Box Sanding.

[double.d]

I thought the last box I made was sanded smooth. I ran it over the belt sander followed by some hand finishing down to 600 grit but when I applied the burnishing oil some spots came through that were not done properly, and even some light thickneser marks. Im thinking I need an orbital sander, but what model and size will best suit?. I welcome your feedback.

[LGS]

Hi,
I have a Festool 150/3 random orbital sander, which does me nicely for all my sanding/finishing jobs. Ys it was expensive, but it's still going fine 10 years on. I think Metabo make a good random orbital at about half the price and that may be worth a look. The Festool s a 150mm diameter sander again it fits my needs. But you may be happy with a 125mm pad, so you should consider this if you only have small objects to sand.
Whichever sander and diameter of the pad, I guarantee that you will get beautiful result using Hard Burnishing Oil.

Regards,

Rob

[ian]

I thought the last box I made was sanded smooth. I ran it over the belt sander followed by some hand finishing down to 600 grit but when I applied the burnishing oil some spots came through that were not done properly, and even some light thickneser marks. Im thinking I need an orbital sander, but what model and size will best suit?. I welcome your feedback.

First up I think you need to look at your techniques.
1. you should remove the thicknesser marks BEFORE cutting the joints and building the box
2. the finished box should be sanded on a FLAT surface -- ROS will tend to round the corners of your box
3. don't skip grits

[double.d]

Thanks Ian. The thickneser marks and dodgy sanding were on the lid which I thought I paid more attention to than the sides, but anyway I will have a practice with the ROS as I know they can do damage if not controlled properly. Would wetting the surface with alcohol show up these imperfections?

[LGS]

Hi Ian,

I think one needs to put some thought as to the hardness of the actual pad on the ROS. If you use a soft or semi soft pad, then you risk rounding the edges of the work piece much more. On the Festool I use a quite hard pad and have no problems with rounding. I must admit that I do hours of sanding every week, so I have perfected a technique that suits me. Only practice can set you up to have confidence in your sanding ability.

Regards,

Rob

[ian]

Hi Rob
the issue I've found with boxes is the small size of the sides means it's very easy to round the edges and corners when using a machine sander.
BUT as you say, perfecting a technique that works is also very important.

[Pauls321]

Recently I seen a Triton ROS, selling at Gasworks for about $180. Looking around I found the exact same ROS on Ebay, brand new, in the hard case for $90. Variable speed, works very well.

Paul

[Superbunny]

I use a multi tool as my sander on small projects, it's a nice feel and easy to control. I put a circular pad on it and start at about 180 grit then work up. It does not leave those circular marks ROS often can leave. And can do it single handed.

SB

[double.d]

I have an old Makita 125mm ROB which I tried on a new box over the weekend. While it worked well it is to big and heavy so I will look for a smaller size unit.

[double.d]

I bought a Metabo FSX200 its light years ahead of the old Makita I had.

[Brett Hammond]

Hi

I had a Festo ETS 150/3 (now Festool) I say had, as it died 2 weeks ago after giving 18 years of service. I reckon I would use it just about everyday, one set of bushes and has paid for itself many times over. When I had to buy a replacement I knew that there wasn't any other sander that could handle what this sander did over the years. I have used it on everything from rough burl clock slices, table tops to fine finishing on boxes.

I have now a Festool ETS EC 150/3 suppose only time will tell if it lasts as longer as the old ETS 150/3. It is lighter, has a brushless motor and the less vibration through your hands is quite noticeable.

These sanders aren't cheap ETS 150/3 sells for $529 the ETS EC 150/3 a couple of hundred more. If you can afford to buy one of these sanders I can assure you that you won't be disappointed.

Regards

Brett

[Nanigai]

I would have to second that Brett, I love my Festool 150 ROS, it's my go to finishing tool.
Also got to agree with Rob on the use of a hard pad and exercise caution near the edges.

The secret is not in the tool, as good as the Festool is it is not the only ROS out there either.

In my mind the most important thing is to start with a grit matching the starting surface and then working through all the grits as already mentioned. If you had thicky marks showing through you obviously started sanding with too fine a grit which is something I have been guilty of before as well and ended up with scratches that don't show up until it's too late and then you have to go back to square one, DAMN.

All the best double.d
Cheers, Ian