On Sep 18, 11:09 am, Davej wrote:
Went to Home Depot yesterday and see they have two sanders for rent.
One is a belt sander and the other is a large orbital. Both are
intended for floors. I just need to take the varnish off an old floor.
Is the big orbital the best tool for this? The room is 15x20ft. Any
idea how long this will take me or suggestions on the grit to begin
with? Thanks.

Go with the orbital. No question. If the wood is cupped or uneven
then start with the coarsest grit paper they have and work up from
there.

You'll need a hand held sander to get all the way to the edges, but
the orbital will get pretty close.

Most of the floors in my house were done by pros with drum sanders
before I bought the house. There are marks and gouges all over them.
I did the living room myself with a Home Depot orbital. It is
absolutely flawless. You almost can't screw it up with the orbital.

How long did it take? Forty hours or sanding! Yeah, a drum sander
would have taken two hours, but it wouldn't look as nice. When you're
working on a 50 year old oak floor, it's worth the effort.