Sander - what should i get?

[ChilliBob]

Hey everyone,

I have some sanding to do and I'm not sure which sander(s) I should get. I have the following to do:

Sand floorboards with varnish
Sand wardrobe doors and frame - the doors have some 'detailing' so to speak
Sand door frames, skirting boards, window ledges

I was going to get a Black and Decker Mouse, thinking that for the detail work on say door frames and wardrobe doors it would be good - something an orbital or random orbital would perhaps not be able to do.

I'm now thinking that the mouse won't be up to much for anything but 'light' work. So, I was thinking a random orbital.

My dad has a standard orbital which I can use.

So... do I

1. Get the mouse and use my Dad's orbital
2. Get a random orbital and use for all, resorting to hand for any detail
3. Get a random orbital AND a mouse.

When it comes to budget I don't have a huge amount, it seems a random orbital would be around 50, and the mouse 20. That's quite a bit. I'm also concerned that 50 quid for a random orbital means it's not a fantastic one.

What do you guys reckon? - I've been pondering it all day! Oh and I know that the floors I'll need to hire a sander to do most of it, and just use whatever sander I have for small bits I can't get to.

 

[endecotp]

For floorboards, hire one.

 

[ChilliBob]

Yeah that much I have decided on, but for the rest?

 

[foxhole]

I use a belt sander on floorboards [you need one to get close to edges], the corners can be done by hand sanding , orbital not suitable as you need to sand in one direction..

 

[ChilliBob]

Hmm, I used an orbital sander (orbital, not random orbital) on a board last night to test removing a stain and it seemed to work okay. At any rate, we intended to hire a floor sander for this task anyway.

So for the wardrobe doors, skirting boards, door surrounds, window ledges etc, would you use a mouse, orbital or random orbital? - Bearing in mind there is some detail - for example door surrounds.

 

[foxhole]

I would not even try to sand detail, architrave requires hand sanding for painting , though I prefer to replace as it's just as quick and possibly cheaper than the effort to sand them.

 

[ChilliBob]

So does that suggest that the mouse sander isn't very good or worth it then? That I should just stick to the orbital sander I have?

 

[Burnerman]

The mouse or detail sander is as good as it gets for getting into corners and so on.....like other sanders they aren't suitable for curved mouldings - its hand sanding for those. For what they cost, the mouse sander is worth having.
John

 

[ChilliBob]

Thanks John. In terms of my sanding arsenal, if I have a hand sander, a mouse and an orbital sander, is there much value in adding a random orbital sander into the equation or is that expense for not a huge benefit?

 

[Burnerman]

Not really......if you have some heavy duty stuff in mind, a belt sander is the one to have. Not noted for their finesse though but excellent at rough boards.
I'm not sure about the difference between an orbital sander and a hand sander?
John

 

[ChilliBob]

Sorry by hand sander I meant a sanding block, paper and a hand! The oddskool way.

It sounds like I should get a mouse and use my dad's orbital sander then.

Thanks for the help

 

[ChilliBob]

Sorry by hand sander I meant a sanding block, paper and a hand! The oddskool way.

It sounds like I should get a mouse and use my dad's orbital sander then.

Thanks for the help