sanders

[edl]

what is (i) the difference between a da v. random oribtal sander and (ii) what application is for which - thanks!! - ed

:beer:

[russlaferrera]

A DA Sander does 2 things.

A) It rotates in a circular spinning pattern. This removers more material.

B) It rotates in an orbiting pattern . This removes less material and covers a
larger area, (and levels out high spots.)

[Merkava_4]

What's the DA stand for? :confused:

[wrenchr]

Dual action.

[Merkava_4]

Thank you sir. :beer:

[Merkava_4]

edl,

Were you looking for a wood sander or an auto body sander?

[edl]

Auto body (but i need for fiberglass and for metal, if that makes a difference)

Wikpedia seems to say that a DA and RO are 2 names for the same thing as follows:

Random orbital sander
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A random orbit sander, with disks of various grit sizesRandom orbit sanders, also called Dual-Action sanders (referring to the rotation of the disk and the head) are hand-held power sanders where the action is a random orbit. They were first introduced in the early 1990s and quickly became tremendously popular. Random orbit sanders combine almost the speed and aggressiveness of a belt sander, with the ability to produce a finer finish than that available from a standard, slow speed, orbital finishing sander.

The random orbit is produced by simultaneously spinning the sanding disk and moving it in an ellipse, which ensures that no single part of the abrasive material travels the same path twice. Because of this unique random sanding action, the tool does not leave swirl marks, and it is not sensitive to the direction of the wood grain. This makes it work very well when sanding two pieces of wood that meet at right angles. Random-orbit sanders use sandpaper disks and many random-orbit sanders now come with dust collectors. Disks are attached using either pressure sensitive adhesives or a hook and loop system. On models equipped with a dust collection feature, a vacuum effect sucks sanding dust through holes in the paper and pad, feeding it to a bag or canister.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Random_orbital_sander"


Do you guys agree? - and as far as sanding fiberglass (paint removal from corvette - yes, i know many say don't sand, but chemically strip...putting that aside for the moment), what would be the tool of choice - on a body/paint forum, folks seem to really like the National Detroit 900, 8" RO sander (http://www.nationaldetroit.com/tools/tooldetail.aspx?model=900DE (which is a vacuum model) - any other thoughts or experiences? - 6" better? - different brand? - technology (again, not from the perspective of chem strip v. sanding but what the best sanding route is) - thanks ED!

[PAToyota]

May just be my take, but I've always heard the "DA" term applied to pneumatic sanders used in bodywork and the "random orbit" term applied to electrical versions used in woodworking. Not saying that one couldn't be used in place of the other or whether there are any actual differences other than just the terminology based on the groups using them. I'd be tempted to say that the DA sanders are higher speed.

As for Wikipedia, sometimes you have to take a lot of that with a grain of salt as the person writing it may not have all the details.

[engnerdan]

I thought dual-action was because you can lock it in to be an rotating sander or you can unlock it for random orbit.

I hope this does not side-track this thread too much but.....

When speaking of RO sanders what does a difference in orbit size do for you? I know you can get 3/32 orbit and 3/16 orbit. I am guessing the 3/32 is for a finer finish and the 3/16 is for a more aggressive material removal.

-Dan

[Merkava_4]

Auto body (but i need for fiberglass and for metal, if that makes a difference)

I was all set to recommend you a couple of sweet wood finish sanders; but oh well, I'll let someone else recommend the auto body sander. ;)

[eschoendorff]

I was all set to recommend you a couple of sweet wood finish sanders; but oh well, I'll let someone else recommend the auto body sander. ;)

I've used a small wood sander to prep auto body. It sucks. Not recommended.

[mulepackin]

I use a CP DA for auto body work, and a PC RO for my wood work. I don't think I would attempt an electric for body work unless you've got one hellacious dust extraction system, and a small area of work. The dust just seems to be alot worse with bondo, primer surfacer, etc. and very hard on elec. components. I don't notice any particular difference in the quality of the finish from one to the other so much as I do the grit and quality of the discs I use. Also DA sanders are air hogs. If there isn't good water filtration in your system, it will start spitting at you pretty quickly moving that much air. I don't believe I have any other air tool that uses as much air (obviously, it's running at near full speed, nearly constantly while in use.)

[chad s]

I love my National Detroit DAQ6. I did a bit of research between ND and Hutchins. For my use now, the DAQ6 was more agressive, and better for roughing out bodywork you will be block sanding by hand. I do want to get a hutchins eventually for more fine tuned work, as its smoother and less agressive.

http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/ND-DAQ6.html

I have a Viking 8" RO that I use with 40 grit for roughing out large flat areas like a roof after skim coating with mud. I dont remove this one from my box too often, but when I do, its very nice to have.
http://www.toolsource.com/viking-mudslinger-sander-p-101561.html

I also have a Hutchins Hustler 2000 air file that I like for areas like door pannels and quarter panels.
http://www.thetoolwarehouse.net/shop/HUT-2000.html

Regardless, once you rough things out with a pneumatic sander, you need good blocks. I recently got a set of the AFS ajustable sanders, and they simply are the best I have ever used, leaps and bounds better than Durablocks.
http://www.adjustflexsand.com/

And the cool thing is, every tool listed in this post is made in the USA!