Random Orbit Sanders Compared (Review) 

Hi Tinkery, Thanks for your feedback. The adapter kit that I showed in the video and sourced in the description was able to connect to each of the sanders except the DeWalt. The Dewalt requires a proprietary adapter that I didn't test. The Bosch came with its own adapter, and I was able to easily connect it to my shop vac using a 2.5" to 1.25" adapter. That connection was very solid. The adapter kit was able to attach to the B&D as well, but that one has two protrusions on the dust port that are used to secure the dust bag, and they block the travel of the shop vac connection. It slides on part of the way, and would stay on fine if you either held the connection while using the sander, or applied a bit of duct tape, which is why I wasn't crazy about the B&D in that respect. The Porter Cable, Makita and B&D used the 3/4" ID portion of the adapter kit to hook up. The TackLife used the 1-1/4" ID connector from the adapter kit.

Glad it was helpful! Thanks for watching, Brittny. Cheers, Paul

That’s great to hear. Thank you for sharing your experience here. Cheers

Awesome, thanks.

Thanks 🙏

@@ToolMetrix Just currious if yoy have also had any experience with the one made by Mikita? I have two palm sanders, one I bought years ago and the other was my fathers and they both work great to this day and make me wonder if looking into the Mikita / Milwaukee orbitals are a good option. I'm sure they cost double or more than the Dewalt.

Awesome Chrissy. Glad you found it useful. Cheers

What did you end up going with?

Thanks Jonathan. Cheers, Paul

Thanks for watching!

Thanks for watching. Glad that you found it useful. Cheers, Paul

Great thought process Charlie. It’s a great product and I’d have a hard time arguing against that. Thanks for sharing your feedback.

Plus the lower vibration of the Bosch is canceled out by the longer time it would take to remove material. You have that lower vibration for longer. I have the Bosch and would trade it in a second for the Makita. The slowness is noticeable for some tasks

But just as important is the sandpaper. Get the 3M Cubitron sandpaper or newer net version and you'll get a much higher performance and longevity. I also like the Diablo Sandnet as a second choice

@@ccbowers I recently tried some Cubitron sandpaper and it really does seem to be better.

@@ccbowers the slowness may be because of the orbit

Hi Paul, that's interesting information; thanks for sharing. No, I didn't experience what you are describing. Hard to say why the different experience, but could be any number of variables.

I have one and have refinished a lot of furniture pieces and yes it grabs onto the pieces a lot of the times and forget about attaching a vacuum it gets louder and sticks to the piece of wood..it’s gotten annoying so looking to switch to either a Makita or dewalt soon!

Great choice and I like the vacuum connector idea 👍

Hi Brad, thanks for sharing your feedback. Glad it was helpful. Cheers, Paul

Hi Scott, thanks for your feedback. I have a Mirka and would give it a ringing endorsement. That price point is tough to take for a lot of woodworkers though, so I didn’t include it here. I wrote a review for wwgoa a few years back, and I’m guessing it’s probably still online if you want to have a look at that.

@@ToolMetrix Hey thanks, I guess the Mirka is the one then. Probably still get a Makitia as a spare. Thanks for all your work, really appreciate your efforts.

Hi Scott, hopefully I'm not steering you astray. I haven't come across much criticism of the Mirka other than price, but it's been a long time since I looked. You probably found it, but here is my review: www.wwgoa.com/article/new-tool-review-mirka-deros-550x-random-orbital-sander/ . That thing is smoooooooooooth..... :)

@@ToolMetrix No, not at all. I was serious about the Mirka and just ordered it shortly ago, but am still going ahead with the Makita as well. Many thanks

That’s a great lineup!

Hi Donna, thank you for your feedback and best of luck with your cool project. Cheers, Paul

