I went back through some magazines and saw that the Rigid got the editors choice. I bought a refurb for a complete reasonable price... love it. I previously used the Dewalt D26441K for my woodworking... faster work when wanting to remove lots of material. This rigid doesn't require as fine a sandpaper to get a equally smooth/scratch free surface. It may be the random-orbital feature that does this, but I'm a fan either way... Factory-Reconditioned RIDGID ZRR2611 Professional 6-inch Random Orbit Variable Speed Sander
Working on a headboard cabinet for my daughter and wanted to get a RO sander for it. Read many reviews on this product and looked at a number of others as well.
Pros:
- Dust collection and connections are great. Has a 2-1/2" and a smaller 1-1/4" connection. I just bought a small 1/2" pvc coupler and I can connect my 1 1/4" shopvac to it easily. It comes with a dust bag, I haven't used that.
- Has both a 1/4" and 1/8" random setting so you can change the amount of movement for different jobs
- Variable speed so you can control the amount of material you remove very easily
- Seems very well built, was reconditioned but looked new when it came
- 12' power cord is very long and the plug in is lighted so you know when there is power to it. It also has a valcro cord wrap which is great for connecting it to the vacuum hose when you're working.
- Very smooth, little vibration when holding it so you can sand for a long time.
- Soft start was a bit goofy at first but you learn to like it.
- Lock on button is really nice so you don't have to continue to hold the button.
Cons:
- 6" hook sanding pads are not a common sand paper size at the stores. Home Depot carries them but none of the other local stores do. I ordered some through Amazon.
All in all this is a great sander, very happy with it and am sure it'll see a lot of projects.
Overall I have been very pleased with this sander. I would not be working on my current project without it.
I have used this for 8-10 hours so far, sanding the paint off an old car. I am using 80 grit Autonet sanding screens by Mirka and have it attached to my shopvac. I have been very pleased with how smooth the sander operates, not nearly as much vibration as my old 2.4 amp black and decker sandstorm. This sander also has much more power.
Sandpaper/screens and dust control-
Paired with the sanding screens has resulted in very little dust but the hook and loop method did not stick very well for very long. According to the folks at ridgidforum.com this is because I was allowing the pad to get too hot by not moving the sander enough and by pressing too hard.
Additional Suggestions -
With the shopvac and sander I highly recommend using earplugs. I like to listen to music while I work so I bought Etymotic er6i earphones. They block out a lot of noise so I can listen to the music at a reasonable volume.
******Update 5/26/2010******
Ordered a replacement pad for twenty two buck with shipping and it's like new.
I got one that was so out of balance you couldn't even sand a flat board. The replacement that was sent w week latter was badly abused by the previous owner. The holes to hold the head down were really boar out.I have bought refurb manny times and was happy every time. Not this time. The second one that was sent didn't even hold sandpaper right out of the box. Before I even got a chance to pull the trigger it wouldn't even hold paper. What a joke! - Rigid'
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