9 Best Orbital Sanders

Buying an Orbital Sander

An orbital sander is one of the most useful power tools you can add to your workshop, because it can easily make any woodworking project turn out better.

Also known as a random orbit sander, it vibrates and rotates randomly so it doesn’t grind a pattern into the wood surface. There are lots of great tricks to mastering this user-friendly tool, including an impressive two-hand, two-sander method. But first you need to get your hands on at least one strong sander.

Here are some features to consider when choosing:

• Dust collection: Sanding, by its nature, creates a lot of dust because you’re removing a thin layer of wood with every pass. Evacuating that dust from the work surface efficiently makes your day in the shop healthier and less messy. Most sanders use a bag of some sort to collect dust, but adapting that sander to a vacuum is helpful for large jobs. Every orbital sander we recommend below has a dust collection container.
• Diameter: Orbital sanders feature a round pad where holds sandpaper. The most common sizes are 5-in.- and 6-in.-diameters, although others are out there. We’ve chosen a standard 5-in. pad for all our selected sanders because it’s by far the most common size.
• Type of sanding pad: Sandpaper can be attached to the pad by hook-and-loop fasteners or self-adhesive paper. Generally, hook-and-loop is more common and easier than the self-adhesive. We’ve found if you’re frequently changing sandpaper grits, the adhesive-style paper loses much of its grip once it’s removed so it’s not reusable.
• Cost: All over the map. If you’re buying one for a few specific jobs, it’s probably not worth spending too much money on the sander. However, if you’ll use the sander a lot on heavy-duty projects, consider a higher priced, durable tool.
• Durability: Sanders vibrate a lot, which can shake loose internal components. A more durable tool will hold together after many years of hard use.