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  1. #1
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    Default Arbortech Contour Random Sander

    Hi All,

    Yesterday I received an email from Australian Woodworker to advise of the new Arbortech Contour Random Sander. When it comes to sanding anything that makes the process easier sparks my interest.






    Price: $89.00

    I was just interested to see if anybody had been able to have a play with it yet and may be able to give some insight.

    I did find it interesting that the sandpaper seems to be adhesive backed (rather than Velcro) but a little more research seems to indicate they remain sticky enabling changing of grits in a similar manner to Velcro. I would be interested to see how much the replacement Arbortech sandpaper is or if it can be converted to Velcro to enable the use of these CWS Store - 50mm Power Sanding Discs 25 pack | Carroll's Woodcraft Supplies.

    In the past I have made a similar sander by rigging up a sanding head (made from hard rubber) to a drill and have found this to be handy for the burl bowls and the like, but it wasn't ideal. This product looks like an ideal replacement. The other area I would be interested in using it would be for bandsaw boxes. With these it would be handy getting into the tight spots that the ROS cant reach, but I would be concerned about control given the sanding head is quite some distance from the grinder. It would be handy if you could hold the shaft of the sander but I have a feeling it spins.

    Anyway I would be interested in any comments.

    Cheers

    Stinky.
    Now proudly sponsored by Binford Tools. Be sure to check out the Binford 6100 - available now at any good tool retailer.

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  3. #2
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    Default

    SS, it doesn't look like it would be that hard to make. The stumbling point would appear to be in finding a suitable firm but flexible rubber backing for the disc.

  4. #3
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    Hi Bob,

    This unit seems to be a little more advanced than the standard sanding disk setup. It claims to be random orbit so you don't get the circular marks.

    It's possible to get the hard foam attachments for a drill or the like for under $10 in 50mm (makes you wonder why I bothered to make one!) but this Arbortech unit seems to be a step above.
    Now proudly sponsored by Binford Tools. Be sure to check out the Binford 6100 - available now at any good tool retailer.

  5. #4
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    I'm constantly amazed by the ingenuity and lateral thinking of the R&D team at Arbortech.

    With little financial or scientific resources, just thinking "outside the box" they have developed outstandingly unique solutions to many a tradesman's and hobbyist's needs.

    Their woodcarver, developed with BHP Steel, was the world's first pressed steel mass-produced carving disc. I remember being absolutely blown away with the idea and the performance. The original I bought was perhaps a mite too aggressive, however, as in use it was like having somebody standing in front of you pelting you flat out with blue metal as the chips flew. It was later improved with additional chip limitation ridges and more refined and less gulletted teeth.

    Just as all the others were catching up with poor quality, useless and cheaply manufactured sawchain sandwich designs, Arbortech released the Pro, with rotatable and replaceable Wolfram Carbide teeth and smoothly ramped chip limiters. Nobody has yet been able to better this design, despite years of effort.

    The Tuff cut blade is a tradie's dream. One blade to plunge, carve, saw, plane, renovate and demolish all from a cheap to buy but beautifully manufactured 3 TCT blade on the ubiquitous mini grinder!

    The old grinder based Random Orbit Sander attachment was the simplest, cheapest and fastest sander on the market at the time. The aggressive eccentricity and well designed and balanced counterweight in the milled aluminium head, together with the flywheel effect from the mass of aluminium made for an extremely messy but remarkably smooth running and swirl free result. It even rivals a Rotex in my opinion.

    The deep-plunging Masonry saw is a masterpiece of simplicity and effectiveness. It's more effective and less messy than any other type of masonry saw on the market, and pays for itself in mere hours despite the thousand dollar odd asking price!

    They also of course make a grinder based reciprocating wood chiseller/carver with interchangeable chisels. It looks good, but as I've never used one I can't really comment about its relative merits or failings.

    I don't see why you couldn't just adapt an existing pad to velcro discs. In the past I've bought self adhesive velcro hook sheets from Lee Valley. Don't know if they're still stockists, but I'm sure it's available somewhere. I remember it as fantastic for making my old Elu orbital pads velcro compatible.

