Dewalt Orbital Sander Review – Key Features

Orbital sanders are go-to carpentry tools for preparing or furnishing a surface after and before painting. This equipment offers quality finishing and refines the external appearance of surfaces to the finest bit. The uniformity achieved in painting wooden, metallic, or even plastic surfaces is credited to the swift circular movement of such sanders. Choosing the best orbital sander has a lot to do with its maneuverability, motor strength, portability, and ease-of-use.

We recommend the Dewalt Orbital Sander due to its simple usability, ergonomic built, and exceptional functionality. Dewalt has been manufacturing carpentry products for almost a hundred years. Each of their products come in flexible designs that help DIYers simplify difficult drilling, sanding, and cutting tasks.

The compact size coupled with the lightweight of this product makes it ideal for indoor and outdoor sanding tasks. Additionally, the manufacturers have added a high-quality grip to provide stability while sanding different surfaces, and that too at different speeds. We believe that it supplies sufficient power to attain perfection in the most intricate of sanding projects. Moreover, the maintenance levels remain low even if you indulge in high-end sanding projects.

Read on to understand why we recommend this random orbital sander.

Why Choose the Dewalt Orbital Sander?

The detailed guide below clearly explains why DIY professionals must opt for the Dewalt Orbital Sander. We have shed light on must-know specifications and key features that make this product a top choice in the DIY community.

Being a versatile and modern-day orbital sander, it gives out composed yet absorbable vibrations on smaller and larger areas. A random rotary motion is followed to trim the tiniest of uneven spots on varied surfaces. Being a cordless orbital sander, it can be used for sanding areas at a height, be it ceilings or the higher walls of your house.

Specifications of Dewalt Orbital Sander

The Dewalt Orbital Sander is a top pick within the carpentry tool industry. Apart from the eye-catching design that also radiates simplicity, it boasts specifications that suit a plethora of unique sanding requirements. Being a recent addition to the 20V Max Lithium Ion family, here are a few key specifications to note:

• Weight and Dimensions: The number of features packed despite its small size and ultra-lightweight construction makes it an impressive orbital sander as compared to other brands.
• Displaying dimensions of 8.8 x 5.7 x 6.3 inches, the Dewalt Orbital Sander weighs a meager 1.6 pounds and can easily be carried around. Just think about the convenience users are granted in terms of storage, operation, and transportation.
• Power Capacity: The presence of a single 20V Max Lithium Ion battery will offer almost double runtimes. This reduces the troubles of taking unwanted breaks in your sanding tasks to replace the batteries. Above all, say goodbye to the hassle of using a charger to power your orbital sander.
• 5” Sanding Pad: This is a classic requirement for most carpentry beginners and professionals. Even better, the process to replace the sanding pad is an extremely convenient and tidy process; all credits to the replaceable 8-hole hook-and-loop padding. Changing sanding paper has never been so quick and easy.

Additional Specifications

Key Features of Dewalt Orbital Sander

Here is a comprehensive explanation of the key attributes of this random orbital sander. We have also mentioned what we think can be improved. Who knows? Your present DIY equipment may prove handy in enhancing the attributes we think you must!

What We Liked:

Variable Speed Control

A must-have amongst all random orbital sanders, the variable speed control feature lets users choose an output rating of anything between 8,000 and 12,000 OPM. This assists in sanding delicate insides of loose furniture and even rugged outer surfaces of DIY tabletops, DIY kitchen islands, or any kind of surface you may need to furnish.

This degree of control offered brings an assurance of smoother finishes, minimal to zero sanding marks, and also prolonged lifetimes of sandpaper. Most importantly, the common problem of rough and untidy finishes will cease to exist.

Amateurs can reap the benefits of this feature by regulating the sanding speed as per their comfort. Additionally, switching to higher speeds assists in covering up large surface areas in quicker durations. If a project has plenty of sanding to be done, you can skip through several rounds by operating at a high speed of 10,800 to 12,000 OPM – this method is known as “rough sanding”.

