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Power Sander Comparison Test
PM tests power sanders.Published in the January 2006 issue.
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Most pros use a random-orbit sander for flat surfaces. PHOTOGRAPH BY MARK WEISS
There's only one reason to buy a power sander: It's a whole lot faster than doing the job by hand. How fast? We wondered, too. So we assembled the three basic types--orbital, random-orbit and belt--for a race to the finish.
Although sanders are designed to make wood smooth, they actually do it by making wood uniformly rough: scratching the surface with abrasive grit in a series of finer and finer steps. Each of the three sander types abrade in a different way, though, and this affects speed and surface quality.
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