Sanders come in all shapes and sizes and types for various sanding tasks. Below I have outlined the various kinds available and how they can be used; this will help you make the right decision when purchasing a sander.

Belt sanders are powerful tools that are used to remove lots of material from a surface. They are great for removing paint or glue and smoothing over paint filler patches. You can also use them to sand floors and sharpen tools. As the name suggest these sanders consist of a moving belt that rotates around two rollers at either end of the bottom of the sander. They generally operate at higher speeds.

Disc sanders are usually bench mounted tools although not always, if you attach the right stone disc you can remove plastics, wood and concrete. They are much lighter than belt sanders but some models still need a two-handed grip.

Orbital sanders are ideal for home use and applying a nice finishing to a job they have rotating pads with fitted sandpaper rounds attached to the pads. They are lighter and slower than belt sanders running at 4,000 to 10,000 orbits per minute. An Orbital sander uses the outer edge of a spinning sanding disc to remove material moving with or across the grain. One drawback of using orbital sanders is that they do leave swirl marks.

If you want a nice finish without the swirls you can buy a random orbit sander. It accomplishes a swirl free finish by moving in a combined ellipse and rotating motion and allows the user to move the sander in any direction avoiding wood scarring and swirls. This type of sander runs at about 15,000-20,000 rpm. Check out this one from Homebase, the disc size is 125mm, it does 15,000-24,000 rpm, and has a micro-filter system that will remove 80% of the dust. Click the image to get further info.

If you have difficult areas to sand and need to apply a nice finish to a piece of woodwork you will need to use a detail sander. They are small handheld tools that come in cord or cordless variations with multiple attachments.

Tips when using sanders
Wear earplugs, eye goggle and a mask this will protect you against the dust and loud noise.

Click here to check out the Huge range of Sanders at the Padzo Shop. We have all brands including Black & Decker, Blackspur, Draper, Am-tech plus many more. You can pick up a sander for under a tenner but if you plan on using it a lot I recommend you spend a bit extra as you get what you pay for with a sander. The cheaper ones are great for smaller one off projects.

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