Forget the dustbag and you've got a decent sander
Written: Jan 12 '00
|
Product Rating:
|
|
|
Pros: Durable, nice long power cord
Cons: Horrible dustbag design
|
|
|
| ziprz's Full Review: Craftsman Dustless 1/4 Sheet Industrial Finishing ... |
This Craftsman finishing sander was one of 2 models I saw at Sears when I was in desperate need of a sander. I bought it because it had one feature that I thought would be the answer to world hunger, the dustbag on the back. I thought "Wow, I can sand til I'm silly and not get my typical sore throat and sneezes from the cloud of dust in my shop". Forget about it! Stick to the cheapest Craftsman model you can find. This feature is for the birds.
To allow the attached dust bag to work you need the special sticky back quarter sheet sandpaper with the holes in it. The holes in theory allow the dust to be sucked up into the unit and pushed into the bag.
Problem 1)With the virgin piece of sandpaper that came with the sander, the bag securely fastened, and sanding a perfectly flat piece of wood, there was still dust in the air. So what is the point of this dust collector? It doesn't keep me from sneezing, it doesn't even keep my whole shop from having a slowly accumulating blanket of sawdust all over everything.
Problem 2) OK so I blow through my first sheet of sandpaper, do I really wnat to go buy the "special" sandpaper from Sears to use this thing? No, but luckily this sander came with a little tool to poke holes in any quarter sheet of sandpaper, what a relief. Now every time I change sandpaper I have to take the extra minute to poke holes in the paper.
Problem 3) the little collector bag is right in the field of view of anything behind your sander. You could have turned your chair leg into a toothpick by the time you actually see the results of your first stroke with a hefty piece of paper.
Problem 4) So, I've filled the dustbag, lets just remove it and empty it, and be on our merry way. WRONG! This dust collector bag has the most awkward mechanism for holding onto the sander since those little clips that hold your wiper blades on your car. I cut my hand the first time I tried to take it off, and it took me forever to get it back on.
So how do I use this poorly designed sander now that I got it all dirty? Well, I never use the dustbag, never buy special sandpaper, and never poke holes in the sandpaper I do use. To me, sanding is the necessary evil to getting a piece that you're proud of ready for the fun part...finishing. Therefore I've taken all of the cumbersome steps out of using this sander.
The spring clips that hold a standard, non-sticky quarter sheet of sandpaper onto the sander are very easy to use, and hold the paper firmly on the sander until the paper shred from weakness. Sandpaper is cheap by the bulk professional packs that you can buy at any home improvement store, so I'm not shy about changing paper often.I wear a dustmask and goggles to combat the fact that the sawdust goes everywhere. I wear ear protection because this sander is REALLY LOUD!!!
This sander does get the job done, and it is a Craftsman, a name I trust. If your game is the dustbag, try another brand.
Recommended:
No
|
|
|
|
Epinions.com ID:
ziprz
|
|
Member: Kris Rzepkowski
Location: Naperville, IL
Reviews written: 21
Trusted by: 8 members
|
|
|
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.