Random Orbital or Geared Sander

[Geoff Hammond]

I currently round the rough edges of scaffold boards with my Dewalt Random Orbital.

Works OK but when I do the edges the pads tend to fly off more than I wanted. I now glue the pads on and they last much longer.

I am wondering If I would be much better using a geared sander, especially on the edges?

 

[Myfordman]

Not sure what you mean by a geared sander. My ROS uses gears to drive the pad. can you give and example link to the type you mean?

 

[Geoff Hammond]

Like the festool RO150. Has both geared mode and RO mode

 

[Myfordman]

Ok I expect this just means they switch off the random bit and turn it to a crude disc sander.
For your job I doubt that would make much difference. Have you got a belt sander? Should be better for rough work like scaff boards

 

[Geoff Hammond]

I use a belt sander for the face of the boards but need to round all the edges off

 

[Myfordman]

Ok so why not use the belt sander for the whole job?

 

[marcros]

I know that you asked about a sander, but what about a roundover bit in a trim router. That would do the donkey work and then blend in with the sander.

 

[Jonathan S]

A RO150 will still flip your pads off in either mode, I'm guessing that the hook and loop on your RO pad is shot....my RO150 rotex pad was great for about 10 years, never flipped a disc, I then bought a box of Arnet and it destroyed the pad in a couple of hours.
What discs are you using?

Sent from my SM-J530F using Tapatalk

 

[Doug71]

A RO150 will still flip your pads off in either mode, I'm guessing that the hook and loop on your RO pad is shot....my RO150 rotex pad was great for about 10 years, never flipped a disc, I then bought a box of Arnet and it destroyed the pad in a couple of hours.
What discs are you using?

Sent from my SM-J530F using Tapatalk

Think it is recommended to use an interface pad between the two.

 

[Geoff Hammond]

Ye the issue is rounding all the rough corners and edges which causes the issue with the pads flying off the hook & loop. Using a glue gun to stick the pads on has made all the difference and I get good usage from the discs now. Putting pressure on the corners and edges does not help.
Thats why I was thinking a more aggressive sander in geared mode would easily rip through the edges and corners