other users. The tool operates much like (and could be substituted for) a Stryker surgical cast saw. However, the steel blades are expensive for their limited life. The carbide and diamond blades are better. I has enabled a few jobs not possible with other tools, or saved considerable labor for some jobs (as opposed to the usual methods). But don't expect it to be a workhorse because of the limited life and special cut design of the steel blades. I have done limited blade sharpening touch-up using brasselerusa.com serrated diamond saw blades, but this is specialized/expensive equipment most tool users don't have. Sharpening would require very specialized sharpening equipment which apparently only Fein has at their factory. It is so sad that they do not offer blades make from more durable materials.

Nice blade for precision work. A bit pricey. Does not last too long in general or rough work.

While the Precision E Cut Blade cuts quite well, it is made out of high speed steel and not carbide tipped. For the price paid, you would think that this blade would last longer. Maybe there is another company out there that makes a blade for this tool at a cheaper price, but I have not found them yet. I like the idea from another user that uses his dremel tool with the cutoff wheel to re-grind new teeth into the worn out blade. While it is not as good as the original blade, it does seem to work marginally well.

I recieved this sander two weeks ago and just had the time today to put it together.

Assembly went easy.
Started it up and the belt guard was clanging aroud (factory installed). There are two screws that hold it in place. They were loose, tightened them. Restarted still clanging,

Upon further examination the bracket was loose inside the cover. removed the cover and disc plate the spot weld did not hold

Called Fisch and guess what they are not open on Fridays. It is a business day.

Stay away from Fsch, poor customer service, poor quality control and poor product.

I bought this unit instead of the Delta, because I didnt like the comments about its light weight construction.
So now I have the Heavy weight, and it looks like it will do the job, however. There is a lack of attention to detail in the way things fit together.
My biggest gripe is the the alignment hole that the guide plate fits into is not perpendiclar to the belt and the disc.
Which means you need to adjust the screws on the bottom of the plate whenever you change from belt to disk.
Then the 4 holes for the dust scoop do not align with the 4 threaded mounting holes.
In this modern age of CNC machining, one would think this would be a simple task.
The unit is made in Tiawan, but smacks of early Chinese lack of quality.

So far it has sanded well.

A quality machine for a modest price. Solid cast iron base, instead of steelsheet or cast aluminum of similar lesser quality machines from the competition. Austrian engineering now also manufactured in Claysville PA. Its website http://fisch-woodworking.com/about.html describes the history of Fisch Precision Woodworking Machines and Tools. Highly recommended.

After waiting many months to actually receive this backordered item it was received damaged. The product is built very poorly and did not prove to be capable of even paralel sanding without multiple set-up changes for each piece which is being sanded.

A bad product ... makes this a product to stay away from. I also would doubt that the more expensive version of this product would do any better.

I decided on this sander because from what I could tell it looks modifiable in the sense that you could extend the dimention from the table to the sander head and actually sand a 16" or 18" box. I still believe this modification can be done by adding length to the stand's center pipe and replacing the screw adjuster with a longer one. However it could be the leg design won't handle the extra hight. So far I am very disapointed with the factory's packing design. A lot of heavy metal packed in a single layer box. The stand came having been broken open and taped together (I suspect by the shipping company) missing all the bolts to put the thing together and some other minor damage to a piece of almuninum casting called the drum carrage leg. I noticed that there was similar problems in the other reviews. Looks like a trend! Could be an excellent machine...

I just completed assembly of the 22-44 componet kit that I ordered from Tool Crib, and will review both the assembly and operation.

Assembly: You will need to allow at least 6 to 8 hours for the assembly of the machine and it is best to have a friend handy for assistance. Performax has a video availble to aid in the assembly of the machine, however, the video seems to pre-date the current model and can be somewhat confusing, especially with the power feed. Also keep in mind that if you are going to add any accessories, ie; drum adjuster, tension rollers, they should be installed in the initial assembly of the machine. With some patience and determination the machine can be assembled in 6 to 8 hours. The componets appear to be made of high quality materials. Another plus is the assistance that is available via telephone from Performax.

Operation: Finally, I can get a board truly flat which makes the building of woodworking projects considerably easier. In operating the machine, one must always keep in mind that this is a sander and not a planer, I have found the machine to be much more effective when taking a very small bite. The sander has saved me considerable time when producing table tops or other flat panels. I would also recommend including the drum adjuster and the tension rollers in the initial purchase, they help the machine work better and are much easier to install in the initial setup.

Overall, I am pleased with the machine. I look forward to discovering new ways that the machine can be used for improving my woodworkin projects

I own several apartments and thought this might help speed up doing finish work in tight corners. Wrong! It only slowed things down. I tried everything I could think of including tacking the pieces together to keep them from slipping apart. No amount of tightening of the sandpaper will allow more than a few minutes of sanding before the foam works its way out. Definitely not worth the trouble.

First of all, I must commend the inventor of this product, Dane Charles, for attempting to come up with a 'better mousetrap.' I've been a woodworker for many years and I appreciate any gadget that might save some time as I work in the shop. However, this one doesn't fit the bill. The foam pieces provided use the sandpaper itself to hold them in place. Due to the vibration of the sander, the foam very quickly and easily slips out. I tried it on two different palm sanders and ran into the same problem. Tightening the sandpaper works for about a minute or two (of regular sanding) and then the foam pieces begin to slip out again. For me, it became completely useless. Though I appreciate the effort, save your money - it was an utter waste for me.

EZ Sand PRo works great. First you should understand how to use it. Since it uses standard sanding paper, the paper as it's used loosens up, so it's a no brainer that the sand paper will need to be tightened up once or twice until the sand paper is used up.
To the Ann Arbor. MI user, try and think first. Remember, power tools are dangerous in the wrong hands. If you can't figure this little thing out, I'm sure you won't be ordering anything plans from Norm Abrams of The New Yankee Workshop or any boat building.
We have used this product for boat building finishes, and it works fine. It's not moron proof.

