Smooth Operators

Everything you need to know about the three most popular portable sanders

Hello and welcome to Joe Shows How! There’s no doubt that sanding wood is a most tedious, inevitable task, but if you’re an active DIY homeowner, sooner or later you will need to sand a piece of wood smooth. And while hand sanding with a piece of sandpaper is unavoidable for some projects, in most cases you can save yourself a significant amount of time and elbow grease by using an electric power sander.

In this week’s video, I’ll describe the benefits, features and versatility of the three most popular portable sanders: orbital finishing sander, random-orbit sander, and belt sander.

In brief, an orbital finishing sander has a square sanding pad that accepts a quarter-sheet of standard 9x11-inch sandpaper. Its pad vibrates—or orbits—in tiny circles, making it the least aggressive type of power sander.

A random-orbit sander has a round sanding pad that uses abrasive disks that must be purchased separately. This type of sander employs dual-sanding motion: its pad vibrates in tiny circles and spins 360 degrees at the same time, making it versatile enough to handle virtually any sanding job ranging from lightly de-glossing fine finishes to smoothing rough boards.

The belt sander has a powerful, high-speed motor that drives a continuous abrasive belt. This represents the most aggressive portable sander, which can quickly remove wood, paint and varnishes, and smooth the roughest boards.

Hope this video helps you decide which sander—or sanders—belong in your tool collection. And be sure to watch the Bonus Tip at the end of the video for an easy, effective way reduce fatigue and numbness when using sanders and other high-vibration tools.

Thanks for watching!