Sanding Really is Sexy with the Ryobi RS241
Written: Oct 20 '03
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Light weight, quick take off, smooth finish
Cons: Requires the included adhesive hook-and-pile conversion kit
The Bottom Line: Does a great job without additional bells and whistles, or paying for another brand name.
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| joetrent's Full Review: Ryobi Rs240 5 Random Orbit Sander |
Yep, I think sanding can be sexy and fun. And yep, my wife says that I really need a life. If only I wasn’t stingy, and let her play with my Ryobi 5” random orbital sander, she’d sure change her mind. But alas, I am stingy, and it’s mine, all mine!!
OK, that’s the big lie for this review. Sanding is a necessary and messy grunge job if you want your projects to end up anywhere other than a deep hole in the relatives’ back yard.
I’ve hand sanded for years, which is evidenced by the slightly larger arm diameter and shoulder muscle of my sanding arm. I even broke down years ago and bought a Ryobi palm finish sander. Using both of these methods work fine, but you’d better get started on your project a couple of months earlier than needed just to get the sanding done.
This purchase was a spur of the moment gift to myself for being such a swell fella. I was at Home Depot to get a table saw blade. I looked down, and they had this model on sale for $29. Now I’m no expert on random orbital sanders, but that’s really cheap, (and so am I). So, into the basket it went.
Random orbital sanders are designed to both spin and move the pad back and forth at the same time, really fast. This removes material really fast, while minimizing the sanding marks left behind using other sanding methods. But then you already know that, or why else in the world be you be reading this long missive about a sander.
When I returned to the mansion, I opened the box, and out popped the orbital sander, the dust collection bag, four sanding disks, and the hook-and-pile conversion pad. The only assembly required is to plug the dust bag on, and stick on a sanding disk. Then, plug it in, turn it on, and make thick boards thinner in a hurry.
For those in the technical know, (I ain’t one of those), here’s the specs:
Input 120 VAC 2.4 amp
Sanding OPM (Oscillations Per Minute) 12,500
Pad Size 5 inches
Total Weight 2.75 lbs
The sander is lightweight and fairly noisy when in use. It’s very easy to control while sanding. Pushing down on it doesn’t make it sand any faster, and it will probably give it’s motor a heart attack and kill it in a short period of time.
The handle is very comfortable, and even after a couple of hours of sanding, it didn’t get hot to the touch. The on/off switch is on the front of the handle. I don’t like this switch. It toggles left and right to turn the sander on and off. My big, fat finger doesn’t reach over the top and into the recess to operate it. I have to pick up this sanding monster to operate the switch with my other hand. This is not a big problem, but I like the OFF button of my power tools to be really, really convenient.
The supplied sanding disks had no markings what so ever to tell me the grit size. Also, they are the adhesive, stick on types. These are one-use sanding discs, so I started with the really rough one for awhile, tore it off, and worked my way through the less rough ones until they were all gone. To my feeble mind, adhesive discs are a complete waste of money. I don’t plan ahead well enough on my projects to use just one grit on everything, change pads, blah, blah.
Hook-and-pile is the way to go. Tear the disc off, use another grit, and then restick the original on to use on another board. This sander comes with a stick-on hook-and-pile conversion pad. It works great. I’ve had it on the sander under heavy use for about 4 months now.
The dust bag seems to collect most of the really, really fine saw dust that is generated. The trick here is to make sure that the 8 holes in the sanding disc are aligned with the eight holes in the sander. Just for the heck of it, I put the disc on purposely covering the holes. I then went and took a shower and changed my clothes. It makes a heck off a difference.
This sander is a single speed vice a variable speed. That hasn’t posed any problems for me. I’ve used it on cherry, maple, oak, birch, poplar, and pine. The sanding has been quick and very smooth. Using 60 or 80 grit results in very aggressive sanding. Make real sure that you move the sander around the board consistently, unless of course you want a trough down the center of your project.
I really like how this sander performs, and for the price I’ll just get another if I accidentally kill this one.
By the way, I decided I’m gonna let momma play with my sander. Prey for me.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
joetrent
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Location: Riverside, CA
Reviews written: 14
Trusted by: 6 members
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