My First Sander (by Fisher Price)
You need to sand something. Anything. The choices? Belt sander, finish sander, disc sander, corner sander… if, like me, you have faint memories of high school shop, you’ll likely go for the belt or something else familiar.
Don’t be fooled.
The Random Orbital Sander is the single best-bang-for-the-buck powertool out there. Maximum Chaiminess factor. It’s 99% of the sanding goodness you’ll need in one, handy, under-$100 package. Buy one right now and thank me later.
Must have:
* 8 holes (not 5)
* velcro (“hook and loop”), not sticky (“PSA”) sandpaper
* minimum 5″
* cost at least $60
Doesn’t need:
* Larger than 5″
* Variable speed
* Carrying case (you’ll be using it that often)
Pick up a whole whack of sandpaper too, while you’re at it.
Oh, you want to know *why* it’s so great? Well, slap some 60-grit mojo badness on there and you can plow off squillions of helpless little wood fibers in the time it takes you to say, “which one is the belt tightener and which is the auto-tracking adjustment?”. Breeze up through the coarseness levels with the slap-on slap-off velcro paper and you can have a mirror finish, no swirls, super-fast. You’ll thank me.
(Yeah, I get a nickel or something for every amazon link you buy through. I plan to become rich by coaxing people into bad powertools and retiring on the 5% kickback.)
(Chaiminess is a word courtesy my friend Russ Nelson. Chaiminess = coolness / cost. It isn’t yiddish, but it should be.)
(“What!?” you say. “Must cost at least $60!?” See above, I’m on commision. Seriously, this is the shorthand way of saying “just don’t buy a skil, ryobi, generic-house-brand-from-Central-Machinery, etc”. I’m normally a big fan of buying cheap tools, but on this one, trust me–you want the real deal. And come on, it’s sixty bucks.)
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