Spent $2,000 cause I HATE Sanding: Orbital Sander Review 

Finally, after seemingly hours of scrolling… a video that talked about the “middle” options. Answered so many of my brain’s questions. I’ve owned that exact Dewalt sander for a few years and it’s useful for me (despite the noise😅) especially with the 3M sandpaper. I concur about grabbing a sample pack, world of difference and worth the cost. Thanks so much for making this video!!!!

Should have ordered a planner

I’m a cabinet maker, sanding all day. Have the 3M 6”, is a good sander but the electronics inside are crap. First 3M lasted me a bit over a year, motor still works, electronics keep on shutting the sander down. Second 3M lasted me 3 months, than it died completely. Got 2 Festool sanders, work with no hiccups, and because I’m tired of sanders breaking down I just bought an 80 gallon air compressor and 2 pneumatic Ekasand sanders, completely different story. I have more than 5 or 6 Dewalt and Rigid laying around my shop, pieces of crap collecting dust. If you are a professional woodworker that does a lot of sanding you need pneumatic sanders. Yes it comes with a big price tag, an air compressor with a refrigerant air dryer about $6000, a good pneumatic sander $250-$300, but they work every single time you need them. I keep the electrical sanders for outside install jobs where I can’t drag the compressor with me. Good video, but stay away from 3M or you’ll spend $400 almost every year. Yes is a very good sander when it works, but the electronics inside of it are complete crap.

I have been following these sanders for over a year when I first heard about them. I am a hobbyist and was thinking about the 3M, but didnt want to spend the money. There are a number of Chinese brushless sanders on the market now with different names, but similar features. I bought a Phendo brand, which looks very similar to the Pioneerworks. I think these are great sanders for the money and are a huge step up from anything you would get at a big box store. I think your problem is that you should throw the included hose away. Most woodworkers have dust hoses anyways. I was able to use my hose I use for my track saw for my sander and it works great. Anyone that their income depends on their tools should definatly still get the 3M, Mirka, or Festool, but for anyone that doesnt want to spend the money I would look into these other sanders. Also, I recommend using an interface pad when using the 3M paper. If you dont, the hook and loop on the sander will get damaged and your paper will not stick well and you will have to replace the disk.

I looked at getting the MaxXT as a replacement for Mirka sanders at my job, because the Mirkas die all the time. It had a bad bearing right off the bat, so the pad wobbled and the bearing got very hot. Also, they use less common thread on their pads, so it is harder to get firmer/softer replacements. It is also very bulky and heavy compared to the 3M and Mirka. I wouldn't want to use it on anything but a flat surface. They also use an o-ring and grease at the top of the pad to help dust extraction but I think it will get very messy over time. They do have good customer support though if you don't mind waiting for the time delay between the US and China. I have heard the 3M sanders have had the same problem as the Mirkas, but 731 Woodworks said they have a new version that is supposed to take care of the issue. I wonder if the Festool ETS EC 125/3 would be the best bet for a brushless sander, since I haven't heard of issues with them dying and the price is similar to the 3M. Sometimes the Rotex 6" can be had for a good deal used, if jobs mainly consist of large flat surfaces.

Good to see mini Rahim popping up in the video.

Such a useful comparison video! I'm a hobbyist getting a first orbital so the 3M while tempting just couldn't be justified. I'll gladly live with a slightly less comfy grip with the MaxXT instead for half the price.

I plug my Festool sanders into my Festool dust extractor and I can run them all day with no power issues and excellent dust extraction. Yes they are expensive but they were a game changer for me.

Thanks for this

Love the video..

Can you use 3M sanding pads without an extra protective pad to save the disc?

You should have bought a track saw instead of all those sanders. You can joint with a good track saw too

Whats the use of the power port on the dust extractor if you buy a cheaper sander? I guess you want to use it on the same circuit and automatically switch on and off right?

All tools should be made with a heavy duty 6 inch cord only sticking up to keep a connecting cord up out of the working area. No need fo all these cords

Sorry, but I did not liked your video entirely, please allow me to explain: You did not analize any specs... I did the same type of selection process two years ago, when I wanted to get a better, more effective sander. I have had an old Bosch 5" Random Orbit Sander for about 20 years, the model PEX 12 AE, that sander is still representative of the very numerous "common" ROS in respect to the important specs, like: Power: 380 watts, Pad size: 5", Orbit size: 3 mm or around 1/8". Mechanism: An excentric mounted bearing, so the platter is "free" to spin due to the drag of the sandpaper alone... With that type of sanders, I was able to tackle up to a medium size desk top, but not really larger jobs, like sanding a large dining table for eight people or a large piano, as it was just too slow and tiresome... forget to go sanding a long stair with more than 30 steps or a small bedroom wooden floor! So I found all them "weak" and kind of "toyish sanders"... Therefore, I wanted one of the newer, true "Serious sanders", that have: Above 700 watts power. 6" pad size, A much more effective 5.5 mm or around 1/4" Orbit Size... And the most significant difference from the puny toyish 5" common sanders: --A Dual Mode: The standard free spinning platter on the excentric bearing, AND a selectable much more aggresive FORCED (GEARED) ROTATION mode, where the motor FORCES the platter to spin thorough gears, at the same time it oscillates excentrically... THOSE differences make it a much more effective tool for really sanding and levelling irregular or rough wood, at least three to five times as powerful, fast and effective as the common 5" sanders from DeWALT, Ryobi, Milwaukee, smaller Boschs and most others that inundate the market... In my country, there were only three larger ROS available, the Bosch 150, the Festool 6", and the Makita BO6050... The Festool was way too expensive for me, so it was put of the question. The Bosch had some negative comments on Amazon about the gears being too delicate, but you cannot rule out careless or dumb users trying to change mode with the sander running, and ended up breaking the gears... and I didn't want to risk it being vulnerable. So for me, it was the Makita BO6050, even when it is not as smooth as the Festool, its cost was less than a third. Other possible options were the Mirka, or the 3M but those were almost as expensive as the Festool, so too costly for me. The Makita is not as low center of gravity as the 3M or the other one you tested, but after a certain "Learning Curve" and by attaching the side handle, like if it was an Angle grinder, I learned to tame it and I was using it easily and acceptably comfortably. Dust extraction with a Shop Vac type of vacuum is acceptably effective too using standard perforated sandpaper, and I guess it will be even better with the newer "mesh type" sanding media from 3M, Mirka and Bosch, but I haven't tried it yet. It cut my sanding times to between one third to one half, so for me it is "No going back", and I only kept my old Bosch 5" because I still have a lot of 5" sanding discs, but almost always go and use the larger Makita every time.

The 3M is just a repackaged Mirka. There are a couple other brands out there that repackage the Mirka as theirs too and plenty of cheap Mirka clones as well. I will tell you the Mirka and all the rebranded Mirka sanders like this are absolute crap. The electronics fry within a couple months. Mirka or which ever rebrand you buy will warranty it with another one that will just fry again .

Yid army COYS

Please put chapters in your video! would be super helpful for skipping through the review.

Annoying to watch. HOSE

MAXXT i cant find 6 inch backing plate for stick it sand paper on amazon can you help thank you