amazingly stupid question re: orbit sanders

Paul Kane

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Feb 15, 2002, 10:33:31 PM2/15/02

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I just purchased a random orbit sander (Porter Cable Model # 333).
I've never owned one of these before and I am confused about its
operation. I was under the impression that in addition to swirling in
an orbit, that the sanding disc would spin as well. Do I have a
defective sander or did I misunderstand how these are to work?

Paul Kane
Iri...@swbell.net

Byron Clinkingbeard

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Feb 15, 2002, 11:36:00 PM2/15/02

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Paul-
Not to worry.......it turns, but slowly. Pick the sander up off the work
and turn it on. It will spin, and spin fast. However, you don't want it to
spin much while it is on your work or it will leave bad swirl marks. Make
sure it is always turned off when placing it on your work, then turn it on.
It is hard on the sander to pick it up while it is turned on--the rapid
spinning wears out the damper ring in a hurry.
Byron Clinkingbeard
http://home.att.net/~ByronClink
Paul Kane <Iri...@swbell.net> wrote in message
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Paul Kane

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Feb 16, 2002, 10:59:54 AM2/16/02

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Actually, I turned it on before putting in on a work surface. It
doesn't spin fast at all. Very slowly. Perhaps the braking mechanism
is on all the time. The paperwork that comes with it doesn't tell me
much. I'm still concerned. Maybe it's time to contact the seller.

Leon

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Feb 16, 2002, 12:06:09 PM2/16/02

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No, the sanding disk should not be spinning with any speed when it is
applied to the wood. That said, the disk will spin if you manually spin it
by hand and on the older units the disk will spin very quickly if not
applied to a surface. The orbital circle along with the free movement of
the pad when applied to the work is what produces the random orbit. The pad
should not be spinning when in contact with the wood. This would defeat the
purpose of the random orbit.

"Paul Kane" <Iri...@swbell.net> wrote in message

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Ed

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Feb 16, 2002, 12:29:33 PM2/16/02

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Paul,
The motor only powers the sander in an "off center" manner. The
spinning is not a powered function but moves in RANDOM mystic patterns
(known only to the most anal of engineering types). The "brake"
operates when the pad is lifted. The Random action is random. If the
motor runs and if, when OFF, you can spin the pad then all is ok. If it
doesn't run or doesn't spin by hand then it is a bad unit.

Paul Kane wrote:
>
> Actually, I turned it on before putting in on a work surface. It
> doesn't spin fast at all. Very slowly. Perhaps the braking mechanism
> is on all the time. The paperwork that comes with it doesn't tell me
> much. I'm still concerned. Maybe it's time to contact the seller.
>

snip

NOSPAMBOB

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Feb 17, 2002, 9:23:48 AM2/17/02

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PC tech support 1-888-848-5175

In article <3c6e814a...@news.dallas.sbcglobal.net>, Iri...@swbell.net
(Paul Kane) writes:

>Maybe it's time to contact the seller.

Name works for E-mail

D.L.

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Feb 27, 2002, 7:11:33 PM2/27/02

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It's not supposed to. There is nothing wrong with your sander. You do
not want it to spin fast. If it did, then placing the sander onto your work
would cause it to gouge or cut to quickly.

In fact, if you read your parts list, you might find that the "braking
mechanism" (a plastic like disk) is replaceable when it wears out (and it
will). I have a DeWalt ROS and it came with an extra brake disk.

"Paul Kane" <Iri...@swbell.net> wrote in message

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