Originally Posted by
Jim Becker
When I left the world of the old PC333 5" sanders, I went to a pair of 150mm (!6") sanders. They have served me well for most projects and because I went quality, I also lost the majority of the vibration that was causing serious numbness in my hands. There have been a few times that it would have been nice to have a 125mm/~5" sander, but I've largely not missed it, with one caveat: my guitar projects. I'm seriously considering the smaller 90mm Rotex for situations like that as well as for "into the corner" detail sanding. The 150mm sanders feel good in my hand and most of them in the market from Festool, 3M, Mirka, etc, have moved to a lower profile design that is pretty darn comfortable to use.
You will not regret getting a quality extractor, either...they have nice features that really compliment sanding and other small hand-held electric tool use.