Hey I wrote u but for some reason when I came back to make a correction to it I don't even see my comment here!? So if it suddenly post both well??? This is why!? I came back to correct the RIDGID TO SKIL!! IT IS SKIL!!! WHO WAS BOSCH!! AND STILL MADE IN THE BOSCH FACTORY IN IL OR IN!? NOT RIDID!!! RIDGID IS MADE BY RYOBI AMD MILWAUKEE MC!! AND NOT THAT GOOD!! SOOO SORRY I SAID RIDGID INSTEAD OF SKIL! I WORKED OUTSIDE AND THEN LATE LAST NIGHT AND WAS EXHAUSTED AND GOING IN OUT OF SLEEP DOZING OFF WHILE WRITING SO ANYTHING CAN HAPPEN WHEN I DO THAT!? LOL LOL I do a lot of wood work for myself! And I was needing to do some again and needing to asap...get back to my Truck Camper Bld! Kinda bounce around from 1 to the other!? But I absolutely loveee creating blding making fixing things and LOVEEE THE RT TOOLS to make my job faster better easier!! Anyways I had had a 3.5 Ryobi and wormed it hard! It burned up?? Quit working and I HAD TO FIND GET A NEW SANDER!!! And so I went out looking....and I found the BOSCH WHICH I LIKED RT OFF THE BAT!? Came home tried it out! It comes WITH A VERY NICE CASE!!! I mean THE BOSCH IS ONE SMOOTH AS HELL QUIET AS HELL LOWWW VIBRATION LOWWW NOISE SWEET SMOOTH DO ALLL THE WORK FOR U SWEETASS TOOL!!! AND AT 59 IT WAS WELL WORTH IT!!!! DEWALT IS LIKE SOME INSANE?? 179?? Can't remember now?? But Dewalt is just too damned pricey for me! New anyways!? The Bosch seems low power til u start sanding then that bad boy kicks into overdrive and Holly hell!! IT DOES ALLLL THE WORK NO BARING DN NO PRESSURE NO SHIT!!! U just hold it where u want it keep it moving and OHHH MYYY GOD IT DOES GREAT!!!! AND ALMOST 0000 DUST IFFF THE LID IS ON THE PLASTIC CONTAINER TIGHT AND RT! OLY THING IS THE LID IS SO HARD TO GET OFF I GOTTA USE A FLATHEAD TO GET IT OFF! ESP SINCE I HAVE BAD WEAK HANDS!! U WILL NOT GO WRONG NOR EVER BE DISAPPOINTED WITH THE BOSCH!!! NICE SOFT PADDING AND NOT HUGE OR REAL HEAVY!? LOVE HOW QUIET AND LOW VIBE AND LOW NOISE IT IT!! LOVE THE SAND CONTAINER!! ESP IF U HAVE TO SAND INSIDE LIKE I AM HAVING TO DO RT NOW! ONE BIG REASON I GOT IT AS WELL BECAUSE I NEEDED GOOD DUST CONTAINMENT IF I USE IT INSIDE!? AND IT COMES UN SUCH A NICE CASE TO!! Lowes also had Kobalt Tool Bags a little bit bigger than that on clearance! So u bought the remaining 4 and cleaned my other tools and organized them in their nice new storage homes!! Finally they have a case and r organized!!! The new Kobalt BLUE bags look super nice to!! Anyways I HOPE THIS HELPS! I AS A WOMAN LOVE TO SEE TOOLS OE FIND TOOLS THAT E WOMEN FRIENDLY AND OR THAT WOMEN LIKE!! SO AS A WOMAN I LOVEEEE THIS!!! AND I WILL DEF BE GETTING ME SOME SKIL TOOLS WITH THOSE NICE BATTERIES WITH THE USB PORT! SKIL IS BASICALLY BOSCH BUT IN FADED RED!? Same price!? Well good luck!!!! Hope this helps!!! 🙏

@@PortDixieandTheJourneyDogs I'm a woman and new to using sanders and power tools. I do have a rigid wet dry vac to connect the sander to and I need one that doesn't spread the dust all over. Thanks for your comment. ps. I love my ryobi drills, backpack sprayer, leaf blower and string trimmer. But, I think I'll get a Bosch or Makita corded sander.

$48 pad omg. Similar on my Mirka. Ugh.

That’s great to hear!

Thanks for sharing your feedback!

Cool!!! Good to know. I am using it sand paint off drywall and wood.

Thanks for sharing your feedback Samurai. Cheers, Paul

That’s a great deal!

Thanks for watching. Best of luck

Thanks for watching 👍

You're very welcome! Thanks for watching. Cheers, Paul

👍

Great. Thanks for your feedback 🙏

How have you liked your dewalt

Great choice. Sounds like the makita served you well!

Interesting. Hadn’t thought of that. Good suggestion. Thanks Gary.

Hi Morry, tough decision. With your arm discomfort I think it would be worth trying a lower vibration unit like the Bosch, but yeah, that slower performance really adds up over the course of a full day.

Thanks for watching, Kris. Cheers

Thanks Daly 🙏

Thanks for watching, Vassy. Cheers

Thanks for watching 🙏

Thank you. That’s not a bad way to look at it.

Thanks for your suggestion, Keith. It’s interesting that it has so much more power as both motors have the same amp rating at 2.5. My assumption is that the difference is primarily the variable speed option. I do like variable speed and I like to slow down the speed when sanding small items. I have a ROS65VC which is one of my main sanders. That’s powerful and very smooth as well.

Thanks 🙏

Thanks Steve 🙏

Hi David, that's great information; thanks for sharing. I'd love to hear what you think of the Metabo unit. They make some great products.

