OOPS! I dropped my ROS.

[Randall Clark]

I dropped my 15 year old 4 1/2 inch Ryobi Random orbit sander tonight working on a church project (honest, it was an accident.) The hard rubber pad is bent down where it hit the floor, and I can't seem to fix it where the sander will run smooth. What do I do?

1. Try some trick with heat or something?

2. Order a replacement pad.

3. Replace my sander with another cheap Ryobi?

4. Replace my sander with a better ROS? Which one?

5. Replace my sander with a better type of finishing sander that will do a better job?

Thanks for your help.

[Dave Lehnert]

Must be a bad night for Ryobi sanders. See my message I just posted a few sec ago.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=120054

[David DeCristoforo]

Any ROS that can't survive being dropped on the floor once... well in my world, that would never do! I must drop mine several times a day! I buy the Rigid sanders. Even though the switch has to represent the biggest design "faux pax" in recent history, they are comfortable, very robust and last much longer than any of the other brands I have used.

PS... no I have never owned a Festool....

[Randall Clark]

Dave,
Thanks for the information. The festool is just too much for me to spend on a sander. I am a hobbiest with very limited resources (too many kids, wife just too attractive). I was happy with my Ryobi for 15 years and I spent $50 on that one. Maybe there is a very good one that is more in my price range. I have heard a lot about Milwaukee???

[Mike Henderson]

I have the Porter Cable 390K and like it. It has electronics that control the motor so it runs at whatever speed you set it at and doesn't vary, even if you were to push hard into the work.

But the big thing for me is that it has a disk brake so when you turn it off, it stops. I used to hate having to wait for the disk to stop spinning so that I could set the sander down.

Mike

[John Coloccia]

If $100 is in your price range, my favorite sander of all time is the Porter Cable 330 (i.e. the Speed Bloc). It's a 1/4 sheet sander, very heavy, and very comfortable. You just put it on the work, turn it on, and gently guide it around. You can sand all day with that thing and never get tired.

You can also load up several sheets of sand paper, so when on gets dull, just rip it off and there's a new sheet right there. There are some finish sanders I've used where there's just barely room to load up a single sheet.

[Larry Edgerton]

Klingspor had a deal a bit ago where you six boxes of disks and got one of their rebadged Bosch sanders thrown in. Sander is better than the PC's I was using and is variable speed, and the sandpaper is good as well.

I would buy again....

[Randall Clark]

Larry,
They don't seem to have that deal at the present time. Thanks anyway.

[John Thompson]

If you don't use it much.. I would just order another pad. If you do I would look at several in the $70 range that will probably have better dust collection. I prefer the Milwaukee but the Ridgid David mentioned is a very close to the same and my decision was a toss up. Both are around $70 and both preform well.. both have the new style dust hook up where a 2 1/2" or a 1 1/2 inch line adapts.

BTW.. if you want a nearly new Bosch for around $20 and shipping.. PM me. I have one and I hate the dust hook up on it. The sander is fine but I have to use duct tape to adapt the vacuum hose to the well.. Bosch hose adaptor they sell separate. The adapter is odd size and then the weight of the hose will pull it off the cheap keepers so duct tape is a must.

Good luck...

[Shawn Patel]

I bought a Bosch ROS20VSK. You can get them reconditioned for about $60. Great buy, IMHO. The DC is very good especially with the hose - which now ships with an adapter unlike previous Bosch tools.

It's also lighter than some of the other ROS's I tested.

FWIW, one of the hobby mags recently rated the Milwaukee the best - which looks to me just like the Ridgid.

[Randall Clark]

Johyn,

I am interested, but I do not know how to send a PM. What model is your sander? How old. What size?

Thanks

[Mike Henderson]

Originally Posted by Randall Clark

Johyn,

I am interested, but I do not know how to send a PM. What model is your sander? How old. What size?

Thanks

Click on his name at the top of his post. That will give you a pop down menu. One of the options is "send a private message". Click on that and follow your nose.

Mike