Palm sander VS random orbital sander?

[Dolando]

Hi, I'm getting a little sick of hand sanding now and I'm on the hunt for a sander.

The random orbital sanders seem a little more expensive, but are they worth the extra money or can you do a decent job with a palm sander to get he surface even then finishing off by hand to getbthe surface smooth.

Thanks

 

[Cagey]

Random orbitals are more aggressive than palm sanders, so I generally use a palm sander when working with guitars. Also, I feel like I get a flatter surface with the palm units, and paper is easier to come by.

 

[Dolando]

Right, I was expecting people to be telling me to get an orbital sander.

Could you tell me what it is you use?

I've been looking something like this maybe;

http://www.screwfix.com/p/erbauer-erb404sdr-compact-sheet-palm-sander-230-240v/29792#

It seems good for the price, but I'm not sure what I'm looking for really.

 

[Cagey]

I'm not sure there's a great deal of difference from one manufacturer to another. I currently use a Porter-Cable model 380...

It seems to work well enough. It supposedly has an internal counterbalance so the vibration isn't transmitted to your hand as much. I've also had a Craftsman and a Makita in the past that I liked, too. It seems the secret to tool longevity is often as simple as not loaning them out.

 

[Dolando]

Right, that looks similar to what I'm looking at.

Anyone for orbital sanders? 

 

[leo12.]

Orbitals have a larger orbit & are more agressive. That link looks fine, can't argue with the
price, for body prep its fine, I would go hand block for between coats ( finer papers etc).
In the cutaway & waist  your probably back to hand / block types. (use a mask) good luck.

 

[Dolando]

Yea I know I will have to use blocks for certain part.

Basically I've been using z-poxy as a grain filler, and you have to apply a coat and then sand back to the wood leaving just the epoxy in the grain. It's fairly slow by hand, thought it was a goodnexcuse to get one.

I assume this would work for this, or am I best doing this with a block by hand?

 

[leo12.]

A sander won't take long undoing what you have put on, it depends on the grits, the secret
to good finishing is in the prep, I personally bring bodies & necks to 320 grit, I buy 50m
rolls & make blocks the width of the roll out of 1/2 MDF with 3/8 campimg foam glued to 1
side. I will rap the block & tape it with 2" masking  tape stuck to the back side of the paper with 1/8ish gap its firm on the block but can rotate on the block to give a new cutting edge.

Here's the blocks I use above  the body its started to fill with sanding dust & the block &
body will need dusting off frequently. The blocks work best on the front & back not  any
use in cut aways etc. When that paper loses some of its cutting power you can take it from the block & use it folded by hand to round edges & cutaways etc.
If you sand with the machine on the face/back it will sharpen the point where the edge radius's to the side so hand sanding will soften that to bring back the radius, be carefull I
think those top laminate's are only 1/8" thick. Its a bit long winded hope the pic helps
Good Luck.