Thanks for the feedback Ryan. Cheers, Paul

Thanks Radek! 🙏

Hi Lori, thanks for watching and for sharing your feedback. Glad you found it useful. Cheers, Paul

Thanks for watching, Carolina 🙏. Cheers, Paul

Thanks for watching and for sharing your feedback with us, Gene. Cheers, Paul

Thanks for the feedback, Todd. I agree that is a good value.

Thanks, Steve! I should have included that one, and the Metabo. Probably a few more.

Thank you!

Hi Charlie, you will have a hard time going from Festool to any of these. I wonder if it could be repaired? If you want to get a new one, I'd suggest Mirka. I love mine (come on down and give it a try). Or a new Festool. It was a very close call for me, Bosch vs. Makita. I leaned toward Bosch simply because of the smooth operation, while others would have likely picked Makita when considering the same test results. It feels more like you are running a Festool. The Makita removes stock at a rate that is probably more similar to your Festool, and is a great tool overall. A great performer in every respect, within its class.

@@ToolMetrix Thanks Paul. I've also got a 6" Rigid which is actually pretty good. I kind of forgot about it because it is kind of heavy, but I think I'm going to use it for a while before making any decisions on a new sander. I don't know exactly what it would cost to repair the Festool, but I'm not sure that I want to put anything into that particular sander.

Yeah I don’t blame you. Might as well put the money toward your new Mirka… 🤔

My Bosch out performs my Festool. Just saying. I just got my festool just a couple of months ago but, I've gone back to using my 3-year old Bosch.

Nice!!!

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Cheers.

I wouldn’t drop down to a lower grit for that reason. Ultimately it will slow you down.

Hi Eggy, thank you. Yes, variable speed is a nice option. I use it when I'm sanding small items, and holding them on the sander with the sander inverted. That gives me better control. For most sanding, however, I leave it full speed at all times.

@@ToolMetrix Really appreciate the reply, and again thank you for such informative video!

That’s an interesting application. Sorry I’m not sure what sander would be best. Maybe a palm sander or detail sander.

Yeah that’s a totally different tool. Great product though. Cheers

DBO180, I checked. @@ToolMetrix

Thanks for the feedback and the suggestion. Cheers, Paul

Sorry I don’t recall. I no longer have the sanders.

No sorry I don’t.

Hi Dan, I like that idea. And not only loading it but gripping it. My old PC is great but I find that I have to reinsert the paper a lot. It’s pretty because I use heavier backed paper than it was designed for but it would be nice to find one that could hold that stuff better.

I have owned several brands of these sanders and this has been the biggest issue for me. Right now I am using a Makita and it works pretty well.

Good to know. Thanks Dan.

Hi Debbie, I only tested on wood. You would want to find some abrasives that are specific to metal. Also, definitely hook it up to a shop vac for sanding metal; you don't want to breath that dust.

Good idea. Can’t go wrong either way.

Good perspective. You can definitely get both together but it is expensive. My Mirka is a great example. Festool as well.

Thanks for watching, and for sharing your feedback. Best of luck with your sander choice. Cheers, Paul

Awesome thanks 🙏

My pleasure, Annette. Thanks for watching. Cheers, Paul

And also they won’t stand behind there warranty (Dewalt)

Good to know. Thanks !

“Usually do not push down”

Maybe build a cradle for it?

Good to know! Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this here.

🙏

My pleasure sir.

If you are looking for an upgrade check out Mirka. Bosch is awesome in this class but Mirka is in a different class. It’s not cheap but it’s superb.

Hi Bear, thanks for your question. No, I’m not familiar with Jellas.

No I don’t. I think it uses a smaller rotation pattern.

@@ToolMetrix thanks, needing a new sander. Appreciate the feedback. Helps a lot.

Hi Michael, sorry, I'm not sure.

@@ToolMetrix You might want to list the orbit, as the orbit has a big impact on the finish and the speed to remove material....any of the models have a 3/32" orbit?

My pleasure. Thanks for watching.

It looks like you showed the Dewalt have 99 db's and then you said the others are in the 95 db's range? is that true for the bosch and makita?

Sorry I don’t have any data other than what I included in the video and I no longer have the sanders.

Apologies if I missed something

Thanks for sharing this information. Cheers

Yep it’s crazy! $66 on Amazon. Honestly though I was kinda surprised by how cheap it was when I bought it. They seemed like they cost $50 for the past 20 years.

Hi Laurie, thanks for sharing your thoughts here. Cheers, Paul

I haven’t use one enough to compare.

It’s hard to say but it seems not only softer but great quality as well. It doesn’t seem prone to wearing faster than the other ones.

