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Originally Posted by esteem_lover  Vivek, you are leagues above the common DIYer. I just cannot understand what is an orbital sander ? Does it revolve in orbit while it saws off your speaker boxes ?  |
As opposed to the belt sander, where the abrasive is on a belt continuously moving in one direction, the Orbital sander moves a sheet (OK, 1/2 of a conventional sandpaper sheet) and moves it around in circles. The movement is 'orbital' with respect to the sander motor housing (can be a small palm-sized one, a larger 2-handed version). Belt is better for coarse work (removing large amount of peaks), orbital for finer work.
Saves a lot of elbow grease when sanding large surfaces. By using progressively finer sandpaper / emery-paper, one can get a smooth uniform surface very fast.
Not recommended for water-based 'cutting' for final coats of lacquer or paint, though - tends to leave circular marks.
@vivek - where do you buy your tools from?