Thread: Dustless Sanding

Festool sanders are almost dust free when used with Festool extractor, ( lots of dollars )although nothing will be completely dust free, if you want the work shop to be dust free you will need to explore installing a room extractor of which there are many types, can be as simple as a cross ventilation system low cost, e.g. positive pressure inside to a outlet to the exterior, or high tech filter systems, although the cheapest protection is an appropriate mask

As China sais, i have a Mirka System.

Originally Posted by Joe Gadget

i was wondering if anyone knows of a Random Orbital sander that produces very little dust.

Festool, when coupled with their dust extractor. Don't be tempted to buy a cheap dust extractor. They don't filter the fine (dangerous) dust as well and they are usually incredibly noisy. The Festool models are very quiet.

Along with a good sander - I have a 20+ year old Festo and a more modern Mirka Ceros - I only use Abranet mesh. This is the absolute best at allowing dust to flow to the extractor holes. In fact, I use it on a Mirka hand sander as well, and this sander plugs into the vac also - there is a dangerous amount of dust when hand sanding.





Regards from Perth

Derek

You don't say whether you're using mesh discs or not. If you're not, get some, incredible improvement in dust collection and surface finish, plus they last for ages.

I'll support Derek on his opinion of a Mirka hand sander (using Abranet abrasive mesh) attached to a good quality dust extractor vacuum.
I'm currently revarnishing the interior wooden window frames in our house using this hand sander (no power sander to fling dust out) and find it is both quick and clean. (I do put down cotton dust sheets in the immediate vicinity of the windows and find they trap the small amount of dust that escapes the hand sander).

Depending on how much sanding you do, might also be worth making a downdraft table. These are particularly handy if you're doing hand sanding. These can be a simple box connected to a DC where you sand on top of to a full size dedicated sanding bench.

I also second Mirka's abranet sanding discs and their sanding blocks which you can attach a vacuum to.

Thanks everyone - this gives me lots to think about. The Matkita dust extractor I got is absolutely awsome, so I was looking at ROS options.

Looks like Festool and Mirka are the go to.

I do use mesh sandpaper (but being a stingy bugger I have lots of "normal" sandpaper that I want to go through first).... and I have found it does make a difference.

Does anyone know if a pneumatic sander would be any better / worse / same than an electric one (price being pretty hard for some of them)?

Cheers

Joe

Originally Posted by Joe Gadget

Does anyone know if a pneumatic sander would be any better / worse / same than an electric one (price being pretty hard for some of them)?

I've used one, performance is average.
Most air tool manufacturers understate the air requirements and most compressor manufacturers overstate the air outout of compressors.
Result is DIY especially users with budget end compressors are bitterly disappointed when they repeatedly run out of air.
A significantly high capacity compressor is needed to run one for as long as you would a normal ROS.
The expanding air also makes your hands cold.

Pneumatic sanders work is workplaces that already have a large (almost certainly 3P) compressor.

. . . . . (but being a stingy bugger I have lots of "normal" sandpaper that I want to go through first . . . .

I'm in the same boat. Over the years I've loaned my sanders to various people and I asked them to repay me in sanding discs.
As a result I have several dozen packs of sanding discs. I am getting thru them - slowly.

3m seem to have a new sander coming out, when coupled with their mesh discs apparently the results are pretty good

Originally Posted by BobL

As a result I have several dozen packs of sanding discs. I am getting thru them - slowly.

I had a lot sanding discs, then I sanded spotted gum boards!

To be mildly useful in this conversation, anecdotally, I find the durability of mesh sanding discs (from shortest life to longest) is Diablo -> Smirdex -> Festool Granat -> Mirka Abranet -> 3M Cubitron II.

Originally Posted by havabeer69

3m seem to have a new sander coming out, when coupled with their mesh discs apparently the results are pretty good

Yeah - I saw this video which made me want to look for a new sander. I contacted 3M and this sander won't be available in Australia until early / mid 2023...

Yeah - I saw a review by Jonathan Katz-moses about sanding discs and the 3M ones blew the others away...

but i am planning on building a new woodworking bench - so I might be able to use up all my old sandpaper... lol...

The only downside to the Cubitron II is that it is really only available in a pack of 50 from RS Components here in Aus. But... if you're going to be sanding our eucalypts or corymbias regularly, you'll find that all papers will lose their efficiency relatively quickly. It's worth keeping them though as they'll still do work on lesser woods quite well or those times you need some older somewhat used paper for hand sanding.

If you're after one of the Mirka hand sanding kits, Axminster do a kit with different grades of Mirka Abranet. Free shipping on orders over $204 (it's crazy). Add in a box of 80 grit mesh and you'll likely be set for life (or a few years, whichever comes first) for hand sanding.