Sanding Help

rcnight · #1 04-07-2008, 09:18 PM

My small garage Craftsman compressor doesn't quite put out the air I need for the orbital sander. Has anyone found a good electric sander substitute? A few years ago I recall seeing a shade tree mechanic's small compressor like mine hooked into a rather large water tank used for air storage. Does that work for high volume sanders like mine or should I spring for a larger compressor? Thanks again!

bbh57 · #2 04-07-2008, 09:36 PM

I've been using a porta cable works great although a bit heavier than the air sander.and also a rigid that hooks up to my shop vac to control the dust.

muddywater · #3 04-08-2008, 02:06 AM

The big tank would not help. It would work fine for a few minutes until the tank was emptied and then the compressor would not be able to keep up. For continuous use, the compressor must put out the required CFM. There are no ~115V compressors that can do that as far as I can tell, but not all air DA sanders have the same requirements. I was looking at Dynabrade, and the requirements were steep. I have read of people connecting two smaller compressors together and that working as long as the pressure is set the same on both, but I haven't tried it myself. Many smaller compressors are not rated for continuous use so I don't know how long they would last if you tried that.

Alot of people around here use the Porter Cable electric sanders as the previous guy said. I just bought a Ridgid because I couldn't resist finding out if the larger orbit size than the Porter Cable, Bosch, Dewalt and smaller Ridgid will speed things up any. It has been sitting there for a few weeks waiting for me to try it on some fairing compound that has been waiting to be sanded. If I get around to it, I will let you know how it works.

-Muddy

natchalkley · #4 04-08-2008, 07:41 AM

I have 2 bosch sanders that I like a lot. they are more expensive than the porter cable and rigid, but they have a very good warranty policy.

bigeasy1 · #5 04-08-2008, 09:26 AM

I'm using the Porter Cable 5" random orbit sander.It's the palm size one,not the one with the handle off the side.It works great,and i've got my money out of it already.If it crapped out now,I wouldn't complain.
This thing has been used continiously,both on the boat,and other projects,i don't baby it.
I hook up the shop vac to it,and get very little dust.I think it was only around sixty bucks when i bought it.