The orbital sanders They are crucial elements when working with wood and other types of materials.
If you are a perfectionist, it is a tool that will help you achieve those finishes that you so desire on your antique furniture. However, choosing one that suits our needs is not entirely easy. It is not worth buying the first one that appears on the page.
In this article, you will learn to know which are your needs and which orbital sander you will need.
First of all, you should know what advantages these orbital tools have over other type of sanders.
What are Orbital Sanders?
An orbital sander is a type of sander that has this particular shape:
As you can see in the image, the base (or skate, as this part is usually called) is rectangular or square.
Thanks to its rectangular shape, it is a perfect tool for sanding smooth surfaces such as boards and battens. And best of all, it does not leave marks on the wood due to its elliptical movement that allows for a more professional finish.
Here we leave you an informative video in which you will learn something more:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6PTBRT6qyGk
Advantages of Orbital Sanders
- The biggest advantage it offers is its excellent value for money (not on all models). As we will see below, the prices of these sanders are much cheaper than other types of tools or sanders.
- They are the most used by amateurs since they are easy to “understand” and use.
- In addition to this, most maintain a design that makes them convenient tools to use.
- Another advantage of these advanced tools is your size and weight. Orbital sanders were designed with the intention of replacing belt sanders which are usually larger and weigh twice or three times as much as these models. For this reason, these tools can be considered among the lightest on the market.
Best Orbital Sander of 2018
In the following list, you can find a selection of several sanders of this type, which we have chosen after studying several models and taking into account the many opinions of Amazon Spain customers.
Makita BO3711
Machine specifications:
- Motor Power: 190W
- Auxiliary Handle
- Vibration Damping System
- Brand: Makita
- Color blue
- Weight: 1.6 Kilograms
The Makita BO3711 It is a tool with qualities that have been reflected in the opinions of all buyers since it has been scored more than 4.7 out of 5, something that would give us a lot of reliability when buying this sander.
The support of the sander is crucial when working for hours, that’s why the Makita brand has chosen to include an auxiliary handle in the design. This handle, which can be seen in the image, can help you obtain better results in your work.
With this mechanism you will make your work even more detailed.
Thats not all:
The weight of only approximately 1.6 Kilograms, provides more maneuverability during the sanding process.
Finally, we wanted to emphasize the great value for money of this article:
Although most hobby orbital sanders are around €80-100, this model stays below €80.
Conclusion: With a low budget, you can buy this powerful Makita sander that has the best features on the market today.
Take a look at the following video to learn a little more about how it works:
Second Model: Bosch PSS 250AE
Product specifications:
- Motor Power: 250W
- Weight: 1.6Kg
- Built-in Micro-Filter
- Easy Blade Change
- Green color
- Brand: Bosch
The second model that we will see belongs to the well-known Bosch brand.
This model has great specifications that, in addition, do not make the product too expensive. In my opinion, it is a very reasonably priced sander. Take a look for yourself HERE.
Talking a little about its features:
- You can see in the image the micro filter system that leads the particles to the storage tank. Tank that is attached to the tool, which reduces the risk of breakage.
- On the front side, you can see a small part of red color. This little “wheel” is an oscillation slider that controls the number of oscillations. Thanks to this system implemented by Bosch, you can adjust the most suitable level of oscillation for each material.
- The design of the PSS 250 AE allows the tool to be handled quite easily, it can even be controlled with one hand.
- On the other hand, it has a method that makes changing the blade easier.
Finally, the price of the sander does not exceed €85. As we discussed earlier, this is the average price for most orbital sanders on the market today. So it is a more than reasonable price.
Third Model: Makita BO4556K
- Motor Power: 200W
- Weight: 3.2kg
- low vibration
- Easy Blade Change
- Color blue
- Brand: Makita
- + Blue Briefcase Included
The third model comes from the Makita brand, again. Without a doubt, it is a brand that dominates the market for this type of sander almost completely. This is due to its magnificent qualities that it offers for an affordable and sensible price.
And, the model that we are going to see now, is not an exception.
The BO4556K is a good item that outperforms many other brand orbital sanders. However, I prefer to recommend the first two before this model. And this is because it has some disadvantages compared to the two previous models.
- One drawback or problem that I’m not totally happy with is: It doesn’t have speed control. This prevents sanding different materials with the greatest possible precision.
Despite this minor drawback, which need not always be a bad spec, it is still a very professional and high quality orbital sander.
This model produces less vibration than the previous ones, making it much easier to hold the sanding of any surface.
In the following dynamic image you can see the Makita BO4556K sander in 360 degrees:
How to choose your orbital sander?
When choosing the orbital sander that meets all your requirements and needs, you must take into account several features or specifications that will be adapted according to the factors that you like the most. Some of these factors are:
- Power: It is the number 1 factor in your choice. Depending on the material you need, you should choose an orbital sander that offers the necessary power for those future jobs you will do. If you do not choose a sander with enough power, you will not get the finishes you are looking for on furniture, walls or any other material that requires more power.
- Weight: It is another important factor when it comes to work. Especially when you work for a very long time. Although most models do not exceed 3 Kilograms, you should always check before making the purchase.
- Size: Size matters when manipulating the tool to reach the most hidden corners. Also most sanders maintain a small size design.
- Regulation: Regulation? Yes, regulation is very important in an orbital sander. Regulating speed and oscillations can allow you to sand many varieties of materials at whatever speed the sander achieves the best finish. For this reason, keep this factor in mind when you decide to buy a sander.
- Compatibility: What do I mean by compatibility? Something that includes the 3 previously reviewed sanders and many other models, is the possibility of incorporating a vacuum cleaner to the rear tube of these. This prevents us from having to empty the dust tank every few minutes. Therefore, find out if the sander you are willing to buy is compatible with a vacuum cleaner.
- Added: If the package set includes something extra like a set of sanding sheets or a case, it will save you from buying those materials in the future.
- Brand: Any product from a well-known and dominant brand in the sector will be much better than a little-known brand. These popular brands give you reliable quality and will ensure that you are paying fully deserved money.
- Price: Lastly, the price. A price that does not exceed €90 or €100 is totally reasonable for an orbital sander for home use or even for professional use. Except for the sanders with more power that have a higher price, but equally deserved in my opinion.
Conclusion on orbital sanders
As a last tip, I ask you not to randomly buy the first tool you see on the Amazon website.
Use this advice for all the tools and items you are going to buy and you will save time and money on all purchases, I assure you.
If you have any other advice for our readers, feel free to write it in the comments so we can help more people. If you find something that we forgot, you can also comment it in the part below.
Do you like DIY tools? Do you want to know more about other power tools? Then I advise you to see this other MultieEvo article, the Black+Decker multitool.
