"Joe" wrote in message
. net...
Some time back, I solicited opinions on random orbit sanders as mine was
dying. At the time, I was in a huge time crunch and unable to wait for
delivery of the bosch, festool, fein, whatever that I *really* wanted so
down to the borg (the orange one) I went and picked up a Ridgid R2600 5"
ros. One of the replies spoke of this highly. Pros: It's quiet, easy to
steer, has little vibration and the variable speed is a big plus. Easy to
go from finish sanding to aggressive removal with the turn of a dial.
Inclusion of both psa and h&l pads for whatever paper you have on hand.
Didn't try the dust bag, I had it hooked up to my fein turbo III every
time
I used it.... which leads me to the con, a big one. Dust collection on
the
pad is nearly non-existent. There's no dust in the air, which is
obviously
good. But I don't know if that's due to the extra suction from the vacuum
or the design of the around-pad dust collection. What has turned me off
mightily is that on-pad collection doesn't happen. Within a minute or two
of *any* sanding (grit or speed), the center of the pad is clogged and the
outside edge is unused. Sad to say, but this one is going back as soon as
my bosch gets here. Hope this helps anyone in the market.

jc

FIY the Festool ROS sample pictures describe this as being a problem with
many sanders and shows a picture exactly as you describe. I have a Rotex
Festool sander and you cannot look at the paper and tell if it is new or
worn out. You have to go by the reduced speed in production. The
Festool sanders blow air through a center hole in the paper and the dust
is collected through the perimeter holes. Because the paper stays clean
it lasts a lot longer.