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Anyone have experience with either Mirka or Fein sanders. Any recommendations. I hae to sand my boat bottom and hull sides thanks!

I bought a Festool last spring. Light and powerful. I love my Porter Cable but it was heavy...

Dug

Mirka is a brand of abrasives, but I don't think they make any tools... Fein is an expensive German import. Their tools are excellent quality but way over priced, primarily due to import tariff and transportation, but also due to manufacturing hype by the company.

Porter Cable is, and has been for over 20 years, my 1st choice of tools.

So if you're looking for an excellent sander, and want a Mercedes Status Appeal, buy Fein. If you don't want to send your money to the Germans, but still need excellent quality, buy Porter Cable.

BTW: The cost of a Fein 6" DA sander is around $700. The cost of a Porter Cable 6" DA sander is around $150. Is the Fein really 4.6 times better of a tool than the Porter Cable? Hmmmm, very doubtfull...

Also for heavy sanding with the 6" adhesive discs, go for 3M Gold 60 grit in an F weight paper. The 80 grit also comes in an F weight. All other finer grits are OK with C weight. An occassional blast of compressed air clears the grit of packed in dust.

I've been using a Port Cable for years. I've got one that I sanded the bottom gel coat off of two boats and she is still kicking. I can hook a shop vac to it and it will pick up about 2/3 of the dust.

I'd get another in a heart beat.

Dick

I'm a strong advocate of Bosch. The Porter Cable of today is a lot different than ten years ago. I bought this a few years ago & have used it extensively.
http://bosch.cpotools.com/sanders/rando ... ml#REVIEWS
I used it in a heads up comparison with the PC using the same paper sanding on the bottom of my boat. The Bosch walked away from the PC. Later on I was cleaning my 9"x30" tabs down to clean metal. One of the pros in the yard said "Here use my sander". It was the Fein. After 15 minutes I switched back to my Bosch. It was more effective.
Al

P.S. I paid less than $200 on Amazon

He may be thinking of Metabo. A lot of the welders use their grinders. Their professional grade ones are pretty pricey too.

http://www.amazon.com/Metabo-SXE450-6-I ... B00004YBX6

After I went to a Dynabrade Supreme, i haven't looked back. I assume you won't have adequate air available to run an air DA? If you do have sufficient air, go pneumatic!

i like electric over air anytime i have a choice....more torque. just a personal preference.

CaptPatrick wrote:Porter Cable is, and has been for over 20 years, my 1st choice of tools.

So if you're looking for an excellent sander, and want a Mercedes Status Appeal, buy Fein. If you don't want to send your money to the Germans, but still need excellent quality, buy Porter Cable.

Capt Pat I have been using the Porter Cable for about the same amount of time thing is! The first one lasted 15 years and then I went thru two in about 5-6 years. The bearing in the head gets HOT. I abused them all the same!
The only difference was I was using it more overhead but it really should not matter anyone have the same thing happen.

Other wise kick arse sander!

I try to follow the test results in several of the woodworking magazines I subscribe to when I am looking to buy new power tools.. usually in their comparisons both Porter Cable and Bosch rate near the top. Fein also usually rates well.. but their prices are way out of line, and I have never owned one of their sanders. I have two Bosch sanders currently.. my finishing sander takes a 1/4 sheet of paper and has a very reliable attachment scheme that is easy to use. My random orbit sander uses 5" diameter sheets with hook and loop attachment. Both are great, and their prices were similar to other manufacturer's similar machines. I am also a believer in DeWalt products.. usually they are a little lower in price but their 18 volt battery powered drill and saw I own have seen a lot of use and still work fine.

I usually visit a big box store where I can at least see and handle the various products and decide what I want, then go to the only tool store we have in town and buy what I want. Their prices are close to the big box guys, but their service is great, and I like to have my money go to support local businesses.

My summary.. look at Porter Cable, DeWalt, and Bosch.. you can't go wrong with eithher.. but in a tie go with Bosch.

I love my Porter Cable, don't get me wrong! It is my second one, and the first gave me years of good service!

The particular unit I have was less than ideal compared to the Festool when I had to hold it over my head for extended amounts of time!

There is no perfect sander for that... In my humble opinion.

D

I have a Porter Cable and a Bosch . . . and I still prefer air!!

Thanks for the info guys. Been a big help! I will probally go with porter.

Greg

Looks like the project is moving forward. Are you going to keep the boat in the yard or are you moving it closer to home?

HI Tony,

Going to do another yaer there and probally move it. I am hoping to have engines in by Xmas! We are moving just slowly.

How is everything working for you? Do you know your cruise speed yet?

Greg

I am still tryng to get my wiring squared away. My attempt to use the stick up wire ties and bundle my wires to it is frustrating me. I have tried just about everything but epoxy to hold them up under the overhead. I will probaby epoxy them up so I can keep everything orderly. Plus once I got the boat in the water, it seems like every project I let go for the last two years came home to haunt me.

I just had to pull it because now work is getting in the way and if I don't get teh winterization done in the next two weeks it may have to wait to Christmas.

I will say this, it moves and if I got the hours right I think I am only burning about 15 gallons an hour. That running at about 2200 RPM's. From the way it performs based on the old big blocks I figure I around 24 to 25 knots. I will take that day in and day out but will have to wait until the spring to confirm the numbers with the GPS.

I will catch up with you at some point. Give your wife our regards.

Tony- Those are the numbers, if not better. My last fill up got me 1.7 nmpg. A FAR cry from my gasser days. Walter

Walter

Right now I am running light. So I am anxious for spring when when I get her all back together and I can really find out how those 270 Cummins perform.

That's going to be the big difference you will find in the diesels vs gassers. You and your son alone vs 4-5 big guys, tackle, ice, full fuel tank, lunches etc. No difference in performance, speed at rpm's, fuel consumption and handling. There was a BIG difference with my gassers, especially in fuel consumption. I couldn't believe it, but it's been years so I know it's not an accidental thing.

I have a Ryobi random orbital sander.
Uses 6 inch velcro pads.
Did the bottom's on both boats.
Plus all the teak trim, pulpit, and fighting chair.
Cost $40 or there abouts.
I bought it to replace the same size Dewalt.
Have had the Ryobi 6 years....the Dewalt crapped out in less than 1 year.

In our shop we would go thru 2-4 sanders a year. Makita had the worst problems, switches mostly. Dewalt was a tad better. Bosch was the best.
All heavy and cumbersome. 6 years ago we switched to Dynabrade air sanders, we bought 4, not one has failed since and we work them very hard.

If you can get the air capacity to them, 6-8 cfm, they are the most ergonomic and most powerful palm sanders, I believe, you can use especially for sanding over your head. They have models with different orbits for more or less aggressive sanding.
The best discs I have used sanding the boat were the Norton, Blue Zircon
lasted twice as long as the green ones.

Ray