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Metabo Random Orbital Sander

Emiliano Achaval

Emiliano Achaval

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Location
Maui, Hawaii
Website
hawaiiankoaturner.com
I did a search on the forum here and found a lot of info on the Metabo Orbital sander. My question is, can it replace an angle drill? Odie: are you still using yours? I use my 5 inch Makita random sander, I love it... There is nothing better for big platters or the outside of big Koa bowls. I;m thinking a smaller one, and more accesible one like the Metabo might be good. Maybe I need the Milwaukee angle drill, found a new one for $135 on Amazon, and the Metabo for finishing, love how random orbital sanders work...
Aloha from Maui.
 
Just ordered one Metabo.... Could not wait for the answers... lol. I will give my impressions soon...
Also, just to erase my doubts, I called Sioux, they haven't updated their web site for years!! That's why they still have the angle corded drill there.... They do make the drills anymore.... looks like they need to hire a web designer.... Aloha from Maui
 
Emiliano Achaval said:
.....Metabo Orbital sander. My question is, can it replace an angle drill? Odie: are you still using yours?
Click to expand...

I've heard good things about the Metabo RO sander.....looking forward to hearing your opinion of it. Mine is the Grex RO sander, which is air powered. I'm not using it as much as I once did, but nevertheless, do use it occasionally. I suspect the Metabo has a little more usable power, since it's corded. The Grex bogs down pretty easily......and with any air powered tool, it requires daily oiling, which is near impossible to keep from eventually ending up on your work-piece.......not a good thing at all.

Can a random orbital sander replace an angle drill? For my work, I don't think it can.....but it might for the kind of work someone else does. Probably not a clear cut answer to that.

I assume you're looking at a "new style" Milwaukee angle drill. I have one of them, but much prefer the "old style". There is nothing wrong with the newer Milwaukee, but the shape of it doesn't work very well for me......especially for bowls with inward slanting walls.....like this one:

746-1 Ash.JPG


For bowls with a very mild interior curvature, the "new style" Milwaukee angle drill ought to do just fine. In my opinion, both the new and old style Milwaukee angle drills are top notch quality. I believe this is the preferred drill for new construction workers.....so, you know they hold up to extreme use and abuse......

ko
 
Emiliano Achaval said:
I did a search on the forum here and found a lot of info on the Metabo Orbital sander. My question is, can it replace an angle drill?
Click to expand...

I’ve had my Metabo for maybe 14 years (?!) now… No, it won’t replace your angle drill because it doesn’t reach the inside of deeper bowls or certain interior angles of shallow bowls. It’s invaluable for the exterior though. My only complaint is that the handle/body of the tool is pretty large and a little fatiguing for my hands.

Odie: ...and with any air powered tool, it requires daily oiling, which is near impossible to keep from eventually ending up on your work-piece...​

Odie, as I’m sure you’re aware, pneumatic oil is very light weight. Given that, you could substitute walnut, peanut, sesame or other low viscosity oil that won’t impede finishes. Just a couple drops are all that is needed.
 
I have a Metabo SXE400, which takes a 3-inch disk. I use it mostly on the outsides of pieces and it does a good job. It would be awkward to use on the inside of small or deep bowls, because it is right-angle drive and the disk mount is only about 1.25 inches away from the body of the unit. You might improve the situation by adding sanding cushions to the drive disk to move the sanding disk further out, but I have not tried that.
 
Dennis J Gooding said:
I have a Metabo SXE400, which takes a 3-inch disk. I use it mostly on the outsides of pieces and it does a good job. It would be awkward to use on the inside of small or deep bowls, because it is right-angle drive and the disk mount is only about 1.25 inches away from the body of the unit. You might improve the situation by adding sanding cushions to the drive disk to move the sanding disk further out, but I have not tried that.
Click to expand...
Can I use the regular 3 inch disks that all us Woodturner's use? Glad to,see I'm not the only or the first one with one Metabo!! Thank you for your help.
 
