# Excellent sander that has only two minor quirks



## Woodchuck1957 (Feb 4, 2008)

I doubt that a more powerful dust collector is the solution. Infact, I think even the DC your useing now is suffocating. Really all you would really need is a good shop vac, like the one thats below your table, for a sander.


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## ferstler (Oct 5, 2008)

Good points have been made about the shop vac use and the improved suction, and I can certainly understand those points.

However, if you use a shop vac the filter in the thing will clog up pretty fast and the downside is that you can only clean the filter so many times until it needs to be replaced. So, yes, a shop vac does better (at least until the filter gets really loaded), but be prepared to change out the filters more often. Also, that DC that I have can run day and night with its induction motor and has no problem with tool-flow air resistance causing any kind of overload, whereas a shop vac's motor is going to have some heating problems if you run it on and on and on while you sand away for a long time.

One point, I have two shop vacs (both are Ridgid models and as noted in the first comment by Woodchuck 1957, sit under that bench on wheels in the photos) and I keep the filter reasonably clean by shrouding it in regular, but somewhat cut down, vacuum cleaner bags that get discarded at intervals. (A big rubber band holds the bag in place.) Still, using the dust collector has never caused a problem with dust build up at the sander, so I will stick with it. No filters to deal with at all, and no worry about a vac motor overheating or destroying its brushes.

Actually, one shop vac is the "push" unit and is used to blow dust off of the deck and out of tools that have been used out there prior to them going back into storage in the shop, and the other is the "pull" unit and does vacuuming work in the shop. When the filter in the pull unit gets dirty I discard it and transfer the filter from the push unit. The push unit then gets a new filter.

Howard Ferstler


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## Woodchuck1957 (Feb 4, 2008)

Or work up wind from the sander. if it isn't windy, use a box fan or discarded furnace fan to blow the dust away from you.


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## ferstler (Oct 5, 2008)

The Ridgid owner's manual for the two vacs mentions that when doing work with really wet items you need to remove the filter. (There is a float valve to protect the motor if the water level gets too high.) However, when doing basic dry vacuum work they indicate that without the filter there is the potential to damage the motor.

I like that box fan idea.

Howard Ferstler


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## spaids (Apr 15, 2008)

This is what I use with my shop vac. EVERYTHING gets trapped in a bucket and my shop vac and filter stay clean. No matter how fine the dust is. The website has a video of its shop vac attachment in action. Its awesome.


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## Treverk (Nov 14, 2008)

I also have this sander, but I get the worst swirl marks when I use it. For that reason I haven't picked it up in over a year. Have you had any problems with swirls?


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## sIKE (Feb 14, 2008)

Put a Wye on the in take and put your sander on one side and a blast gate on the other, now open the blast gate enough to solve your issue. You might have to put a small C-Clamp on it to keep at right amount of openness….


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## ferstler (Oct 5, 2008)

I've had no problems with swirls, but I also try to use finer grained paper when doing the really smooth finishing work. I also always hand sand with the grain after using the ROS to do the basic stuff.

Howard Ferstler


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## optimusprime (Oct 31, 2010)

just purchased the newer version and used it for a small flooring job (13'x13') and have to say i was thoroughly impressed with the ROS. no swirls using 60 or 80 grit paper and finishing with 150 and 220 was a dream. i'm preparing to finish a couple of doors today using it.


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## ferstler (Oct 5, 2008)

I continue to use mine and have sanded the daylights out of many, many pieces of wood: bookcases and speaker systems, mainly. The sander works as good as new. I work outdoors on a deck adjacent to my shopl, and have discovered that you do not need to have a dust collector hooked up to it at all. Since I have a natural wooded lot I just let the dust spray out into the area (the sander has an excellent fan/scavenge system), and then use my blower to clean off the deck and roll-around work bench after the projects are done. I am upgrading my rating to five stars.

Howard Ferstler


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