ROS Suggestions

[John Kananis]

I have a few 5" ros's in the shop. A year or two ago, my favorite one met eol and I picked up a festool ets 125 (my new favorite). I don't use the larger 6 inch versions because I feel that if i need to be that aggressive, taking a hand plane to the work is faster, more accurate and less dusty but that's just me... really, it depends on your preferred method of work.

[Tom Bussey]

To answer your question I would keep what you have and just buy another sander

[Dave Sabo]

I bought a Ridgid 6" about five years ago to scuff sand about 800 square ft of hardwood floors.
It worked great.

I had thought it would replace my aging 5" DeWalt - but - I was mistaken.

Now I have to decide if it's worth it to replace the pad on the single speed DeWalt - or - just buy a new variable speed 5".
The 6" will never (at least in my shop) replace the 5". There's just too many small sanding jobs where the 5" is perfect.

While the OEM DeWalt pads are insanely expensive, I think you'll be hard pressed to find an equal or better sander for the same money.

That said, I'd get a generic replacement pad on the BigRiver for $10-$20 and get back to making dust.

[Tom Bender]

Sanders 2.jpg Sander Powercords.jpg

One has Abranet 60 grit
One has Abranet 240
These two grits handle all my power sanding needs.
It's very handy to switch back and forth in a second or two, often before one stops the other is working.

The overhead power feeds allow use in a pretty wide area, and of course they can be unplugged and used with an extension cord.

[George Yetka]

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.

I had my Eyes on this for some time. ended up buying one a few months back. I find that if you are using it to sand something like a face frame it is very tall in comparison to its diameter so its easy to tip. It is ideal in very tight spaces and if you are shaping tight inner radius's

[Jim Becker]

Are you speaking about the RO-90, George? It's kinda interesting that for the longest time I've been "more skeptical" of that particular sander being something that might be useful to me. A recent video by Sedge "fixed" that point of view as I learned a number of things about it that I didn't know. The fact that it can be used as an effective orbital into corners greatly raises my interest because the smaller format would normally get less use for typical projects I do. So doubling as a detail sander is a big plus.

[George Yetka]

Are you speaking about the RO-90, George? It's kinda interesting that for the longest time I've been "more skeptical" of that particular sander being something that might be useful to me. A recent video by Sedge "fixed" that point of view as I learned a number of things about it that I didn't know. The fact that it can be used as an effective orbital into corners greatly raises my interest because the smaller format would normally get less use for typical projects I do. So doubling as a detail sander is a big plus.

It also does has the delta attachment which is nice.

i still have to swing by for a visit one of these days. I can bring it.

[Prashun Patel]

Only you can determine if you will make good enough use of a different size sander to justify the investment - and the investment in a new paper supply.

I have only a 5" and have personally never considered a larger one. But that's just the way I work.

I've come to the conclusion that for "do I need another <tool>" discussions, the best advice is to buy and try. But don't buy cheap. Buy a good model. I've never regretted spending for quality. Better quality tools are more of a joy to use and easier to re-sell.