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One of the fastest, most powerful on the market, with quality dust collection and comfortable use. Read More
A good quality machine with excellent dust collection and smooth operation. Read More
One of the smoothest that we tested, with almost no pulling or jumping as it sands. Read More
A powerful machine that is comfortable to hold, but can be difficult to control with below-average dust collection. Read More
Features a removable, comfortable handle and a trigger mechanism, which may or may not be a positive, depending on your preference. Read More
A random orbital sander, or palm sander, is a small power tool that helps to properly sand projects quickly and efficiently by vibrating in rapid circles to create friction. When it comes to woodworking, there aren’t many tools that will save you as much time and soreness as the best random orbital sanders. Properly hand sanding a woodworking project can take hours. A good orbital sander cuts that time down significantly, leaving you with a professional-looking finish.
Nearly all of the major power tool manufacturers offer a random orbital sander, and it can be difficult to decide which one will work best for you. We put eight different orbital sanders to the test to find out which ones will actually save you time and energy, and which ones to avoid.
Our Best Overall pick is the Dewalt DWE6421K Random Orbital Sander (available at Amazon for $74.00) , which is an impressive, fast-moving sander at a reasonable price, perfect for any homeowner and weekend warrior. However, our list includes top-rated sanders from all over the price spectrum.
This Dewalt random orbital sander's power and utility earned our Editor's Choice Award.
Excellent dust collection makes the Porter random orbital sander one of the best orbital sanders you can buy.
Smooth sanding is one of the most important traits you can look for when picking from the best random orbital sanders, especially if you plan to use yours all day.
Powerful sanding
Comfortable grips
Dust collection
Sander jumps and pulls
Excellent handle
Smooth operation
Trigger gets in the way
Mediocre dust collection
Comfortable use
Tendency to jump and pull
Mediocre dust collection
Will complete sanding tests
Jumps and pulls
Subpar dust collection
Underpowered
The best way to test any power tool is to put it to work.
There’s really only one way to test random orbital sanders, and that’s to sand. We put the sanders through a series of tests to find out how quickly they removed material, how much control we had while sanding, and how well the dust collection worked. Of course, while testing, we used all of the proper safety equipment: eye protection, a dust mask, and hearing protection. I also had my shop’s air filter running to keep down on the clouds of dust.
The first test was to strip paint off of a 12-inch by 8-inch pine board. I clamped the board to my workbench and sanded using 80-grit sandpaper until all of the paint was gone from one face, keeping track of how long each sander took.
Once the paint was stripped from the board, I switched to 120-grit paper and sanded the wood of the board smooth, looking for a quality, stain-ready finish. I also sanded along the edges of the board, looking for how easy it was to keep a perpendicular edge on the board.
During both of these tests, I observed the dust collection. First, I used the integrated dust collector that comes with every sander. I kept track of how much paint and sawdust was left behind on my workbench, as well as the size of the dust cloud surrounding my work area. I tested using the integrated dust collection for about a minute. None of them are great, and I didn’t want to completely fill my shop with dust. Then I connected the sander to my shop vac to finish the testing, watching how well that dust collection worked.
I also paid close attention to the smoothness and control of the sander. How much effort did it take to keep the sander under control? Did the sander jump and skip across the board when it got near the edge or corners? Were there numerous comfortable positions to hold the sander so that I could give my hands a break periodically? A ridiculously powerful sander that can strip paint from a board in under a minute is no good if you can’t keep it under control.
Finally, I tested the polishing ability of each orbital sander on a piece of distressed metal. Surprisingly, there was no noticeable difference in the polishing performance of each sander, so this wound up not being a meaningful part of the rankings in finding the best random orbital sander out there.
Random orbital sanders spin a circular sanding disc in a random pattern. The benefit of this is that it leaves behind fewer swirls, scratches and general sanding marks from the paper, whether you're sanding with the grain or not.
This results in an easier progression through the grits than hand sanding or using a belt sander, and leaves a cleaner, smoother finish. While these aren’t meant to remove a huge amount of material like a belt sander will, they are great for finish work.
I was shocked at how well each of the sanders actually sanded in our testing. None of these machines failed the test, and if you needed to get a large sanding project done with any of them, they would all do the job.
Our rankings for finding the best random orbital sander mostly came down to differences in comfort, control, and dust collection, not the actual sanding performance itself.
Good dust collection in an orbital sander is one of the most important factors to consider. There’s nothing worse than sanding in the middle of a cloud of sawdust that just keeps growing by the minute.
While you should always wear a dust mask when sanding to protect your lungs, the more you can keep the dust down, the better off you’ll be. All sanders that I’ve seen come with some sort of dust collection bag, but frankly none of them are very good.
If you’re planning to do any serious amount of sanding, invest in a shop vac with hoses and fittings that will connect to your sander.
Another consideration is whether you want a battery-powered or corded sander. This test was exclusively for corded sanders, but many of these companies also make battery-powered versions.
A battery-powered sander is going to offer portability and flexibility in terms of where you can sand. However, in my experience, sanding is typically a stationary project. You set up a sanding station and go to town.
Also, I tend to build projects in batches, and as such, I’m usually sanding for longer than the 30-40 minute runtime of a battery sander. So for me, the limitation of a cord is offset by the unlimited runtime.
Having a corded sander also means that brand consistency is less important because you don’t need to have the same batteries across multiple tools. I would suggest that unless you know you have a need for a battery-powered sander, start with a corded one.
In short, yes, you can polish with a random orbital sander. Numerous companies actually make dedicated hook and loop polishing pads specifically for random orbital sanders so you won’t have to fuss around with a makeshift device for your tool.
One thing that you do need to be careful of is the speed at which you’re polishing. Be sure to check your owner’s manual to make sure that the random orbtal sander you’re using is rated for polishing. If you think that polishing is going to be a major use for the sander, we’d recommend investing in one with a variable speed to give you more control.
Unless your sander’s manual specifically says that you can use it to wet sand, don’t.
Using power tools around water is a good way to either short out the machine or electrocute yourself, neither of which we recommend. You also run the risk of shortening the life of your sander through corrosion, which is a bummer if you’ve shelled out for the best orbital sander you could find.
Jean Levasseur
Contributor
Jean Levasseur became a professional writer over a decade-long career in marketing, public relations, and technical writing. After leaving that career to stay home to care for his twin boys, Jean has continued to write in a variety of freelance roles, as well as teaching academic writing at a local university. When he's not reviewing tools or chasing toddlers around the house, he's also an avid fiction writer and a growing woodworker.
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