Makita BO5041 5" Random Orbit Sander, Variable Speed

This is a really great sander, sensitive and powerful and most importantly for me- has a great design and ergonomics. This is very important if you're a professional carpenter or woodworker (or artist) and sometimes have to sand all day long for several days. I have another palm sander that's lacking in that respect, and I get cramps and aches when I use it a lot. So I got this one in addition, despite the other one being battery operated and this one, not. Actually, the battery just adds weight anyway and i prefer to avoid that. But, some hard to reach places (if you're sanding a structural piece rather than a free piece of material) are easier to sand with a battery tool so its good to have both. Another thing that makes a difference in acceaive use is the several rubber pads in key locations like the palm grip and both handles, those pads absorb some of the vibrations and prevent them from transferring into your bones and muscles. Also, unlike battery sanders you can plug this one into an auto vacuum like a Festool, which turns on when you turn on the tool. I especially like the ball handle which can be rotated easily, so as long as your workpiece is clamped down or otherwise secured to a structure, you can hold the sander with two hands, one by the long handle and one by the ball handle (adjusted depending on your sanding angle), this gives you excellent control over your sanding and makes a big difference in needing less effort versus holding the sander with one hand. (Which you can still do with this one if you feel like it, or in a setting in which you have to hold the workpiece with one hand). The dust collector is great too and doesn't constantly fall off like other sanders. Also, great value for a reasonable price.

Some background: been doing woodworking for decades and in early days, RO sanders were air driven typically originating from the auto body shop suppliers. In late 80s-early 90s, Porter Cable came out with an electric version so when I closed the woodshop and no longer had a big compressor, I got the P-C. Works fine and its still running like new today - very heavy and powerful, but the angle grinder style is not very ergonomic even with the side handle, and dust collection was an afterthought that they added later via a plastic shroud accessory. Finally in a new house and setting up a dedicated workshop, I decided its time to upgrade and take some pressure off my wrists and elbows. I did some research and was about to try a chinese import model that appears to be a 3m clone that has been getting good reviews - mostly - but its new and so has few independent comparisons. After some discussions with other woodworkers who are mostly in business so tend to recommend high end types, I finally got some feedback from guys like me who can't justify the high end cost - they mostly suggested a variety of Bosch but I heard from some suggesting the Makita was far more bang for the buck. So did some more research and really found very little negative about the Makita. When I saw the price drop into the $80s I jumped on it. I love this sander and wish I had considered a more ergonomic style long ago. I've also found the quality of the sanding is far superior to the old P-C. This sander is truly swirl free - its an even better finishing sander than the old dynabrade pneumatic I had back in the day. I am absolutely thrilled. I have not yet begun any hardwood furniture projects, waiting for warmer weather, but the odd pine and plywood shelving and misc I've worked on so far have come out great. Since my personal usage has been limited to the old pneumatic or old P-C, I cannot compare, but for the price, maybe 2x the price, I'm not sure there is any that will do better. Note: I also found I was able to take a scrap piece of PVC pipe (3/4" I think), heat one end to fit over the dust port and heat the other end to fit the 1" vac hose from my old P-C sander so I can't comment on the dust bag. The vac attachment is working great - see photo.

I've been using sanders for about 30 yrs and I have used everything from Bosch and Porter Cable to Rigid with some Harbor Freight ones thrown in just out of curiosity. I bought a Makita 1/4 sheet sander back in the 90s and it lasted well with lots of abuse, but for whatever reason, I went on to other brands. I came across this sander on a fluke and saw all the great reviews so I bought it. WOW! It is an incredible sander. The paddle switch is actually really nice to have and it locks so you dont have to grip the switch on long sanding sessions. I didnt think Id like the side handle, but I love it. Great control and comfort. I don't know what makes the Makita different than other brands, but it does work better and I can remove material much faster and the built in dust collection is way better than any other. I liked this so much I went on and bought a 2nd one. I run my HF sander a few minutes and it gets hot. I ran this for about 45 minutes and it wasn't even warm. Excellent built sander.

The item is a great item to have it works well as was expected

A good orbital sander is one of the few tools I still prefer to be corded. There are some good cordless sanders available, but they eat through batteries and don't seem to give consistent performance. This is one of the best corded orbital sanders in it's price range. The ergonomics of this orbital sander, the grip and switch placement, extra handle, and weight make it easy to use for extended periods of time. Aside from dust collection, this is about as good as it gets without stepping up to something much more expensive. One drawback of this sander is the size and acoustics of the dust port. The port is so small that you'll need to find a specialty adapter to hook up any dust collection hoses, and when you do it will howl and whistle very loudly. Most of the time I just use the dust bag because even with hearing protection the noise is loud. The bag works ok but not as well as some other sanders. Uses the common 8 hole 5 inch discs. I find the Mirka brand discs available here on Amazon to work very well with this sander.

I also have had the cheaper single speed version of this ROS for many years. I had replaced the velcro a couple times, and I decided to devote that one to rough sanding duty using a dura-grit pad. I keep sanding discs from 60 to 320 in bulk on hand for all other sanding duties with this ROS. I like the second handle to add stability. I haven't really used the variable speed function much for my uses, as I tend to just keep it on the highest speed. Dust collection honestly isn't that great. The bag does collect dust, but the channel gets nearly clogged pretty easily. I also have a Dylos DC1100 pro that I use when I'm sanding, and there is a lot of fine dust that get emitted into the air, sometimes up into the range of over 26000 in the .5 micron and greater range. The only ROS that i've heard that has good dust collection performance is the festool rotex, but man is it expensive! It also hasn't been tested with an air quality monitor, so we don't actually know how well it filters down to the .5 micron range. Even with the poor fine dust collection, I think it is a great value and workhorse ROS, and I expect to use it for many years. I do keep a spare set of brushes on hand, as that is a wear item, and I want to make sure I can replace them as needed.

A nice, solid piece of equipment. I like the variable speed feature. It's a bit heavy for what I typically use it for (a first sanding on handcarved spoons, etc). My fourth palm sander and favorite so far.

This is an excellent orbital sander. It is very easy to control and it has great power. The sanding disks hold securely to the sanding pad.