Customer Reviews

Milwaukee 6020-21 1/4-Sheet Orbital Sander

5 star:		(21)
4 star:		(12)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(6)
1 star:		(11)

 

 

I have been a wood worker for 30 years and decided to try out the new 1/4 Sheet Sander that Milwaukee recently added to their line. I am amazed by how good this sander feels in your hand, Milwaukee obviously put a lot of thought in the grip. It has everything that you would like in a 1/4 sheet sander --- soft start, plenty of power, vacuum ports, pad cushioning and break. Do yourself a favor and try one of these sanders out, you will not be disappointed!

I'm the pickiest handy dude on this planet.
I read the positive and negative reviews and chose to buy this sander anyway.
I do not regret buying this sander. Other major brand sanders I compared are 1.7Amp 1.6Amp 2.0Amp 2.4Amp
Heres my honest review. Enjoy.
This sander is made with high quality materials and has a comfortable rubber grip and runs quiet and smooth.
This sander has a 12' long all rubber power cord and lots of power. It removed wood very fast for a finishing sander 14000 orbits and 1/16" orbit diameter.
Being a more powerful sander I needed to grip it a little more than my other bagless sander yet needed less downward pressure to actually sand.
A very minor issue....The rear paper clamp lever contacts the rectangular dust chute if the paper clamp lever is perfectly centered. My sample sandpaper installed in approx one minute.
There was no issue with sandpaper coming loose or tearing.
Helpful tip...
Buy good quality sandpaper and throw out old brittle junk sandpaper.
Even better news people. The cardboard box says....It accepts self adhesive paper. Yea!
The cloth dust bag has a round coil spring shaped wire inside so the bag don't hang flat. It captures sawdust well and twist locks on and does not fall off like earlier designs on other cheap sanders.
Even better news people. The cardboard box says intregated vacuum ports for 1 1/4" or 1 1/2" attatchments. Yea!
This is a superb sander combined with a hard plastic case for the money spent and the 5 yr warranty cant be beat.

The rear clamp for the sandpaper interfers with the dust collector so that it is very difficult to change the paper. The front clamp is so tight that it takes a good effort to clamp the paper to the pad.

I own this sander. I have worked on wooden boats, fiberglass boats, homes, furniture, etc. since 1988. I have used many different sanders, needless to say. This thing is a beauty. The supposed difficulty changing paper is no problem. Put the sandpaper in the rear clamp first, pushing down on the lever as you feed the paper in. Do the front the same way. A time saver is to load 3 sheets at the same time, then just rip off the spent sheet and you are good to go.

My new rating is one star.
Update- After using this sander several times, I found the clamp giving me the same problem another reviewer had - the clamp would not hold the paper while sanding. I called Milwaukee service and they told me to use two sheets of sand paper. Though not the answer I wanted to hear, I tried that, which made it difficult to load the paper, and the paper fell off while sanding. This is going back to Amazon. There is obviously an engineering/mfg defect with this model.
This 1/4 sheet palm sander works easily and powerfully. For those having problems clamping the paper, hats off to Brad (other reviewer) who noticed that there are plastic guards that come off the clamp allowing easier insertion. Additionally, potential buyers should know that this is a kit - it comes in a hard plastic case with three 1/4 sheets of sandpaper as well as a hole punch. The marketing guys at Milwaukee tool should improve their product description to give all this info. so that Amazon/Milwaukee doesn't have to sell these at a substantially lower price than their competitors', and this is a Milwaukee with a five year warranty.

This a great little 1/4 sheet sander, all the quality you have come to expect from Milwaukee. Note that getting the sandpaper into the locking slots is not easy! Take a lot of time to change papers. That not withstanding, it is a great value for the price.

I didn't read the owner's manual, so I didn't have the same problem as those that did. I do not know why the clamps had plastic covers over the teeth, but they came off easy enough. I haven't had it long enough to know how it will last, but it seems to be a big improvement over the previous model (which I still use after ten years).

After 1 project, the front clamp/clip just won't hold the sand paper anymore. Like everyone said, it is too very difficult to get the sand paper onto the machine.

This was a very good buy at the $30 sale price. Inserting the sandpaper will not be as easy as some, but once you understand it isn't a problem and it comes with a three year warranty! The sand collector is such an improvement over the old removable bags.

THE QUICK TAKE: The clamps don't clamp properly - it's hard to insert paper, and the front clamp loses its grip some of the time. So many users will find this tool wastes a lot of time.

Though for those using self-adhesive sandpaper, or for light or occasional use, this tool is a good value at the current heavily discounted price. The power gives quick results and a nice finish.

TWO ISSUES WITH THE CLAMPS: There are two big issues with the clamps that hold the sandpaper. Since this is where the rubber meets the road, so to speak, they will be serious issues for many users:

1 - The clamps are really awkward for installing paper - you have to force the clamp open and fiddle with getting the edge of the paper wrapped around the pad and under the clamp. A lever swings out, and you need to use that lever to lift the clamp out far enough to insert the paper. It takes a fair bit of force to open up the clamps, too, as the lever isn't that helpful. And you can't really use the back clamp as intended, because the dust tube gets in the way of using it in the center. So you need to move it to one side or the other, which means the clamp opens unevenly - more on the side the lever is on than the other side. All of which might be tolerable if it weren't for issue #2 ...

2 - The front clamp doesn't hold the paper, when used in certain applications. It seems worst when sanding on a wider piece of work, which engages more of the paper, and when moving across the work in certain directions. Self adhesive paper would likely overcome this problem. And light users may find that fooling with the paper is still worthwhile, given the low price and the results you can get with the sander. (See the bottom of the review for some notes on cutting and installing paper - though it's a lot of fooling around if you're doing much sanding.)

All of which is a shame, as this would be a nice tool if the clamps worked properly:

PERFORMANCE: I'm very happy with the results and the speed (though I don't use it for fine wood finishes, mostly paint prep work). Choosing the right sandpaper for the job helps.

VIBRATION: I haven't had many problems with vibration (except when I'm not using it right), and generally find it easy to use. It can be a little awkward, mostly due to the dust bag, but with some thinking you can fit it into a lot of places that a larger sander wouldn't fit, or do small areas.

NOISE: The noise level seems reasonable if loud. I wasn't expecting it to be quiet, but was worried it might be excessively loud. (But wear ear protection!)

DUST COLLECTION: Seems to work well. It catches a respectable amount of the dust.

INCLUDED ACCESSORIES: The case is useful and fairly well designed (see photos in the product image gallery). The hole punch (to put holes in paper you cut, to allow dust removal from the surface) is easy to use.

CORD: 12 feet, two wire

WARRANTY: Five years

NOTE ON CUTTING AND INSERTING PAPER: If you want to use sheets of paper, here's one potential workaround: Cut pieces of paper about 6" to 6-1/4" long, so you have enough to add a 1/4" to 3/8" fold to each end, where the paper goes into clamps. Or even allow for two folds for the front clamp, if need be. Be sure to fold it down to the standard 5-1/2", though, or you won't be able to get the paper tight enough for the sander to work well.

Insert the paper in the rear clamp just enough to hold it, so you have more slack to work with the front. Then insert the paper in the front clamp. Once it's in both clamps tighten up the paper in the rear and front by inserting it as far as possible.

You'll get only 3 pieces of paper per sheet, and you'll still surely curse the clamps, but it may let you get some work done with the sander.