Air Tools for Woodworking
Orbital and In-line Sanders
“Jitterbug” orbital sanders (right) are used for a lot of different sanding tasks, while in-line sanders (left) are best for final sanding without scratches.
The original air-powered sander, orbital “jitterbug” sanders have been around for decades, used in auto body shops for fine sanding body filler, primer and painted finishes. Their rectangular rubber pads take a standard 1/3-sheet of sandpaper, and their low profile lets them get into tighter areas than most electric orbitals can reach.
Also born in auto body shops, in-line (a.k.a. “long board”) sanders use long strips of sandpaper and work with a back-and-forth sanding action. In-lines are great to use with fine-grit papers for final smoothing of large, flat cabinet sides, panels and tabletops, as well as for fine sanding between finish coats.
Random-orbit and Dual-action Sanders
Pneumatic random orbit sanders (left and middle) are solid and well designed for most tasks, while dual-action sanders (right) are good for more aggressive jobs.
Compact and powerful, pneumatic random-orbit (RO) sanders come with either 5″- or 6″-diameter pads that take PSA (pressure-sensitive adhesive) sandpaper discs. You can also fit them with a conversion pad that accepts hook-and-loop discs. An RO’s orbit diameter determines sanding aggressiveness: large-orbit models sand more aggressively — best for rougher sanding jobs — while small-orbit models are better for finer finish sanding. Some pneumatic ROs have built-in dust extraction, and they connect to either a vacuum hose or a passive-collection dust bag.
Dual-action or “DA” sanders, long the kings of cabinet shops, employ the same sanding action as ROs, but they have a handle configuration that makes them a better choice for sanding edges, corners and curved surfaces.
Disc and Narrow-belt sanders
Air disc sanders can be fitted with coarse sandpaper which makes shaping jobs easy, while air powered narrow belt sanders are great for finer work than detail sanders.
Fitted with coarse-grit discs, pneumatic disc sanders are really handy for quickly shaping large surfaces, say to refine a coopered panel into a smoothly curved cabinet door.
Narrow belt sanders run skinny (1/2″) belts on a long wand that can get into areas where even a detail sander won’t work. They’re indispensable for smoothing the hard-to-reach nooks and crannies on a project.
