Sander & Extractor best settings??

[tatifl4@gmail.com]

I just purchased the midi dust extractor and the Rotex 90 sander. Am loving it, however, I don’t know what speed I should be setting the sander to and what level the extractor should be set to. I mainly use to remove paint and finishes off of furniture. I consider myself to be somewhat strong, but this thing kicks my butt and I’m struggling with it jumping around even when I use 2 hands and keeping it level because it’s back heavy. I’ve searched online, including YouTube, for help but can’t find the answers I need.

 

[AlexThePalex]

Just put both on full speed for their best behaviour.

Sanders with a bigger pad can get sucked to the surface and behave jerky, but the RO90's pad is so small it makes no difference. Also because it has a lot of power for that small pad.

A RO90 is just a very different type of sander than most people are used to. Just use it and eventually you'll get the hang of controlling this little beast.

 

[Crazyraceguy]

Alex is right. There is a feel to it that comes with some experience. Just use it for a while and it will come to you....the a ha moment.
My recommendation is to think of the pad as a clock (as viewed from behind) keep the pressure biased slightly toward the 12:00 to 3:00 quadrant. Don't actually tilt the unit, keep the pad flat on the work, but just favor that direction and it will behave much better.
Just know that the Rotex action itself will feel odd on concave surfaces  and slightly "lighter" on convex surfaces

 

[CeeJay]

I always use the lowest setting on the MIDI with all my sanders.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ChuckM]

Unless it's for stock removal (at max speed - see pic), I always take the middle of the road or slightly faster for both the sander and extractor (CT15) when dealing with sepele, oak, walnut and cherry -- the kind of lumber I usually deal with. Not sure about ply, which is hardly used except for shop builds.

 

[Cheese]

I pretty much sand at full speed for everything EXCEPT, veneered materials, plastic and still possibly uncured coatings. Also, on things like older latex painted objects I will reduce the speed to prevent heating the coating up.

The vac is always throttled between max & min, depending upon the situation. The RO 90 though is a great little sander, I don’t use it often but it’s a charm.

 

[tatifl4@gmail.com]

Just put both on full speed for their best behaviour.

Sanders with a bigger pad can get sucked to the surface and behave jerky, but the RO90's pad is so small it makes no difference. Also because it has a lot of power for that small pad.

A RO90 is just a very different type of sander than most people are used to. Just use it and eventually you'll get the hang of controlling this little beast.

I haven’t tried it at top speed or the extractor above two bars; I can’t imagine how jumpy it would be! Thank you for your answer though. Guess I’ll just have to keep playing around with it.

 

[tatifl4@gmail.com]

Alex is right. There is a feel to it that comes with some experience. Just use it for a while and it will come to you....the a ha moment.
My recommendation is to think of the pad as a clock (as viewed from behind) keep the pressure biased slightly toward the 12:00 to 3:00 quadrant. Don't actually tilt the unit, keep the pad flat on the work, but just favor that direction and it will behave much better.
Just know that the Rotex action itself will feel odd on concave surfaces  and slightly "lighter" on convex surfaces

Thank so much. I will heed your 12-3 advice next time I use it and see if that helps. I know it’s a great tool and I want to love it after spending so much money on it!

 

[tatifl4@gmail.com]

I pretty much sand at full speed for everything EXCEPT, veneered materials, plastic and still possibly uncured coatings. Also, on things like older latex painted objects I will reduce the speed to prevent heating the coating up.

The vac is always throttled between max & min, depending upon the situation. The RO 90 though is a great little sander, I don’t use it often but it’s a charm.

Using it at full speed doesn’t make it extremely jumpy? As jumpy as it is for me at middle speeds I can’t imagine. I will try though. Thank you.

 

[AlexThePalex]

The lower your speed, the jumpier it gets. Sanders work better at full speed because it takes power to overcome the friction of the material.

 

[tatifl4@gmail.com]

The lower your speed, the jumpier it gets. Sanders work better at full speed because it takes power to overcome the friction of the material.

Well now I’m feeling pretty silly that I haven’t even tried it at the highest setting! I guess I assumed it would be even more jumpy. Will definitely crank it up this weekend and see how it goes. Thanks again!

 

[Crazyraceguy]

The lower your speed, the jumpier it gets. Sanders work better at full speed because it takes power to overcome the friction of the material.

Yes, 100%, slowing it down will make it worse.
The only time I ever slow mine down is for polishing. I have some thick felt pads that I use with some plastic-specific polish on acrylic panels. This is multi-layer stuff with decorative inserts between the layers, so flame polishing is not advisable.