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A sander is a key tool that will get used in nearly any do-it-yourself projects that involve wood. Sanders can be used to remove large amounts of stock or surfaces finishes quickly and easily, as well as being able to put a smooth surface on your projects. There are several types of sanders available, and several can only be used for certain applications. The key to purchasing a sander is to get the sander that will satisfy your needs best. Here are the types of sanders to consider: -- Belt Sanders -- Belt sanders are best used during the starting phases of large sanding jobs and for the starting phases of large refinishing projects. Belt sanders take away a lot of material in a hurry, so you need to be careful to avoid gouging the material being sanded. Belt sanders can tend to be heavy. Look for one that has a variable speed control and a lock button which lets you lock the speed so that you can position your hands in the most comfortable position possible when using the sander; this also helps minimize user tiredness when using your belt sander. -- Detail Sanders -- Detail sanders are little sanders usually designed to sand in tight areas, odd shapes, and around details like grooves, carvings, curves, and slats. Detail sanders are oftentimes used for craft projects and on mill work like door and window casings. To get the best use from your detail sander, look for one that has a lot of attachments since this will make your sander more configurable and make it suited for more shapes and locations. -- Disc Sanders -- Disc sanders come as both bench-mounted and hand-held versions. The hand-held versions are most intended for DIYs whereas the bench-mounted varieties are most often used by those who need to perform sanding on a larger scale. But there are some smaller bench-mounted options that are still cheap enough to be useful to the occasional user. Disc sanders make quick work of sanding angled edges and for finishing the end grain of wood. If you are looking at a bench-mounted disc sander, some additional features you will want to look for include: a sliding miter gauge, a tilting table, and a belt sander on the frame. -- Random-Orbit Sanders -- Random-orbit sanders have circular pads that vibrate/move in a circular motion with a random pattern. The random motion makes it so that the user can move the sander in any direction on the material being sanded, even across the grain, without marring the surface of the material being sanded. This is the easiest to use type of sander and it is one of the best available multi-purposes sanders, so it is an excellent choice for the home user. Most random-orbit sanders require the use of special sand paper specific to the brand/model of the sander being used. -- Sheet Sanders -- Sheet sanders are available in different sized models that make use of 1/3 or 1/4-sheets from standard sizes of sheet sandpaper. Some sheet sanders make use of specialized sand paper with velcro or adhesive to adhere the sand paper to the sander. Other sheet sanders are able to use any type of sheet sand paper. Obviously, the latter type of sheet sander is more flexible for the everyday user. Sheet sanders are different from random-orbit sanders in that the sheet sander vibrates the sand paper in a single direction, so sheet sanders have to be moved along the direction of the grain of the material being sanded to avoid scarring the surface. Like the random-orbit sander, sheet sanders are very versatile and they can be used on a lot of different types of projects. -- Spindle Sanders -- Spindle sanders are great for edge sanding, particularly on curves. Spindle sanders are bench-mounted tools with a cylindrical spindle located in the center of a large worktable. There are no hand-held spindle sanders. As such, spindle sanders tend to be used by more industrial users and wood-working enthusiasts. If looking for a spindle sander, look for one with the oscillating feature; the oscillations increases the removal rate of material and it reduces the chance of gouging the material being sanded.
Article Source: http://www.phalenes.org/articles
The author has been doing finish carpentry for more years than he would care to admit. You can check out his sander reviews at www.sander-reviews.com.
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