Thread: orbital sander GRABS and pulls sideways hard, won't stay flat to surface

My suggestion would be to place it carefully on the kitchen bench with a tea towel under it, and gently slide it across the bench till it falls in the rubbish bin. Then put the tea towel away.

Then go and buy a random orbital sander (something like a 400w Bosch 150mm ROS for $200-ish) and get a much better level of finish.

If the rubber pad were unworn and square edged might that be a solution ?

One of my first jobs was sanding wooden doors for a kitchen manufacturer. For the back of the doors where these were flat, I would turn on the sander with the lock it place gently holding on to it and let it travel to one side. Then spin and allow it to travel to the other side. I think they are made to wonder.

it's not wandering, its grabbing hard & tilting, this doesn't happen with less powerful 1/3 sheet generic sanders

my hunch is that the worn pad edges may be causing the problem ( allowing the initial tilt)

I was asking bods with experience with this actual scenario, not for advice to use another sander/type, so that would also mean ( unlike poste #2) bods that can comprehend my initial post

It's a possibility, BUT by the time you find a suitable replacement (assuming one is available) you'll have already spent $30 odd. I've used a ratty old 1/3 sheet Makita where the pad was best described as banana-shaped and bare at the corners, and it was quite controllable.

If it's pulling that violently, I'd be more inclined to suspect the bearings, as good bearings cost money, even in bulk orders. For a badge engineered power tool, bearings are an obvious place to cut costs. (that UK one sold for $5, so I don't think it's a top of the line brand!)

I don't mind using el-cheapo power tools for some jobs, but if my Ozito Rotary Hammer ($69) bites the dust, all I'd do would be salvage any useful bits and toss the rest without a second thought, and then go buy a new one.

Originally Posted by gybey

....not for advice to use another sander/type, so that would also mean ( unlike poste #2) bods that can comprehend my initial post

Ok. Since comprehension is a problem, here's shorter sentence and smaller word version:

It's a UK house brand.
Of an old type of sander.
Spare parts will be hard or impossible to get.
There are better sanders in the shops now.
These will do the job faster.
They will give a better finish.
With less effort.
280 watts is not very much power for a half-sheet sander.
Fast is not necessarily good.
I assume it is a single speed.
Anything but a simple fix will be good money after bad.

About the only thing I'd try would be scraping off the old (I'm presuming neoprene) pad and trying a cheap replacement. If you've got an old 6mm thick neoprene mousepad, I'd use that, or maybe a similar thickness cork trivet from the Reject Shop or similar place. Contact cement would work as a glue for testing.

If that doesn't work, know when to cut your losses and bin it.

As others have indicated it will be a seized bearing

Bearings are a cheap and easy fix as only standard bearings will be used.

The bad side is that it may have bronze bushes., if so while you have it apart dump in the bin as it will be hard to get the original bushes.

Originally Posted by gybey

I was asking bods with experience with this actual scenario, not for advice to use another sander/type, so that would also mean ( unlike poste #2) bods that can comprehend my initial post

The 'bod' in post 2 has dished out a lot of good advice over his 2,400 posts, this is probably on the list of good advice.

Courtesy will get you a lot further than trash-talk.