Erbauer random orbital sander ERO400, long term review

[@FoodfortheSubconscious]

Nice video Rob I liked the tip about refusing old materials as filler

[@frompallets]

Thanks, I appreciate your feedback and support

[@pdken3081]

Thanks Rob, I'm off to get one from B&Q this afternoon

[@frompallets]

Let me know how you get on with it ... I absolutely love it :-)

[@Ngry_W]

Excellent thank you, looking at this model recently so very helpful

[@frompallets]

Glad it was helpful!

[@schumiisking]

is the sanding pad not supposed to spin at all, or spin very slowly? (as in, able to watch it spin with the naked eye) I gave this a go today and using the 60 grit pad that came with it, I am struggling to remove material at any where near an acceptable rate even compared to my tiny detail finishing orbit sander (those 'mouse' things) which is an old cheap thing from a decade ago. I'm not sure if it's broken or something and try and return it back to Screwfix or not. I'm using it on fibreglass and bodyfiller which should easily sand away.

[@frompallets]

I'm pretty sure mine doesn't spin, I can't remember holding it upside down very often to look, but the base moves in "random" (small) circles, hence why it doesn't leave marks unlike a belt sander that is always moving in a predictable manner. I use 40 grit to remove the worst, before moving down to 80, 120, 150, 180, but I will admit that even at 40, it is reasonably slow at removing wood, but that's part of why it doesn't leave marks. I tend to think of it as a finishing sander, so I'll remove the unevenness with a planner, or belt sander depending on how bad it is, and then "finish it" with the orbital sander. I've never tried it on fiberglass, but I would have thought that "set" fiberglass would be pretty tough, but that may just be my inexperience with fiberglass.

[@tahirmughal5550]

Do you think its worth going for the ERO450 which is slightly more powerful, larger circular plate and has a handle?

[@frompallets]

I don't personally like the sanders that have the extra handle/grip, because I think that encourages you to apply too much downwards pressure. In my experience, you want to be quite gentle with the sander because if you force it into the work piece, it is all too easy to create troughs and peaks, which is the opposite of what you are trying to achieve. I remove the excess material with a planner, and then use the sander to get a smoother finish. But that is just personal preference.

[@Rycka9]

Is this better than old style flat sanders with sheet?

[@frompallets]

Yes! I have an old Black and Decker flat sander with a sheet that clips in at either end. The random orbitals are much better (apart from getting into corners :-) ) mostly because of the random element. My old flat B&D isn't random, so with a predictable pattern, it meant that it was much easier to leave a visible sanding pattern. The random orbital has never left a sanding pattern, even when I've left it in the same place for a while, to work on a really big lip/dip. The passive dust collection is also *MUCH* better, i.e. the B&D would only collect dust if you attach a vacuum to it, whereas the Erbauer seems to passively collect about 80% of the dust using magic :-)

[@Rycka9]

@@frompallets I've previously used an unbranded flat sander and never had experience to use orbital. I also have a mouse sander so that's okay for corners. So definitely look into orbital like this rather old flat?

[@frompallets]

I would definitely go for random orbital over flat

[@Duggy171]

I've got one and it's infuriating that I can't hook it up to a vacuum

[@frompallets]

I've never tried, but would it not be possible to remove the dust box and stick a vacuum in the hole?

[@Duggy171]

@@frompallets the erbauer sander has an oval hole and I can't see anything that fits it. Very annoying TBH and would change my purchase reasons next time round.

[@frompallets]

That's useful to know, thanks

[@tuurkishman]

It’s gone in price again lol

[@frompallets]

It's showing as £60 from B&Q this morning, which isn't far off what I paid for it, but yes it has been as cheap as £55.