Woodworker's Journal 1993-17-6, страница 73

Random-Orbit Palm Sanders

Big sanding action in a compact package

by Jim Barrett

It's a rare woodworker who doesn't ow n at least one portable electric sander: In fact, many of us have come to rely on two—a portable belt sander for quick sti»ck removal, and a finishing sander. or pad sander, to remove the scratches left by the more aggressive belt sander.

When it comes to sanding a surface fine enough to apply a final finish, it's hard to beat the ^lfa sheet palm sander. These handy tools are light enough for one handed use. and get into light spots that other sunders can't reach (you'll find a complete rundown on these tools in (he March/April 1991 issue of The Woodworker 's Journal I. However, finishing sanders (including palm sander-) aren't designed for fust stock removal because their orbital sanding pattern is far from aggressive. This restricts their use to fine-grit papers only.

Random Motion Defined

With the coming of the 90's. a whole new generation of sanding machines have hit the woodworking scene: random orbit sanders. If you're in the know, you've heard about—or have actually

Novcmber/1 Vcemher 1443

Tool Review

experienced—how these machines pro-\ ide the best of both worlds: last slock removal coupled with a smooth, swirl-

free finish. These sanders work by combining the large circular motion of a disk sander (tor fast stock removal) with the tiny orbital motion of an orbital finishing sander. This dual sanding action creates a random scratch pattern, which is much less visible than the distinct scratch patterns left by other sanders with any given sandpaper grit. For example, bell sanders leave long, straight scratches, which relegates them to sanding with the grain on relatively large, flat surfaces; orbital finishing sanders leave tiny arc-shaped or curlicue scratches, which limits their use to finer

Photo 1: Most random orbit sanders, such as the I'orter-Cahle 7336 shown, have a right-angle design. While they will make wood smooth enough to apply a final finish, they're too aggressive and bulky for fine finish sanding.

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