Hi, my name is Robert Ray, and I am looking for recommendations on a good quality (2 hours a week duty cycle) palmgrip or 1/3 sheet sander that can work with a portable shop vacuum.
What I need to do is sand 12" x 48" veneer to 400 grit. What I had been using is a cheap B&D 1/3 sheet sander with a 1 1/4" x 12" rigid pipe on my shopvac hose, used as a handle to float the sander across the veneer.
I am only going to be sanding the Finnish Birch Plywood veneer, in 1/64" and 1/32" thickness on both sides with the new sander/vaccum. I laser cut this material, and when sanded to 400 grit, it cuts so mush cleaner, and at faster speeds.
I was told there are some expensive setups where the sander's switch even turns on the vacuum, but general woodworking is not a strong point for me, so I am not familiar with much more than the names Ryobi, B&D, and Craftsman.
I would like to target <$300, but will pay more to get something up to the task, and would also like info on sandpaper up to the task. I ususally only get about 100 square feet sanded per 1/3 sheet using the Norton 3X paper.
Thanks for any info and recommendations,
-Robert