In case you aren’t sure about how much material needs to be scraped off, operate at a low speed and judge as you work. This prevents the risk of injuries and also lets you work in a layer by layer and organized fashion.

Brushless Motor

The high torque rating offered with this compact product is all due to the brushless motor. Due to the absence of a brush, there’s zero friction that can neutralize the motor’s toque. This helps in generating a greater amount of power in comparison with random orbital sanders that have a brush-oriented motor.

As there are zero instances of brush replacement, the sander can maintain momentum and reduce breaks that could lead to visually unpleasant sanding. Apart from greater efficiency with respect to runtimes, the sander also uses 50% lesser power as compared to traditional sanders.

Another benefit of a brushless motor is their longer life expectancy. On average, this motor should last for 10,000+ hours without any kind of drawbacks. This trait is way better than that of brushed motors that last for 1,000 to 3,000 hours without any disturbances.

Highly Ergonomic Construction

Product designers at Dewalt are aware of how vibrations via the sander’s force can lead to disruptive sanding patterns. To combat this common issue, they have engineered a special grip that is made using rubber overmold. This grip has ridges and grooves that allow the user’s hand to grasp the equipment with utter stability. In return, the vibrations/shocks are absorbed and the user is rewarded with consistent stability across all available speed stages.

Also, the handle is made as per the shape and size of a human palm. This reduces fatigue episodes and makes it more probable to finish your sanding projects quicker.

All 3 of the protruding sides of the sander are made around the same size to give a compact feel. If you’re unable to adapt to hefty handles and unnecessarily bulky random orbital sanders then the user-friendly design of the Dewalt Orbital Sander could lessen sanding-related burdens.

Finally, the built is such that the user has to work from a lower height. This offers a better view and adjustable positioning, thus helping in greater control during sanding.

Cordless – Battery Powered Sander

The cordless and battery-powered feature is what makes this device portable. Use it in the middle of your backyard to sand DIY gazebos or in your washroom to sand the much-awaited DIY bathroom vanity. No more wasting time on tangled wires and arranging alternatives for the unavailability of power sockets!

It is also only 1.6 pounds and can easily be operated using single-hand movements. Do not underestimate the power of the 20V Max Lithium Ion batteries used. They ensure you can work remotely without consistently changing batteries. Expect better performance in the form of much longer running times than day-to-day batteries.

Worried about overheating due to overload? Be assured, all such parameters have been taken into consideration while building this product. The fact that the battery and charger are sold separately shouldn’t influence your decision. Once you begin to enjoy the freedom of portability, you’ll realize how well worth the investment was!

What We Didn’t Like

Every electronic tool goes through minor sacrifices on the path to near perfection. Few drawbacks tend to exist and we want to share them with you.

The Dewalt Orbital Sander doesn’t manage to clean up large surfaces of wood and then even-out all the non-uniform spots, all in a single charge. Expect the battery life to drain halfway through the process. Don’t be mistaken, both tasks are easily possible if you don’t mind changing batteries midway. Consider going for this product if you’re not going to do plenty of sanding day-in and day-out.

Another drawback is its incompatibility with specific dust collection machines. Modifications may be needed and you would have to shell out a little more money. Also, if you’re doing hours of sanding everyday then the dust collection efficiency could be unsatisfactory.

On the positive note, both these drawbacks do not limit the functionality of this tool and yet give it the much-deserved standing of one of the best random orbital sanders in the market.

Conclusion

Everything said and done, the Dewalt Orbital Sander has enough vital features to be a worthy candidate for a must-have random orbital sander. Nothing beats a sander than moves in a circular and top-down motion. This covers more of the surface area in a quicker manner. Combine this with the ergonomically designed handle and you can enjoy the benefit of zero vibrations.

If you’re an amateur in sanding then this product is a definite choice for you. Professionals who are aware of how to tweak the drawbacks could also use this as an amazing addition to their DIY tools arsenal.

Want to jump into the modernized world of DIY tools? Don’t forget to read through our Dewalt (DCH273B) 20V Cordless Rotary Hammer Drill review.