I had really bad luck with this sander--I had to replace the pad twice before I finally gave it away. The pad would seperate from the sander.

This sander does just what I expected it to do. However, the dust collector quickly vibarates off, so I used a metal band clamp to keep it in place. Otherwise, it fits my hand(s) well and makes quick work of the projects I purchased it for. Light weight reduces fatigue when working above shoulder level. Would buy again -- no problem!

Skil has a history of decent tools at reasonable prices. I found this to be a less than decent tool at a somewhat reasonable price. The belt does not track well, the tension adjustment is not well placed or made. The tool itself does not run nearly as smoothly as you will want. Overall I would say spend the money and get a higher quality sander.

Don't know if this is the same sander or not. Looks exactly the same as mine, except mine is red and the retail price was much less than this one, by half. Oh well, this will do.
I agree with the previous reviewer, this is an ok sander. It is really noisy and the dust collection is kind of a joke. Can't hook your shop vac to it without making some kind of adaptor, so turn the air handler up to high when using this sander. Haven't had the tracking problem mentioned by the other reviewer. I got this sander to remove paint and other junk off of used lumber I acquired here and there. Just to prep it a little before putting it thru my drum sander and planer. With 60 or 80 grit it does a pretty good job of cleaning off this stuff, without ruining an expensive belt on the drum sander or knives on the planer. I never intended to do any fine sanding with it, so wanted a cheap one. This sander fills the bill for what I wanted it for. For rough stock cleaning and occasional "carving" it does ok. Wouldn't recommend it for fine sanding or flattening stock.

This was supposed to be a Christmas gift. We ordered on 12-9-05 and it still is not shipped. I will not buy things from this seller again! Loser

I got this because it has a diamond-shaped foot that extends ~2" in front of the body, for access to some narrow spaces. It works well for this purpose, though it's not the best choice for a general purpose sander. The foot uses hook and loop sandpaper, I just cut out the diamond shapes rather than buying the pre-cut ones.

The adjustments and set screws are almost useless, and the pieces that are cast were poorly finished. I got it set up and it is useable, but adjusting it and changing belts is WAY more trouble that it should be. Keeping the table at exactly 90 degrees is about impossible.

If you want a light duty unit this will work. I bought it for knifemaking, and I"ll have to replace it before I can do any serious work.

I've had this for about a week now. Most of the points lost in this review come from the assembly instructions. The manual has a couple of mistakes that range from annoying to a work stopper.

In step 4, you're supposed to mount the motor with the threaded ends of the bolts up -- however, the next two photos of that step show the bolt heads up. Then in a following photo, the bolts have magically re-aligned themselves.

In step 5, you're supposed to mount the motor pulley. However, the pulley has a slot which in my case wasn't completely finished. I had to take a file and complete cutting the slot.

What stopped me for a couple of days was wiring the motor as in step 15. First, the picture in the manual bears absolutely no resemblance to mine. It does state to contact tech support for a new wiring diagram. You're going to need the catalog, because the tech support number in the manual is out-dated.

I e-mailed tech support and they sent me the wrong diagram - twice. Finally they told me it didn't matter which wire of the cord went to which wire on the motor. Thankfully I knew enough to know the green wire was the ground. I'm guessing that many buyers of this item will probably know more about wiring 110v motors than I do and this may not be that big of a problem to them.

Lastly, belt alignment didn't go too well. The sanding belt runs on three wheels, top, bottom and back. The manual tells how to align the top and back -- and that went OK. However, the bottom wheel wouldn't align. The belt rubbed against the body of the sander. I called tech support (using the catalog number) for help. The tech admitted that the arm was a bit flimsy when I told him that twisting the arm seemed to help the alignment. While he couldn't tell me to actually bend the arm, I got the impression that's what was needed. I grabbed a 18" adjustable wrench and twisted the upright arm just enough for the bottom wheel to start tracking.

Once all that was done, it seems to work fine. The belt guards are a bit noisy -- you have to nudge them now and then to dampen some noisy vibrations. I will also have to remember to keep an eye on the lower wheel tracking in case the arm returns to its original position.

I've used it for some light sanding so far and that part works OK. The motor seems to have plenty of oomph for the size of the machine. The sanding tables are OK, although adjustments are primitive.

There were no missing parts, and other than the minor assembly problems (electrical not so minor) it went together easily. However, Grizzly needs to spend a few bucks to strengthen the upright arm and revise their instruction book to make this a much better tool. I'm going to try to figure out a way to brace the arm - perhaps bolting some stiffer angle iron to it will help.

My conclusion is that it's OK, probably worth the price, but not better than just OK.

I very much like the drywall sander and attached vacuum; and I also liked the original sanding pads that came with the 7810. I understand the decision to revamp the design by PC but it did not work. The new disc pads seem to separate between the sanding disc and the velcro pad in the box before I've even had a chance to use them. This forces me to create my own. My other complaint would be that I'd like to see a washable,resuable filter for the vacuum (#7810). I'm having quite a time finding a filter for a #7810.

The previous review is three years old - maybe things have changed. I have used both the hook and loop and the foam backed pads and have not had a problem with either. The hook and loop pads are easier to change and are tightly attached when I change them. The abrasive is a complete disk, as opposed to the ring used on the foam backed pads - maybe an advantage, but the abrasive on the foam backed pads may last a bit longer - I'm still on the fence about this.

My only complaint is the cost of either style abrasive. Of course, the manufacturers make easy money on consumables, so now that I have some hook backing pads, maybe I can find some more affordable loop abrasive.