wrote:

I am surprised that random sanders are more powerful than orbital
sanders. I had always thought that a random sander was just an orbital
sander that rotated. Why is the latter more powerful? Is it that the
random sander has a stronger motor?

Not so much more powerful, they just have a more effective sanding
action. They are indeed a combination of orbital and rotary motion. Its
the rotation that constantly shifts the patten of orbits.

Something like the Bosch PEX400A is a good choice for a basic mid price
ROS. The Metabos are very good at the top end.

I wanted to strip some paint of my garage fascia. I don't think anyone
will notice if a belt sander leaves a few lines on the wood up there.

You may be right... If you are working up a ladder it probably pays to
get a decent belt sander - the cheap ones can be great hulking beasts.

I suppose the problem with random sanders is that being circular, they
can't get into corners?

Tis true, you need some other way of doing them



--
Cheers,

John.

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