The Bosch unit is currently $55 using the Amazon link in the video description.

i have the bosch, the pad is garbage and sanding disk fly off. I've changed it twice and it's still garbage.

@@chingonbass Yeah that's just about every pad. You really have to baby them

Both good options

You’re right. Unfortunately I don’t have enough hours on these tools to have formed a valid opinion on that. It doesn’t seem prone to problems based on what I have seen so far, however.

Look for something called an 'interface pad', or a 'backer pad'. That's a separate foam rubber disc with hook and loop on each side. You use it between the tool and the sanding discs to help avoid damage to the tool's H&L. When it gets worn, you replace it for a much lower cost than trying to buy a new replacement pad for the tool.

​@@MorryB Should be done on any orbital...hard to find the actual rubber base h&l pad in stock anywhere. Just ran into that this past weekend.

Thanks 🙏

It's definitely one important category and it makes it a trickier choice. That's why I clearly communicated results in multiple categories for many different sanders, allowing you to choose based on what is most important to you.

@@ToolMetrix I got a question if u don’t mind , so I currently have a porter cable 6in sander that is a polisher also, is there a difference in the results between that style and the basic 5in orbital sanders in this video? As far as seeing any sanding marks or anything I may be missing

@@josephromero1596 ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-uBSOan7D1Ow.html this video illustrates what they remove, how well they remove, and if it has any feathering around the outside and inner circle and to what degree. 6inch tool will usually have a longer "throw" so removes more edge to edge, good for large coverage, 5in is slighty less efficient so you need to overlap your passes a bit more. Skip to 13min40 seconds and you'll see for yourself. If you are sanding often you should probably get both a 5 and a 6 inch

Bosch is smooth, less vibration. Yes, sands at half the speed. Makita is a great choice as well.

@@ToolMetrix I hate vibration but was kind of thinking that a little less vibration for twice as long might be worse than more for half the time I guess. How much smoother would you say the Bosch is by feel? It like so smooth you could run it all day and never think about it vs 20 min with numb hands with the others? Thanks for the update as it's really helpful! Wish I could try them both 😢

It’s hard to describe and I no longer have the sanders. I’ve never sanded all day or even close.

I believe that was mentioned in the video

Makita would be a great choice. Milwaukee didn’t have a corded option in this price range when I did the test so I don’t know.

@@ToolMetrix thanks for the information and video!

Ugh! It’s crazy.

Thank you, Tammy!

Prices have jumped up a lot here as well. Crazy economy right now.

In Brazil they are about 10x . The DeWalt Makita Bosch goes over 500 BRL . very expensive

Inflation of the country it went up accordingly

Yep there’s been a bit of inflation since I made this video.

Don’t you pay tax on everything you buy ?😂

No that doesn’t sound right. I didn’t notice anything like that.

@@ToolMetrix it doesn't right indeed.. that's why I claim it's warranty,on the way to replace it..I felt disappointed actually,but I will try to give another chance,if it's still the same result,I'm going to replace it with Makita..

​@@ToolMetrix by the way, how's your update on Bosch nowadays? You still using it?

Good plan

I didn’t keep any of the sanders from this test. I use a 6” Bosch and a mirka

Thanks for sharing your thoughts

Makita is worse then DeWalt with power tools lol would 100% rather have DeWalt tools than makita. But that is just my opinion

@@jacobb791 My opinion is Makita are the best.

@@jacobb791 Makita has always made the best motors .

Thanks for checking it out, Matt!

all of them except the tack life if I remember correctly.

Great point. Thanks for sharing. Cheers

😂

thanks for weighing in!

👍

Thanks for watching 🙏

Good to know. I’ll register mine where you live 😀

@@ToolMetrix The 2 years minimum is a european mandate :) Add for the additional year I think they do it everywhere in EU but I'm in france :)

Lucky to live in France. Beautiful place, wonderful culture.

@@ToolMetrix I'm actually from basque country (south of France) ! Definitely beautiful I agree with that :) Have a nice day!

South of France is on my bucket list. Hopefully someday. Been to Paris a few times, Versailles, and Normandy Beach area once. Loved every moment and can’t wait to go again.

Good rationale. Thanks for watching and sharing your feedback, Mike. Cheers, Paul

The all have filters; just different types. I think that the Bosch style is best, but it's hard to prove that in my simple tests.

project farm did a battery orbital sander roundup and shows small dust and large dust particle collection differences. It's still isn't a perfect test because he's in a controlled environment with the collector inches away where you, your air flow, your air space volume, your movements, your stuff in the way all would be X factors that could sway one way or another. Best practice is of course the obvious, use a high quality filtering mask, vacuum attchment if you can, and take breaks.

Thanks for watching. Subscribe, come back, it’s fun here 😀