Customer Reviews

Makita BO4552KX 1.6 Amp 1/4 Sheet Sander with 15 Sheets of Sandpaper

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I bought one of these Makita sanders some years ago. I use it for finish work on the boat, and or various house projects, like the outdoor furniture. It does a wonderful job, is light weight, and easy to control. I have used it with paper from 80 grit (not often), 100, 180, and up. I blow it out once or twice a year, with the air gun, and have never had a problem with it. Using decent grades of paper, it leaves no swirl marks, and is always ready to go. If you need an easy to control, low cost and reliable palm sander I would suggest that you take a good look at this one. I have several other Makita tools, and have found them well worth the investment.

This finishing sander is a pleasure to use. I usually use a Dewalt 5" random orbit sander for finishing the face of my work pieces as it is very "error proof". However, I find a random orbit sander difficult to use on the edge of boards and in corners.

The Makita sander fills in where my Dewalt is lacking. Don't get me wrong the Makita is a wonderful finishing sander for the face of boards too but I am not a gifted woodworker and enjoy the forgiveness of the random orbit sander.

The only problem I have had is the plastic frame for the dust bag. The frame broke as I was replacing the dust bag. I don't know if it was cracked from the manufacturer or if I broke it. I am going to contact Makita and will let you know if their customer service is good or lacking.

Very slow on the update!!

Contacted Makita and had a new frame shipped to the local Makita service center. Service was great and the price was reasonable.

I own six sanders of various types, mainly Bosch and Makita. But if I had to buy only one for general purpose use, this is the one I would choose. It has amazing power and can really remove wood when you want to, it is very light which makes it versatile and the price is super for what you get.

Loading new paper is a little tricky at first and the design could be improved, but once you get the knack of it there is no problem. Also, the dust bag must be Makita's little joke since nobody would take the time to make it work. But, it looks pretty and keeps the air from blowing in your face.

All in all, if you need a palm sander of this type, this one comes highly recommended.

This is the second Makita finishing sander I have owned. Wore the first one out after many hours of use. It is not for heavy duty sanding. Light weight and easy to handle, the square pad reaches into corners and places where orbital or belt sanders can't

I have only a few Makita tools but have used these sanders for over 20 years, for long projects with very fine work like wooden boat repair. They keep running as long as they are cleaned with air. They are easy to use and leave few marks. I can't imagine a better quality power tool of any kind for the money. (The older models without dust bag do throw dust vigorously all over the place, but then there is no other place for it to go.)

I've had one of these sanders for more than 15 years and found it much nicer than many typical quarter sheet sanders. The dust collection is not fantastic and won't keep your shop clean, but importantly keeps the dust away from the sanding surface for usability. The sander works cleanly, but vibrates your hand quite a bit. That used to be the case with all sanders, but these days there are alternatives.

The case was not included when I bought mine originally, but I ordered the Makita case when it became available. The case is not currently pictured, and if it's still the same as mine, it's good quality but a bit small, so the dust bag needs to be removed to store it.

Replacing sandpaper is not difficult, but you get the most clearance when the levers are pulled back less than all the way, meaning that to get the paper completely snug, holding the lever part way open is necessary.

Overall, it's a good sander but it's harder to justify its purchase these days with lots of other competition. Other types of sanders are not ideal replacements, but a palm sander is not a great all around sander. Ideally, you'd want a suite of tools and these days a palm sander is a good choice to complete that suite.

Belt sanders are too aggressive to be considered as alternatives, but there's a lot of overlap with something like the Rockwell RK4245K Vibrafree 5-Inch Random Orbit Sander and some overlap with tools such as Rockwell RK5107K SoniCrafter 73-Piece Complete Professional Kit. The latter is no replacement either, but excels in its other uses so well that it's worth owning.

If you could own only one type of sander, the Makita would not be my first choice. But if you need a good palm sander, this one is worth considering. There are others for a quarter of the price, but this one's twice as good.

I actually have two of these now. I use them so often, that I have 180 grit on one and 220 grit on the other. The first one is about 10 years old, the second is the newer generation like the one shown.

They're fairly quiet, comfortable to hold (a lot of vibration makes your hand go numb- not with these!), and heck, they even look good on your workbench!

Easy to change sandpaper, or buy an adapter kit and switch to hook and loop (er... Velcro?)...

Well worth the money!!!

My introduction to this 1/4 sheet Makita sander was High school Woodshop in the fall of 1980. Our teacher purchased several of these sanders for the classroom use and was so impressed by them that he actually pushed down on the sander while it was running (both hands) to get it stop or stall out,it would not! Talk about impressive, all of us students stood behind the tried and true Black&Decker-U.S. made 1/2 sheet aluminum body sander,and any other U.S. made item,far superior! How wrong we were!(youth)So what does this 29 year old story have to do with this sander? well, it was through that experience,that I currently own 3 of them. Do I recommend torture testing your new Makita sander as my old teacher did? I would not, but, Makita has made true classic,it's still around.

I've owned one of these versatile palm sanders for several years and it tackles everything I ask of it. Despite its small size, it's good at both rough and finish sanding on open surfaces, but is light and maneuverable enough to get into tight spots for detailing. In fact, you can go right to hand-sanding after using this tool, as I've done on many occasions. Dust collection is pretty good, which is somewhat surprising because it takes quite awhile to get the bag even partly full. The only drawback is that this sander makes a lot of noise, emitting a high-pitched whine that can't be good for your hearing, but on every other point, it is well worth the relatively low price. I now have several power tools made by Makita and have been satisfied with them all.

I've just finished sanding an old oak door with my new little makita sander and I am impressed. I believe the material removal is about average, the unit has a very good 'quality' feel to it, and the dust collector seems to collect almost all of the dust created (I am sanding horizontally, don't know if that makes a difference or not right now.)