Orbital Sanders

Achieve a high-quality finish every time with an orbital sander from Cromwell. We stock a wide range of orbital sanders in different sizes and with useful features to give you the best results for your projects, be they DIY or professional.

We carefully select our power tools from market-leading brands, like 3M™, Chicago Pneumatic®, Bosch®, Makita® and more.

What are orbital sanders?

Orbital sanders deliver multipurpose sanding of wood, metal and plastic. They're mainly used for finishing tasks on furniture projects and wooden flooring; using sandpaper progression to provide a smooth surface.

Orbital sander types

Available in different sizes and with various features, orbital sanders deliver an excellent finish to a workpiece. Suitable for single-handed or two-handed use, some mini versions have no vacuum attachment, while others come complete with an internal vacuum and dust collection bag. All orbital sander types should be CE marked and feature the ISO 28927-3:2009 standard.

• Orbital sander   -   Commonly uses square sandpaper and sands in a tight orbital motion

• Random orbital sander   -   This type of sander features a circular sanding pad and still sands in an orbiting movement, however, this includes irregular and overlapping rotation, which removes more stock than the orbital sander

Considerations when choosing orbital sanders

• Power source - corded, cordless and air: each have their own advantages, choose the one that most benefits your frequent working habit. However, for corded sanders look for the longest power cord to give you more freedom of movement.

• **Orbit speed **- this will affect the type of finish you can achieve. For smoother results, choose a higher speed, for basic sanding, a lower speed will do. Some models have a variable speed feature for the ultimate operator control.

• Comfort - go for a sander with an ergonomic, soft grip. If it's uncomfortable to operate, you're more likely to suffer from hand strain.

• Sandpaper - in most circumstances, sanding a workpiece to a silky-smooth finish requires working through a range of sanding grits. Hook and loop attachments are the quickest way to change over sandpaper to reduce your downtime.

• Dust collection - while most orbital sanders come with an integrated vacuum and dust bag, models that feature a shop vacuum attachment are far superior. These enable efficient dust collection and prevent any blockages in the sander for maximum efficiency.

Orbital sander jargon buster

We want to keep you informed on quality standards on your tools of interest. So, we've provided a breakdown on the ISO standard that should appear on all technical datasheets for orbital sanders.

What does safety standard ISO 28927-3:2009 mean?

This hand-held portable power tools standard outlines the test methods for vibration emissions on orbital and random orbital sanders. These tests measure vibration levels at the handle of finishing sanding only and do not take into consideration the vibrations made during stock removal.

Let's break it down...

• ISO - the Institution of Standardization is the current applicable European regulatory body

• 28927 - this is the legislation number or name

• 3 - this identifies the document section which covers orbital sanders

• 2009 - this standard was revised and replaced ISO 8662-8:1997 and was reviewed again in 2020. This version has been confirmed and remains current.

FAQs

What's the difference between an orbital sander and a random orbital sander?

The difference is that the orbital sander only sands in an orbital motion, while a random orbital sander mixes it up with both orbital movement and random, overlapping circular motions.

Does an orbital sander leave swirl marks on the workpiece?

A series of operator errors when using an orbital sander can result in swirl marks on the workpiece:

• ** Incorrect technique - when using your orbital sander start in the centre of the workpiece before turning it on and then work slowly over the area. Sand with the grain and don't put too much pressure on the sander, keep it straight and level to prevent dips and valleys in the workpiece.

• Low-quality sanding discs - the old adage is true, you do get what you pay for, and if you pay for quality grade sanding discs, then you'll achieve a high-quality finish, with no swirl marks. Some users make the mistake of using garnet sandpaper for their orbital sanders. This is ideal for hand sanding, but wears out quickly, and we don't recommend it for power sanding.

• Dust extraction - make sure your sander doesn't become blocked with wood dust, as this can affect performance and clog up your workpiece to cause those annoying swirl marks.