I’m looking to add an economical sander mostly for doing finish work. This DeWalt has a few features that caught my eye: 6 amp motor, 0-3700 OPM, VSR trigger dial, dust shroud can be hooked up to a bag or vacuum. Has anyone here used this model? Is there anything that I’m missing that would make this a bad choice? Or, is there a better choice around the same price point? Thanks for any input.
I’ve been using that model for several years. It works fine and the vacumm attachment is nice. I’ve had to replace the pad once, but that was it.
I have thought for some time that this sander might be usable for some of the sanding process. My question has always been; Are you stuck with the “hook and loop” pad or is there some possible alteration that would enable a person to use a “Flex-Pad” or “Soft Pad”???
It’s a RO sander, not traditional rotative sander use for surfboard sanding. Some years ago only Hobby builder used them, now more and more pro too… Not as agressive than rotative at same grit but can be use with higher grit with less marks…
With right grit and vacuum can be really effective.
Can find soft nterface to hook between and disc for rails and finish
I use the different pads to soften it. They don’t last long if you run higher rpms. Only down side is the size of the pad. This sander can be very aggressive if you don’t have a soft pad on. I use it both ways.
The bigger Makitas are great, but I haven’t found a good dust shroud vacuum attachment. I like using the bigger sander for fin boxes, or foiling fins.
A long, long time ago I moved from using my mom’s 1/4" drill with a pad, to a Porter Cable in that general arrangement. It was a major step up for sanding hot coats, but if that’s what you’ll be using it for, I wouldn’t get an RO sander. I now have and very much like my variable speed DeWalt 849, $175 on ebay, with a soft pad on it. Don’t like hook and loop pads, have had them fail too soon, and you have to buy the paper for them. I more simply stick on a sheet of paper to the soft pad using 3M adhesive and good to go.
YMMV and it’s considerably more costly, but for the benefits of vastlly better ergonometrics, the DW is my cuppa tea. I also have a Milwaukee 5000 rpm fixed speed disc sander that I’ve used, but it’s a big heavy beast and you have to fully respect the rapidity with which it can eat stuff, including you.