Which sander to buy?

[Charlie Jones]

Barry- we've got a pair of Porter Cable 2335 ROS machines with no dust pickups. That's the kind that look like an angle grinder. Mine use Stickit discs rather than hook and loop .

The pair are around 10 years old now and have had the living crap beat out of them in the shop. Used almost daily on furniture work plus they've been used almost exclusively working on 6 epoxy covered boats in the last 3 years AND three interior rebuilds using polyester and fiberglass.

I've changed the switch in one of them and replaced the brushes in both (twice in one machine) and both of them are still going strong. Of course I've run through innumerable pads but they are only about 12.50 and I expect them to wear out.

One thing I do religiously is every couple of weeks or so I use the air nozzle and blast all the crap out of the innards. Maybe that's what keeps them running? My Dewalt on the other hand has major problems keeping dust out of the switch. And it's supposed to be sealed. But a good blast of air restores that also The pads are much harder to find for the Dewalt (for me) since I can get the PC pads locally OR mail order- the Dewalt pads have to be ordered from a Dewalt parts center. Of course that's much more important for me than it might be for a hobbyist boatbuilder or woodworker. My machines HAVE to run.