In article ,
Richard Clements wrote:

[snipperectomy]

not all sandpaper is created equal.

You said a mouthful there, Richard. Now, here's a silly thing, 3M does
make a very good paper; the Micron series. I put that on my 6-hole 6"
RidgidROS, the paper loads like crazy. Same paper at the same speed on
the Rotex, 6" 9 holes, works great..and for a long time. Go figgur.
Norton is a very good quality product. A lot of automotive guys use
Norton. I use a lot of Klingspor 6"x6hole 180 grit on two PC ROS
sanders. There is no dust collection on those things, and I have tried
to retrofit an adaptor PC sells with mixed results. The room those work
in, has a serious recirculating filtration unit.

I have a pack of assorted grits I got
from HF 2 years ago and it's almost full, I've only used like 2 sheets from
it, and it's probably going to stay that way for a long time the stuff was
complete crap,

Throw it out. Sounds to me that HF products are mostly suspect? We don't
have them here in Kanuckistan yet, but I am 5 minutes from Port Huron
MI, and that is 45 mins north of Detroit... so I'm sure I can find one.
Hell, my sister is on her way from Olatha KS for the holidays, maybe I
should ask her to bring me some?..*G*

3M isn't bad it's nothing great, the stuff that's impressed
me the most was the Nortin 3X, it's more then worth the extra cost, I
haven't done the math, but I wouldn't be supprized if it saves money in the
long run. the stuff lasts much longer.

Sandman is a pro, his sanders keep food on the table, my guess is his setup
isn't, at least in concept, that much different then mine, the major diff
is he's using much more expensive tools, if one of my sanders goes down,
it's a pain to change grits on the remanding ROS, for him it's a little
more of a problem, it takes time, and time is money.

A guy I know, who does the same thing as I do, had a Fein sander crap
out on him one time. One phone call, and 4 hours later the sales rep had
dropped off his demo unit and picked up the faulty unit for repair.
That's another thing you get for the money.
AFAIK, Festool will go through similar lengths, but I have never heard
of a Festool product breaking down in my line of work. (Could be I don't
get out enough?) BTW, they make the coolest close-quarter drill... my
Milwaukee 1/2" close quarter drill is baffed. Not that it owes me any
money, that thing has driven tens of thousands of 2 1/2" chipboard
screws....mmm 13 years of use. With a few exceptions, all my stuff is
Milwaukee. I just love that 1 3/4 HP Bodygrip router. I put a 1/2 thick
Corian baseplate on it and with a 3/16 roundover bit, I clean up thise
edges on my countertops like wiping on stain, I just love that
thing...(2HP variable speed version coming to a tool cart near me...)

Am I a little extra talketive today? Oh yea... all caught up and winding
down till Jan 5... I get to party with my 3 daughters..YAY!

Out.