I've got some wooden end tables and a coffee table that I need to sand and
refinish. Would a finishing sander be better than an orbital sander? At
Harbor Freight they are about the same price and while I think I would like
the orbital better, I'm not sure which would be better. Any info would be
greatly appreciated. Thanks....

Rob

In article ,
"R H" wrote:

I've got some wooden end tables and a coffee table that I need to sand and
refinish. Would a finishing sander be better than an orbital sander? At
Harbor Freight they are about the same price and while I think I would like
the orbital better, I'm not sure which would be better. Any info would be
greatly appreciated. Thanks....

Rob

I assume by orbital sander you mean *random* orbital sander. A finish
sander is (generally) an orbital sander, meaning the sandpaper moves in
little circles.

IMHO, if you're only going to have one power sander, go for the random
orbital sander. It'll be a whole lot quicker sanding than a non-random
orbital sander, and leaves a finish pretty much equivalent (although
some will disagree with that). They're useful in a very wide range of
situations--rough sanding/shaping, finish sanding, even smoothing out
Bondo on a car. They aren't so great for reaching into corners and
around spindles, though.

For a really good job, you probably should think about hand
scraping/sanding for the final pass regardless. I usually don't bother;
but my furniture runs more towards "door blank on two file cabinets"
than "secretary with leaded glass doors and carved ornaments."

--
Andrew Erickson

"He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain that which he cannot
lose." -- Jim Elliot

"R H" wrote in message
...
I've got some wooden end tables and a coffee table that I need to sand and
refinish. Would a finishing sander be better than an orbital sander? At
Harbor Freight they are about the same price and while I think I would
like the orbital better, I'm not sure which would be better. Any info
would be greatly appreciated. Thanks....

Rob


Don'f forget about Random Orbit also. Orbital will be aggressive and leave
swirl marks. A Random orbit sander will be less aggressive but will leave a
finer finish. A finishing sander will be the slowest but potentially will
leave the best finish.

On Jun 16, 10:35 pm, "Leon" wrote:
"R H" wrote in message

...

I've got some wooden end tables and a coffee table that I need to sand and
refinish. Would a finishing sander be better than an orbital sander? At
Harbor Freight they are about the same price and while I think I would
like the orbital better, I'm not sure which would be better. Any info
would be greatly appreciated. Thanks....

Rob

Don'f forget about Random Orbit also. Orbital will be aggressive and leave
swirl marks. A Random orbit sander will be less aggressive but will leave a
finer finish. A finishing sander will be the slowest but potentially will
leave the best finish.

Ohhhh, I have a random orbital sander that can be very
aggressive....you know the brand..EG A sheet of 180 Mirka Abranet
and I can take stuff off anything very quickly.
Yet, a flick of the selector and it's a pussy-cat which can shine a
turd.... in fact, I seldom use a finishing sander..only if I *have* to
get into a corner.
Too bad Ridgid totally farked the 2610 by turning it into a 2611. Talk
about greed making all the wrong decisions. (It is oh-so tempting to
get into a rant about this... I have been endorsing this 2610 for a
long time..so what do they do? They farm out the thing to a Chinese
schlock-house, take away some of the features, and turn it into a
complete piece of crap. There is NO way they could sustain the German
manufacturer's pricing (Metabo no less), the sunsabitches musta known
that when they started. That is 'bait-and-switch', in my eyes. Like I
said....don't get me started..

"Leon" wrote in message

Don't forget about Random Orbit also. Orbital will be aggressive and
leave
swirl marks. A Random orbit sander will be less aggressive but will leave
a
finer finish. A finishing sander will be the slowest but potentially will
leave the best finish.

Even a random orbit sander will produce swirl marks if you look closely. All
those sanders will be removing stock across the grain (sideways) at some
point during their orbits, so it's not the best finish. Believe it or not,
the smoothest, least noticeable scratchless finish is provided by sanding
with grain with a belt sander using a 320 grit belt. It will do a faster and
smoother job than any other non-belt driven machine using a 320 grit sheet
or pad. Most sanding belt suppliers limited themselves to 240 grit belts as
their upper end, but there are a few suppliers selling 320 grit belts.

Robatoy wrote:
On Jun 16, 10:35 pm, "Leon" wrote:
[snip] leave the best finish.


Ohhhh, I have a random orbital sander that can be very
aggressive....you know the brand..EG A sheet of 180 Mirka Abranet
and I can take stuff off anything very quickly.
Yet, a flick of the selector and it's a pussy-cat which can shine a
turd.... in fact, I seldom use a finishing sander..only if I *have* to
get into a corner.
You have to spit shine a turd...