Odie: I appreciate your willingness to help. I have been doing Facebook live teaching the basics to the Spanish woodturning group, almost 7000 strong, And it feels good to be able to help...
Can't wait for the Metabolism and new drill. A little bit worried about not being able to use my regular 3 inch velcro sanding discs with it... Aloha.
 
My experience with ROS's is that they are great for fine grits, but the spinning discs are far better for coarser grits. If you always start at 220, no problem.

robo hippy
 
Emiliano Achaval said:
A little bit worried about not being able to use my regular 3 inch velcro sanding discs with it... Aloha.
Click to expand...

One trick I learned from a local turner - is making my own discs.

Get a hole saw of the desired size, and sheets of velcro backed sand paper.
Stack up multiple sheets of paper, scratchy side down, on your drill press.
Drill out the discs.

OK, you get a hole in the middle, but that's not useful sanding area anyway.

Olaf
 
olaf Vogel said:
One trick I learned from a local turner - is making my own discs.

Get a hole saw of the desired size, and sheets of velcro backed sand paper.
Stack up multiple sheets of paper, scratchy side down, on your drill press.
Drill out the discs.

OK, you get a hole in the middle, but that's not useful sanding area anyway.

Olaf
Click to expand...

I can tell you from experience, this is not a safe practice. I ended up getting caught in the sandpaper and nearly cut a finger off when it hit the saw. That one trip to the ER would have bought a lifetime of sandpaper discs
 
Actually, when making your own disks, there is no need to make them into circles. Nine times out of ten, squares work fine. I have an old lever arm paper cutter, I first cut 2 inch wide strips, and then cut the strips into squares. Only takes a few seconds per square.
 
I've been wondering if a paper cutter could be used to cut sheets of sandpaper into quarters. This is slightly OT, but for hand sanding I like to cut full sheets into quarters and then fold these small sheets into thirds. I would buy a paper cutter, but I am concerned that the sandpaper would dull the blade rather quickly.
 
You can use a larger sized arch punch to cut circles of sand paper. You can use your lathe to sharpen the tool when needed.
You can also use an old hole saw blade and chuck it up in a lathe and turn the cutting end into a sharp edge.
A hand held grinder can be used to take the teeth off of the blade and create an angled cutting edge.
A hydraulic press or arbor press works nice for punching the discs, you can also use a dead blow hammer and
punch one disc at a time on a soft wood surface.

Another tool that can be used is an Allpax gasket cutter, you will go thru cutter blades using this type tool.
 
Bill Boehme said:
I would buy a paper cutter, but I am concerned that the sandpaper would dull the blade rather quickly.
Click to expand...
I think it actually sharpens the cutter. The only problem I have is after a while the bottom of a 6" piece it doesn't cut well . have to concentrate on moving the cutting arm thruout the cut. Had 2 different people at Office max, and harbor freight where I got the cutters (over 10 years), say , "hey you''ll probably be sharperning the cutter while cutting sandpaper. ".
Emiliano Achaval said:
I did a search on the forum here and found a lot of info on the Metabo Orbital sander.
Click to expand...
I got the random orbital Metabo from Bruce (sanding glove) . Had problems with the pad being burned.-also cutting out (short?)Sent it back (hassle) , and same thing occurred. Finally Bruce got tough with them, and then got a new , not refurbished system. They were supposed to send me 8-9 pads at no charge since I had to pay the shipping, and ended up getting a bill from them. Not the greatest experience. (Bruce was great) Think at last use it finally was ok,buy haven't been doing larger bowls, also doing alot of natural edged bowls- and have learned to "orbitalize" my Rigid sander and haven't used in a while. Gretch
 
Gretch Flo said:
I think it actually sharpens the cutter....
Click to expand...

I've heard that story ... actually the story was that you could sharpen scissors by cutting sandpaper. I'm skeptical because I ruined a very good pair of heavy duty shop scissors by cutting 80 grit sandpaper. Cutting 220 sandpaper didn't make the scissors sharp again. Maybe if I can find a really cheap paper cutter. I wanted to borrow my wife's paper cutter, but she let me know that wasn't going to happen.
 
