Customer Reviews

DEWALT DW423K 5-Inch Heavy Duty Random Orbit Sander with Electronic Variable Speed

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

This little sander is a wonderful tool. You can get glass smooth finishes relatively quckly with the right discs. I won't go back to plain orbital sanders. they're too slow and leave too many swirl marks on your work. Incidently , I find myself reaching for my Porter Cable R.O. sander more often , because it has less vibration, and causes less numbness in my hands. They are very comparable in features and price.

I own several Dewalt tools, and am overall happy with the quality - however, this sander has two notable defects: the on/off switch (as others have noted) seems to be of bad quality, mine seems to get caught in between on and off -- the switch seems to be designed to be operated with one hand, but the defect makes this difficult. Also, when attaching my Fein shop vac (*highly* recommended) to the little dust port, it quickly wiggles loose -- and the vac does stay attached to other Dewalt tools properly. On the bright side, this sander *does* sand well, leaving a nice finish in a very short amount of time.

PS: (I make it a little practice to note where each Dewalt tool I buy is manufactured, anything that can be tracted back to Elu, or made in Italy is of high quality, hint, look where the owner's manual was printed)-

I purchased this sander as a replacement to a Bosch of similar design. The Bosch had a poor switch and the dust "collection" system just didn't work. Not sure how it could being a hard plastic receptacle.

While I've only had the DeWalt a few days I have noticed the following: It has much less vibration that the Bosch even at top speed; it picks up most of the dust without a vacuum attached; it makes much less noise and it provides a fine finish. So, to date I have absolutely no complaints! It's a fine product out of the box.

I went through two before switching to Makita. It is susceptible to power surges, and the variable speed mechanism will burn out easily. You also have to replace $20 gasket about every 6-12 months for proper operation. It now comes with one extra gasket.

I found this to be a great little sander. Though some have hadobjections to the switch design, I found this to be no problem atall. I have used mine to finish raw wood projects and for refinishing as well. I even went so far as to use it to refinish a hardwood floor in a small room! No swirl marks by the walls as you get with the super sanders, but it did take some time (as expected). END

I have owned ny DeWalt for about eight months. Sometimes the on/off switch gets caught but really no trouble. I have probably put close to 500 hours of heavy duty work with this. C & D side plywood, raw wood as well as refinishing. I just had to replace the pad today as it losts its grip on the sandpaper. But again a very minor problem. My sole major problem is how hot the handle gets after about two hours of consistent sanding. However, the finish is beautiful and I would highly recommend it to anyone.

I was very unhappy with the power switch on this product. Look closely at the Porter Cable 333VS and PC 333PK before you make this purchase.

I use the heck out of this tool, probably every week. I've had it about two years and haven't had a lick of trouble. The on/off switch on mine has worked without complaint. The speed control has also been reliable and is a nice feature on occasion to lower the speed on more delicate items (although I usually run it wide open). I don't really have much complaint about the vac attachment; mine wiggles loose sometimes, but not every minute (if anyone honestly knows of one that doesn't every come loose, feel free to buy me one for Christmas; I think it's just the nature of the beast). Dust collection (with my Fein vac) has been excellent, especially when sanding wood. I have almost no clean up after. I've also used this for some moderate drywall work (remodel stuff) and it's been up to the task. That generates a little more dust than can be controlled with such a small tool, but I was still able to capture about 85%+.

I think you'll find this to be a reliable, workaday addition to your shop/truck box. It may not be as efficient as some of the larger 6" models, but then again, it's much cheaper.

I have used this sander extensively over the past 3 years on a number woodworking and boatbuilding projects, including completely sanding the hulls of two very large catamarans. I have noted the same minor difficulty at times operating the on-off switch that others have mentioned, but I would say it is really a very minor problem and the switch has never failed. I think the problem arises out of the way the switch is sealed from dust. The dust collection bag has worked well for me.
The tool is light and easy to use. It removes material as well or better than other sanders I've used, and the sanding discs are relatively inexpensive and readily available.

I have had this sander for a year and have experienced no problems. The variable speed works teriffic. The dust collector picks up about 70-80% of the dust. I've never had any trouble with the sander leaving swirl marks. As with any sander it takes a short period of time to get the feel of it. However, once you do material removal is a breeze! The switch is a little tricky, but certainly nothing to cry about. Overall, it's been a great sander.