Sanders - hand type

[Rick Johnston]

Considering a finishing sander like a porter cable 330. I have a pneumatic 6" Palm and a 5" angle porter cable random orbital.
I was thinking the finishing sander would fill a void for a tight corners. Most of the time I do presanding prior to assembly. Wondering if those that have one use it much.

[Mike Schuch]

I had to look up the Porter Cable 330 1/4 sheet palm sander on Amazon. Why is the Porter Cable 330 1/4 sheet 1.2amp palm sander $100 and the Porter Cable 380 1/4 sheet 2.0amp palm sander only $40? Is the 330 more of an industrial model?

http://www.amazon.com/PORTER-CABLE-3.../dp/B0000222Y9
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http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...H09ZTB6TSH4M74
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I have an older version of the 380 with a round dust port and it fills a nice niche in my sanding arsenal. Like you said it gets into the inside corners of boxes and carcasses where other sanders can't. I like the dust collection port. It comes with a plastic plate with 8 cleats on it. After you put the paper on the sander you push the sander down on the plastic plate and it punches 8 holes in the sand paper for dust collection. It works quite nicely. It looks like the 380 would require an adapter to connect to a standard shop vac hose for dust collection.

I use my Rockwell/Porter Cable 505 1/2 sheet sanders and 6" right angle random orbit sanders much more often than my 1/4 sheet sander but sometimes the 1/4 sheet is the perfect sander for the job at hand.

My 20+ year old PorterCable 1/4 sheet looks something like this:
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[Rick Johnston]

Mike, I wondered the same thing about the differences between the two. Looking at the pc site it's appears ergonomics, less vibration, 500 rpm, metal frame and 50 dollars.
I'm going to call pc and get additional clarification.
I have a 25 year old 1/2 sheet Sears sander that I've not used for 20 years. Am I correct that it's likely a orbital sander where the models we are talking about have a random pattern?

[Rick Johnston]

I meant side to side vs orbital for the Sears sander reference.

[Mike Schuch]

My 50 year old Craftsman half sheet sander has a lever on the side to change it from orbital to linear (side by side). My Craftsman half sheet sander isn't near as fast as my PC/Rockwell 505 half sheet sanders. I imagine that the 505's have a much larger orbit making them faster.

I wonder if the 330 is the same in that it will sand quicker? I would have expected a bigger motor in the 330 than the 380 which would draw more amps. According the the specs the 330 draws fewer amps. I have used sanders like the 330 in the distant past and I recall them feeling more of a quality tool than my plastic 380. But my 380 has held up to 20+ years of abuse. The 380 is the first power sander I ever purchased. The 330 is an ancient design (I used them way back in high school). I don't consider this a bad thing as my beloved 505 sanders are also an ancient design but a very sturdy industrial design.

All the discussed pad sanders are orbital sanders not random orbit sanders. Random orbit sanders will have a round pad that will rotate independently in random patterns as the motor drives it in an orbital pattern.
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Random orbit sanders.

I use my orbital half sheet sanders a fair amount for large surfaces. If I don't work through the grits I can have issues with orbital marks left on the surface of the wood. If I go through all the paper grits (120, 150, 180... and maybe 220) the orbital marks are removed by the next finer grit. I usually keep 220 grit on my Craftsman sander and keep it on linear sanding but I don't often sand down to 220 grit. Both the 330 and 380 are likewise orbital sanders that can leave marks if you don't work through the grits.

[Jim Dwight]

I have what is now the Porter Cable 330. I bought it when Rockwell sold them. I had to replace the switch once but it is several decades old. I've worn out a couple ROS during that time. It has a heavy metal frame under the plastic cover - versus the typical plastic structure used now. It doesn't have dust collection, however, and leaves more visible scratches because it is not a random orbit, it is a fixed orbit. I use it mainly to get into the corners of drawers and that kind of thing where a circular ROS will not go. I also use it each time I wear out a ROS before I get a new one. I also use it if I run out of paper for the ROS and have it for the Rockwell. You need to use a big screwdriver to change the paper - the clamp is powerful - but once you get used to that it works well. Vibration is relatively low but if you use it for a long time you will still have a buzzing hand. It fits in the hand well.

I like the fact that I have it but I probably would not buy one if it every breaks. I can do the little bit in the corner with a hand sander. The mouse type sander seems more useful to me but I haven't used one much.