Orbital sander question

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I am thinking of getting one, and I notice that there are ones with a round surface and others with a square surface.
What do you have and is one type better then the other and why ?

Jack L
 
  I have a half dozen of both square and round. I don?t consider the square ones I own true random orbit sanders. One air powered, rest are electric. Used mainly for wood by DW. Leave fine scratch marks. Advantage with square: corner access and can cut and use sheet sandpaper.
  All my round sanders/ polishers are air powered and true random orbit. Used for body work prep and cut and polish paint. Since I?ve retired, I?m painting about one vehicle a year. I?m amazed at the quality, durability, and air consumption management built into these random orbital sanders compared to 25-30 years ago. Harbor Freight included.
 
I have both. Agree that the round ones are a bit more "random" and probably better for really fine finishing.  My two square ones are my workhorse, though. I use them with grits from 40 to 220. For finer grit work, I go to the round one.
 
This is the one I use for woodworking...

https://www.lowes.com/pd/DEWALT-120-Volt-2-4-Amp-Corded-Orbital-Sander/1213357

It has served me very well. Although I don't ever remember it being priced this cheap.

The thing to remember is if it's something that you may be using for extended hours the cheap ones will wear out your hands.
 
Before I sold all my tools, I had 1 of each. The difference is the square one was an orbital, not a random orbital. The orbital will make scratches in the same places.  The random orbital will be changing where it makes the scratches randomly.
 
i have an air operated rectangle orbital sander that i've used since 1973.
the thing i like about it is i can control the speed by air pressure.
using the same grit paper, you can remove lots of wood by lowering the pressure and jack it up and do smooth work.
i use a 2 stage compressor at 22cfm/80gal tank.
only drawback is the stiff air hose get's in your way sometimes, and if you have arthur, it can be rough on your hand.
 
I have both, rarely used the square one as the round orbital one is so much better.
 
Gizmo100 said:
This is the one I use for woodworking...

https://www.lowes.com/pd/DEWALT-120-Volt-2-4-Amp-Corded-Orbital-Sander/1213357

It has served me very well. Although I don't ever remember it being priced this cheap.

The thing to remember is if it's something that you may be using for extended hours the cheap ones will wear out your hands.
Click to expand...

That is some sort of sales come on. I had seen it on Lowes on line and it is not available  on any of their stores or on line

Jack L
 
JackL said:
That is some sort of sales come on. I had seen it on Lowes on line and it is not available  on any of their stores or on line

Jack L
Click to expand...

I didn't even notice that it's not available...I checked Amazon and they have it for about $45 ...And that about what I paid.
 
Another question :
What is the difference between "orbital " and "random orbital" ?

Jack L
 
Jack,  I'll try again. I f you take an orbital sander with a coarse grit sand paper in it , place it on a piece of wood and turn it on . Now, without moving th sander let it sit there a few seconds and turn it off.  Examine the wood closely or put a stain on it. You will see a pattern of a lot of circles.
Now do the same with a random orbital sander.  You'll find practically no pattern.  Orbital sanders usually have a square pad and random orbits have a round pad and can't get into corners.
I hope this makes sense.
 
ChasA said:
Jack,  I'll try again. I f you take an orbital sander with a coarse grit sand paper in it , place it on a piece of wood and turn it on . Now, without moving th sander let it sit there a few seconds and turn it off.  Examine the wood closely or put a stain on it. You will see a pattern of a lot of circles.
Now do the same with a random orbital sander.  You'll find practically no pattern.  Orbital sanders usually have a square pad and random orbits have a round pad and can't get into corners.
I hope this makes sense.
Click to expand...

Thanks, it does

Jack
 
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