    With any of these grinder based tools, I'd recommend going with a quality variable speed grinder. For dedicated sanding I've found Metabo's "Inox" grinders best, as they have a reduced range of speed (2000-6000 RPM I think), rather than the more common higher speeds. Too much speed is murder to many of these tools. I remember an old Elu 100mm grinder that had a fixed 11K speed. The Arbortech ROS pads would disintegrate from excessive centrifugal force in mere seconds if the tool wasn't started and stopped whilst pressed to the workpiece! The sanding pad would only rotate (@ 11000 RPM!) when freewheeling, and only "orbit" eccentrically when loaded. A lock-on switch is also essential in my opinion, as the attachments themselves are potentially extremely dangerous. Having a locking switch enables the operator to adopt a safer and more sympathetic grip to suit the tool, the workpiece and the task at hand.

    Aussie designed, Aussie financed, Aussie Made, value for money and intelligently effective. What's not to like?
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  6. #5
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    Anyone know where you can buy one? Carbatec, Just Tools etc don't seem to list it.
    "Clear, Ease Springs"
    www.Stu's Shed.com


  7. #6
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    Default Arbotech Contour Random Sander

    Quote Originally Posted by Stuart View Post
    Anyone know where you can buy one? Carbatec, Just Tools etc don't seem to list it.
    Yes, you can buy them direct from Arbotech on their website.

    Regards

  8. #7
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    Quote Originally Posted by d5k View Post
    Yes, you can buy them direct from Arbotech on their website.

    Regards
    Tks- hadn't looked at that. Was expecting to be able to walk in off the street to a retailer and buy one.

    Anyone given any feedback on how well they actually work? One thing that bothers me is the angle grinder aspect. Good tool for what they do, but too noisy for regular, prolonged use personally.
    "Clear, Ease Springs"
    www.Stu's Shed.com


  9. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stuart View Post
    Tks- hadn't looked at that. Was expecting to be able to walk in off the street to a retailer and buy one.

    Anyone given any feedback on how well they actually work? One thing that bothers me is the angle grinder aspect. Good tool for what they do, but too noisy for regular, prolonged use personally.

    Don't know what sort of grinder you're using, but most of mine purr like kittens. Quieter than a drill anyway, and much less noise than any sort of dedicated sander. As previously mentioned, VS grinders are the key here. As it's going to be your most used tool in the workshop, buy quality.

    I've yet to use a poorly made Arbortech product myself.

    There's a review in one of the Oz Woodworking rags.
    Sycophant to nobody!

  10. #9
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    Dewalt, and it screams like a banshee. You don't use it without hearing protection, certainly not for extended periods.

    What is a good one, esp with variable speed? Good to know that some can be more pleasant to use.

    Wonder if the Protool one has been rebranded to Festool yet- have to look into that!
    "Clear, Ease Springs"
    www.Stu's Shed.com


  11. #10
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stuart View Post
    Dewalt, and it screams like a banshee. You don't use it without hearing protection, certainly not for extended periods.

    What is a good one, esp with variable speed? Good to know that some can be more pleasant to use.

    Wonder if the Protool one has been rebranded to Festool yet- have to look into that!


    Metabo makes the best grinders (and drills) on the market. They have the biggest range (over 80) and the best quality, performance & longevity in my opinion. It's the company's particular specialty; just as Festool is to sanders, Mafell to Saws and Bosch to SDS hammers. Best in class. Just like the others also, some of the rest of their range of tools leaves a little to be desired. Even these manufacturers of World Class tools also make dogs in their range.

    Metabo are justifiably proud of their range of grinders, offering the largest range on the market. They see use in the heaviest duty industrial operations in the world's most hostile climates and environments: from oil rigs in the high arctic to the north sea, and from the Arabian deserts to tropical jungles.


    As for tool specifics, I'd suggest you need a short list of essential requirements: Superior Ergonomics, a locking switch, restart protection, "handtite"/"quick"/"SDS Clic"/"fastfix" arbor locknut, enhanced dust protection, the versatility of 125mm capacity, extra slim bodygrip and variable speed would be my own personal requirements.

    You can't get power and slimness at the same time. Metabo's 1700w grinders are just too big and powerful by virtue of their enhanced field windings and super HD armature, cooling fans and generous airways. However, extra power is a good thing, as it allows large torque capacity reserves.

    An excellent lower priced choice would be the current WE9-125, a 900w model with most of the abovementioned boxes ticked. It's currently in runout with new models on the way, and is available from about $160-$180 odd, which is about half the price I originally paid for mine. It has excellent VC electronics, but lacks restart protection. Speeds are from 3000-10000 RPM, and most importantly it has excellent cooling overcapacity to combat field heating at higher loads at low RPM.

