Spec me a sander

peterwalkley

peterwalkley

peterwalkley

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Joined
23 Feb 2009
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South Wirral
I need a decent sander to get my garden furniture back into service. Its hardwood, but been a bit neglected, so needs sanding back and then re varnishing. All I have at the moment is the sander attachment for a black & decker quattro (battery powered).

From a very brief look at screwfix and the rainforest I reckon budget up to £150 quid should get something good. Mains powered so I'm not faffing with batteries. I assume a bag is sensible for if I need to use it for indoor jobs down the line and also able to get at nooks & crannies, so not too big or awkwardly shaped.
 
I really don't think you need to spend £150 on a sander.

How about a Black + Decker KA280? from the rain forest and put the £99 saved on something else.
 
Agree with chief - £150 on a sander to do a few odd jobs is madness!

Are there any details to the table i.e. hard to reach places? If it's flat, Id get a random orbit sander. The above is also a good shout with interchangeable heads.

If you want a better make look at the makita BO5041 for under £90
 
For the sake of a few random odd jobs, I'd just get whatever "own brand" B&Q / Screwfix / wherever random orbit sander is nice and cheap. I'd certainly not be looking at £150 models.

I've had a B&Q one for years and it does a great job.
 
Cheers guys. I was generous with the budget as I didn't want to end up with "buy cheap, buy twice". I don't mind paying for quality if the premium is justified.
 
Pretty much any orbital sander is good - but think of the job.

If you have corners etc then get a mouse or something with a tip, for walls and large expanses then you'll want a wide base.

If you're doing anything more than a small job then a hose attachment is worth it's weight in gold. Especially if you're sanding the plaster on the walls - I can't recommend this high enough, especially with something like a dyson that removes small particles through a cyclone.

I have a Black and Decker, variable speed and a french small tipped one for the awkward corners. In the end I used masking tape/gaffer tape on the B&D dust port to connect the vacuum. Visually no dust. I did have a Mouse, lent to a mate and never got it back (now ex mate)..

The B&D can take the velcro precut but also has clamps for the sheets that work just as well.

Also means you get a wider range of grit papers.

Belt sanders work too but I think the orbital has more uses..
 
I used to have an all singing all dancing sander that was meant to cater for all jobs, what I found was it had too many attachments which would fall off and it was physically too big to easily handle when doing the more fiddly jobs.

Recently picked up one of these:- https://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Decker-KA161BC-Detail-Accessories/dp/B001G7PR3Q

I think it's brilliant, I can attach my work hoover directly into the back of it so no mess, powerful enough for the small/general jobs, and its size means it would be perfect for doing something like garden furniture.

If I ever need a bigger one I'll then hire/purchase for the job at hand.
 
Hehe this was the sheet sander I have: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Black-Deck...79031_1_7?s=diy&ie=UTF8&qid=1461580570&sr=1-7

When you put a dyson on the back of it.. it turbo charges it (the suction makes the fan faster!).. Between that and the mouse/detail sander you're covered for most jobs unless you're woodworking - when a belt sander makes a difference for longer pieces and will take off the piece more subtly instead of planing.
 
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