Review of the Porter-Cable Orbital Sander Model 333

Have you tried a Festool? My impression is that they make marvelous tools all around, but I’ve never encountered on in person.

-- Rookster, (http://www.robertkarl.org/woodworkingblog/)

Mark,

I share your pain buddy; I had an extensive collection and line of porter cable tools in my shop previously.

I will let that sentence speak for it self. It is what it is.

Notice the following picture. If you look closely you will see the cut out portion. It is where the UPC code used to be. The box has never been opened.

Hopefully, it never will have to be either.

I cut out the code to get the rebate for some promotion that was running at the time.

I used the money I got from the rebate to buy good sanders, it was either that or mental health counseling.

I used to have 6 porter cable sanders. Last spring my sister had a garage sale and asked if I wanted to or had any old tools for sale.

Yep, you guessed it.

All six went for 5 bucks apiece.

I still feel bad for who ever got them.

I now have 11 sanders ( I like to have different sandpaper on each one) it is a production thing and none of them are porter cable.

The lesson learned for me in this experience is just because a tool company has been good in the past, doesn’t mean that all the tools they make will be good or their isn’t other tools out there that are better for less money.

I no longer have ”blind” loyalty to any brand.

May porter cable rest in peace.

I had fond memory’s of porter cable in their hay day.

-- Dusty

Looks like we need a support group for the exportacable faithful. My shop is full of the dark grey and I’m at a loss as to what to use next. I loved the simpleness of portacable routers and belt sanders. Too bad they have turned to crap.

-- http://www.woodsongsfurniture.com

It seems to me that after the 2004 aquisition by Black & Decker our grey and black friends have the same innards as the orange and black, (Got it for fathers day sits on the shelf never used) stuff.

-- Frank Auge---Nichols NY----"My opinion is neither copyrighted nor trademarked, but it is price competitive."

I still have the same model and the same complaints. It feels very awkward in my hand and I can never find a comfortable hold. That dust container is the worst though. Mine kept coming off blowing that fine dust everywhere. I installed a couple of small screws to hold it on but find that attaching a shopvac works best.

-- Bob Vila would be so proud of you!

oh yes , im the owner of one of those little sweethearts ! much like mark im itching to have a little target practice with it . im convinced companies like festool is in all of our futures , as most of the tried and true tool co.s are selling thier quality and good reputation down the river through corparate buyouts and investor greed . for my shop im thinking ill switch to air sanders . they take a lot of air so its not everyones option . if you have air enuff you might for fun check out autobody sanders they work just as well on wood and are good quality i own a lot of them . just thought id throw out an option some may not be aware of thx

Sad but true.

I just had to post after seeing your comment on the laminate trim router and the bits getting stuck. It is just awful. After spending time on a site about CNCs, I can point you to a couple of dozen other guys who think the same thing.

I have a DeWalt sander with the same problems. Sigh…

-- Stevethepeeve -- I'm no rocket surgeon

I also feel your pain as I fell victum to the lure of having a P-C tool. That used to be a good thing.
I’m going out to find a drive belt today which I really don’t mind to much since I have used the 333 a ton.
My biggest problem was with that stupid “dust collector/spreader”.
I purchased the my 1st 333 from HD and with the first use had the dust collector blowing off. Took it back to HD and was assurted this was a freak incident – they replaced.
2nd 333 lasted about a half dozen projects and then “dust collector/spreader” blew off.
I have since canned the “dust collector/spreader” and only sand when weather allows it.
It is a P-C though. Gotta Love it!

-- I'd rather have a bottle infront of me than a frontal lobotomy.

I thought it was just me. The first 333 lasted a long time. 2nd not so long. 3rd was junk from the get-go & will be my last. I did fix the sawdust spreader problem with a small self tapping screw thru both parts. Festool’s price still grates. I LOVE quality tools, but do they really warrant that kind of $’s?

-- http://www.grandprairiewoodworks.com

I feel your pain Mark,
I to am disappointed with P-C I have the 891 router mounted in a lift and the bearings are starting to scream after only a little over one year. I wish I had not used it a lot, maybe only used it on 4 – 6 projects. I am looking at other brands I hope it holds up until I can afford to buy another one.

-- Just another day in paradise.

I guess it’s not just an isolated case of a lemon in the bunch. Maybe I have the exceptions. I have a 333 that I bought in 1998 and another that I bought as a backup in 2007. The older one has had several pads replaced, as well as the belts and I replaced the lower bearing when it started freezing up, after 9 years of almost daily use. The new one has had the pad replaced once and the belt. I use my older for sanding the trim in my house and the newer in my shop. I had trouble with the vacuum hose coming off, but two wraps of electrical tape made the connection tight enough to solve that problem. I bought the first one thinking, for $45 if it last a year, I’ll get my money out of it. Sometimes you get what you pay for, sometimes more. I’ve been happy with the few PC tools that I have.

-- Tim -- http://tmuli.com

My school shop has just invested in the Festool 150/3, Rotex 150 and the CT 33. We are now able to finish sand approximately 3-4 cutting boards in the time we could complete one with our DW and Bosch RO sanders. Granted, the Festool is a 6” diameter but it can remove drum sander scratch marks on Hard Maple much faster and most importantly keep my adjoining English classroom clean without running two overhead ambient dust cleaners. As I vividly remember from a Dewalt sales seminar years ago, “we’re not here to sell tools, but to sell batteries!” One of my cabinetmaker donors gave me all of his PC sanders years ago for our program to start with but as mentioned in other posts the dust collection chambers just jettisoned or spewed leakage. I won’t elaborate on some of the other QC issues or replacement part prices after assembling many display models for the last 9 years. Just remember that the sales force from PC was pretty much sent packing after the merger. But also remember that Milwaukee, Makita, Ridgid and others are now pretty much sourcing from China. If country of origin does indeed influence your purchase, you may have to take a jeweler’s loop to find it on the builder’s plate. Maybe a PC neoprene belt party in Boston Harbor?

Lukulele

My first PC sander (all black in color ) has lasted me for over 10 years without any major issues . It caused me to purchase two more ( now Gray ) (which were on sale at Sears for a great price because PC had changed to a new , “better ” design ) which seems to be quite a bit louder and has more hand numbing vibration than my original one , which I didn’t find out until recently when I wanted to have several grits available without switching papers constantly on one machine. Yes , my dust collector / spreader has come off a few times as well over the past 10 years , but so far so good with the newbies in that regard . I also have several PC routers that are still running great so far . The oldest one is about 13 years old with no issues to date . I tried a DeWalt sander for about 1/2 an hour and I was back at the store with it . the salesperson said it was their 3rd return that day of the same product and it wasn’t even noon yet !! I am presently working at a custom millwork shop and we use air powered palm sanders there. Of course they have an state of the art compressor to keep them turning constantly . I don’t think that my Craftsman compressor is up to the task , so until they die , I’ll keep using my PC sanders and routers : )

What is the model # that you pictured above …mine are the 333’s…..I believe that yours is the newer one that I didn’t like the looks of and it just felt awkward in the store so I never even tried it out….Sounds like I made a good choice : )

PS: Have you shot it yet ??? L O L ; )

-- Dusty56@comcast.net