I use a hacksaw blade mounted on a washer at each end as a standoff on a board.

Slide the paper under the blade and pull up. Hold the blade down as you pull up.

Mark the board for various sizes you want.

Stu
 
Can you effectively use solid paper on the Metabo? Aren't the holes a part of the dust collection system? I have one and it growls badly. I took it to a certified repair shop and they inspected it, took it apart and said no problem. Still cost $60. I do use it on the outside of bowls.
 
Steve Worcester said:
I can tell you from experience, this is not a safe practice. I ended up getting caught in the sandpaper and nearly cut a finger off when it hit the saw. That one trip to the ER would have bought a lifetime of sandpaper discs
Click to expand...
I simply took the correct size hole saw, made a simple jig for my grinder and ground the teeth off and sharpens the edge. I only cut one at a time by placing it on end grain of a block of oak and hammer it with a soft hammer. Works wonderfully it is a little slower than the drill press but I can make quite a few in a very short time
 
For cutting sandpaper straight and to repeatable dimensions, I use a 3/16" thick piece of aluminum ripped to my desired sandpaper width and cut against a piece of scrap plywood with a razor knife.

The trick with a razor knife to is cut the sandpaper from the backside, otherwise you dull the blade quickly. I'm sure the same is true with a papercutter.
 
Dennis J Gooding said:
Dave, your unit must be a larger one. My 3-inch Metabo does not have holes.
Click to expand...

Correction! Correction! Mine DOES have holes. It has been a long time since I took off the interface pad that I use to keep the sander's drive pad from wearing that I had forgotten. Before starting to use this interface pad, I determined that it does not affect the cooling air for the motor and only prevents dust and air flowing to the to the dust vent.
 
Bill Boehme said:
I've been wondering if a paper cutter could be used to cut sheets of sandpaper into quarters. This is slightly OT, but for hand sanding I like to cut full sheets into quarters and then fold these small sheets into thirds. I would buy a paper cutter, but I am concerned that the sandpaper would dull the blade rather quickly.
Click to expand...

Bill,
I use a paper cutter. A castoff from my office and it works very well.
 
Bill Boehme said:
I've been wondering if a paper cutter could be used to cut sheets of sandpaper into quarters. This is slightly OT, but for hand sanding I like to cut full sheets into quarters and then fold these small sheets into thirds. I would buy a paper cutter, but I am concerned that the sandpaper would dull the blade rather quickly.
Click to expand...
Mark Hepburn said:
Bill,
I use a paper cutter. A castoff from my office and it works very well.
Click to expand...

I've also been using a paper cutter.....an old school paper cutter. (vintage 1953) I've been using it for at least a decade, and haven't seen a need to sharpen it. (I sharpened it when I first got it.....a very easy job, as the blade is removable to do this.)
Image053.JPG
I've been cutting sandpaper into 2" strips, and folding into thirds......

ko
 
Odie, same here. I been using mine forever and never sharpened. I still use for card stock, paper and sometimes chipboard and it works great.

Bill, get an old wood base one. I have a newer plastic one at my office and it's not as good.
 
Michael Nathal said:
Actually, when making your own disks, there is no need to make them into circles. Nine times out of ten, squares work fine. I have an old lever arm paper cutter, I first cut 2 inch wide strips, and then cut the strips into squares. Only takes a few seconds per square.
Click to expand...

You have a new convert here. Squares work fine. I just tried it yesterday after reading your post. Like you say, ninety percent of the time it's fine.

Cheaper too.
 
Mike Johnson said:
You can also use an old hole saw blade and chuck it up in a lathe and turn the cutting end into a sharp edge.
Click to expand...

Thats basically how I did it, but on the drill press holding a hand file (wearing goggles).
It took the teeth off the hole saw, so you get a smooth (non-grabby) edge).

Then stack up the paper, grit side down and use a lot of pressure.
I've never had it fly away.

The other sandpaper cutter that looks good (but I haven't tried yet) is
http://lumberjocks.com/assets/pictures/projects/459191.jpg
 
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