# Orbital Sander vs. Belt Sanders



## abetrman (Mar 18, 2011)

Hello All,

New to the forum and as the title suggest, I am wondering the which type of sander I should invest in. The type of projects around the house I am doing are things such as shelves and tables. Not too intricate, but things the little lady wants done. I am pretty much working with hand tools. Not table saw or anything like that. Every now and then my cut lines are a little off. Would either of these be useful in evening out the cut or should I be using something else.

Thanks in advance for you advice.


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## Roger Newby (May 26, 2009)

The orbital sander is for finishing and the belt sander, being more aggressive can be used to correct something cut a little too long. But you should work on your cutting finesse and not rely on correcting a mistake that can be avoided. Welcome to the forums and I hope you have a long and enjoyable journey in woodworking.:thumbsup:


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## RetiredLE (Jan 20, 2011)

I use a 12 inch Grizzly G7297 disc sander to correct 'variations' in the wood pieces that I cut. I like it because it always removes the grain evenly (as long as the miter table is set up correctly. I don't have a belt sander so no opinion in that regard - but I do have a hand held orbital and it can be a bear to keep centered on smaller pieces without having it skitter all over the place.


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## sweensdv (Mar 3, 2008)

I think that you'll find a hand held random orbital sander will be far more useful than a belt sander. I have both and the ROS receives by far the most use. If you're only looking to buy one sander than go with the ROS.


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## firemedic (Dec 26, 2010)

hello and welcome aboard. In my opinion a random orbit would suit the needs of a light duty week-end warrior more than a belt sander. That being said, a belt sander IS BETTER for cleaning up cut lines... The longer surface area makes for flatter sanding. But once again for general ww'n, prepping for paint, staining etc... A random orbit is more appropriate.

~tom


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## GeorgeC (Jul 30, 2008)

sweensdv said:


> I think that you'll find a hand held random orbital sander will be far more useful than a belt sander. I have both and the ROS receives by far the most use. If you're only looking to buy one sander than go with the ROS.


I agree with this.

Even though the ROS is normally considered a finishing sander, with larger grit paper it can be quite aggresive. 

If your funds allow then I would purchase both.

George


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## BigJim (Sep 2, 2008)

sweensdv said:


> I think that you'll find a hand held random orbital sander will be far more useful than a belt sander. I have both and the ROS receives by far the most use. If you're only looking to buy one sander than go with the ROS.


I also agree with this and I might add that there are more aggressive RO sanders out there than the palm sanders such as the 5 or 6 inch Porter-Cable and the larger Bosch. With finer sanding disks even the more aggressive sanders will make a good finish. 

You can really mess the world up, and quick, with a belt sander if you aren't really familiar with them. If you do decide to go with a belt sander go with a higher end one as the cheap ones are really tough to use correctly.


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## glh17 (Jul 7, 2010)

I typically use hand planes and hand sanding for boards, but use a ROS for plywood. I have a 3 x 21 belt sander but for several years it's spent its life on its back as a grinder for things I can't use my bench grinder on or would take too long to file (mostly garden and lawn tools). There are people who can use a belt sander on wood projects and not worry, but not me.


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## WaMoo (Mar 24, 2011)

Also new to the forum. There is a time and a place for both a belt sander and a random orbit sander. I find thata belt sander is most useful when I really screwed up and want to remove a lot of material. Unless one is VERY careful, a belt sander can easily and quiackly remove way too much material. A lot of work can go into the scrap heap from a few seconds too much sanding with a belt sander. You can also screw up with a ROS but just not nearly as quickly. I have both sanders plus a big belt/disk stationary unit and an oscillating brum sander. The ROS is the most frequently used tool of the bunch. That tool can be used for almost any sanding job from stock removal to surface prep before fininshing. If I could only have one sander, the ROS with hook and loop would be my clear choice.


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## Gmajor (Mar 20, 2011)

If you're already in the hand tool game, I'd second the recommendation for a plane or two (or a dozen). Yeah, it takes a little time to learn how to fettle a plane, but you'll never outgrow them. You can get a lot accomplished with a couple of sharp Disstons, a tuned up plane, a few good chisels, and the patience to learn how to use them.

Actually, to be clear, I'd recommend a ROS first then a plane and skip the belt sander until you really, really needed it. Personally, I use my ROS on every project. I use one or more planes on every second or third project, and I use my hand-held belt sander about once every year or two.

As I get older, I've come to prefer the nice, quiet "swoosh" of my planes over the "angry hornets" of my ROS more and more. I've found that my production doesn't suffer, I make fewer mistakes, and clean-up is a heck of a lot easier. Don't get me wrong! I'm not a full-blown caveman like some fellas. But I do appreciate picking up a tool without a tail and getting the job done.


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## Jacob_Hanson (May 25, 2017)

Random orbit sander all the way. Just make sure it is a *random* orbit sander. Will give you a must better finish. The big difference is that the belt sander is way more aggressive and is usually too aggressive for most common sanding jobs.


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## FrankC (Aug 24, 2012)

A hand held belt sander is definitely not a finishing tool, they work best to remove a lot of material quickly and because of this you have to disregard what you have been taught about sanding with the grain and run them across it to even out a panel. Then you use your Random Orbit Sander for the smooth finish.

They are mostly used to do things like sanding to a scribe mark when installing laminated counter tops or trim to fit an uneven surface.


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## Toolman50 (Mar 22, 2015)

Many projects have been damaged, ruined or destroyed by a novice with a belt sander. 
They certainly have their place and can be really useful, but there is a learning curve.


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## Steve Neul (Sep 2, 2011)

I use both. I first sand with a belt sander and then finish sand with a random orbital sander.


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## ruthdiana (Apr 4, 2018)

I must go for a belt sander when I have to truly expel some material like paint for example, I am sure it cuts better. Orbital sanders I like for finishing, it offers significantly more control.


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## Tool Agnostic (Aug 13, 2017)

This is a very old thread, but I will reply anyway.

One point that has not been made clear is that there are two types of belt sanders: 
* Handheld belt sanders
* Bench-type belt sanders

A handheld belt sander can take off a lot of wood, but it is very difficult to control. It takes a lot of practice to get good at using it. It is very easy to leave gouges from the edges if you don't hold the sander perfectly flat. 

A bench-type belt sander is stationary. You hold the piece against it. It is easier to control and good for edges, but not useful to "process" large flat surfaces.

A random orbital sander is a finishing tool. It can take off a fair amount of wood with course sanding disks, but not like a belt sander. I use my ROS far more than my handheld belt sander.

I had the same problem with not-straight-cuts from my circular saw. For years, I desperately wanted a table saw so I could get nice straight cuts. Finally, I bought a table saw just over a year ago. It sparked my interest in woodworking, so I checked out a lot of books on woodworking. That's when I learned how much better I could have done with my circular saw. I was guiding it only with its simple edge guide at best, and mostly freehanding it. If I had only used clamps and guides with my circular saw, I could have gotten the straight cuts I wanted without buying a table saw. I didn't know better.

I wonder whether the OP didn't know about clamps and guides at the time they started the thread.


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## Terry Q (Jul 28, 2016)

Once I learned how to use hand planes I discovered that I hardly ever needed to use a hand held belt sander. Whatever project was so out of whack that it needed a belt sander to flatten it, a hand tool could do it quicker, easier with better results.

I still have some belt sanders, but typically use them for sanding hard wood floors where floor sanders can’t reach. I don’t use them for making furniture or cabinets or table tops.

Get a random orbital sander and a hand plane.


In woodworking there is always more then one way to accomplish something.


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