    For more power & VTC (full wave) electronics there's the WE14-125 at about $350 odd & speeds of 7-10.5K (a bit high in my opinion). or the WE14-125 Inox dedicated "sanding grinder" with 2-7K speeds. The latter would be my first choice.

    There's a new range available soon too. I've not seen let alone used any, but given the company's reputation I'm confident they will also be leaders in the market. There's over 24 in the new range with power available from 900w to 1700w. The smaller grinders will obviously be slimmer models, but apparently there's all new motors with slimline stator & rotor designs and even heavier duty field windings.

    The variable speed models are: WEV10-125 (1000w, VC electronics), WEV15-125, WEV15-150 & WEV15-125 HT (1550w, VTC electronics), and the pick of the new range in my opinion, the WEV 15-125 Quick Inox (1550w, VTC, soft start, restart & overload protection & 2-7.6k speeds).

    These new models won't be cheap. Top quality never is. I expect them to be priced in the $300-$400 range.

    I might sound like a Metabo salesman, but I have no affiliation whatsoever with the company other than as an end user. I just appreciate superior quality wherever I find it.

    P.S. Why you'd entertain buying one of those Czech made Narex/Protool grinders is beyond me. They're a pretty crude tool from what I remember. I was singularly unimpressed with the one and only Protool drill I once owned. If you really didn't want the best, then I'd be looking for a second tier manufacturer of VS grinders like Robert Bosch, Kress, Flex, Eisenblaetter, Eibenstock or Fein.
    Sycophant to nobody!

  12. #11
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    Quote Originally Posted by Stuart View Post
    Dewalt, and it screams like a banshee.
    Perhaps we have the same one Stu. My Dewalt is about 15-16 years old now (now I am starting to feel old) and I certainly wouldn't turn it on without hearing protection.
    Now proudly sponsored by Binford Tools. Be sure to check out the Binford 6100 - available now at any good tool retailer.

  13. #12
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    Default Metabo angle grinders

    It sounds handy.

    The sanding disc looks like it has the same thread as the mini sander.

    I wonder why they decided to use adhesive paper?

    My angle grinders are single speed and I would appreciate having variable speed.

    Ratbag, I looked up the Metabo grinders but couldn't find any Variable speed versions under $300.00
    Can you tell me where I could find the $160-$180 prices?
    Scally
    __________________________________________
    The ark was built by an amateur
    the titanic was built by professionals

  14. #13
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    Flea-Bay, toolstop.co.uk, cbdirekt.de, lawsonhis.co.uk, kwikfast.co.uk, sydneytools.com.au, ffx.co.uk: all 220-240v 50hz., but without warranty unless you buy from an OZ supplier (and you'll need to change the plug). Try Sydney tools!

    There's others also, but there's a small selection to be going on with. Max price I noted was about $180 odd.

    Sorry! I got it wrong! Sydney tools incorrectly lists the We9-125 as the "W9125", and wants $279 for it. You're better off trying the UK or Germany.
    Sycophant to nobody!

  15. #14
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    Default Arbortec contour sander

    Have spoken to the Arbortec people and you do not need a v/s grinder, it is designed to work with any single speed 4/5inch grinders. The unit comes with a adaptor to suit both. I had the pleasure to use one at Beyond Tools a couple of weeks ago and it proved to be very good, only becomes orbital when the pad is applied to the wood.
    ssgt

  16. #15
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    Well after seeing how many burl bowls I have sitting on the shelf in the garage at the moment I thought I would take the plunge and purchase one. It arrived today (although I will not get a chance to test it out until the weekend). The first impression is that it seems like a really solid little unit. I say little as I had the impression it would be much longer, it is about "thumb" size and has a considerable weight to it.

    Its interesting that the packaging lists the contents as 5x 60 grit, 5x 80 grit and 5x 120 grit papers, but on opening it seems to have #60, #80, #120, #180 & #240 (I haven't opened each up to count but I would guess 5x each grit). I also ordered some additional paper (which isn't currently available via Arbortech's online store) with a 25 pack of 50mm Sticky discs coming in at $12. I wasn't aware of the extensive range of grits and ordered another 25 pack of #60, #80 and #120 (although #180 was supplied). I believe there may also be an option for a mixed pack.

    Looking forward to giving it a run through its paces over the weekend.
    Now proudly sponsored by Binford Tools. Be sure to check out the Binford 6100 - available now at any good tool retailer.

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