Customer Reviews

Porter-Cable 342 1/4-Sheet Palm Sander

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Porter Cable 342 Palm Sander
Cord: Long (8 Feet)
Dust Collection: Superior
Noise Level: Low
Warranty: Impressive
Quality: High
Value: Excellent

I needed a palm sander as my very old Craftsman, which I inherited, died a quite, muffled death.

I normally buy from Amazon, but did not want to postpone my project by waiting the extra time for the free shipping. The 342 was available at one of the local home centers (but not its replacement, model 342K which is about 5 dollars higher) so I purchased it there for about the same price as Amazon but had to pay a few dollars sales tax.

The 342 had no reviews on amazon but the 342K had plenty most 5 stars, a few 4 and one 3 star so I am posting this to fill the gap figuring this tool was high quality like its predecessor.

These 1/4 sheet Palm Sanders use regular sandpaper cut into 4 squares. TV's Ron Hazelton (www.ronhazelton.com) has an excellent video on his website of how to easily make a small jig to cut those 1/4 sheets perfectly every time. You just need about a square foot of plywood, a few small hinges, a few small screws and washers, and a hack saw blade.

This PC comes with a paper punch which allows you to put 8 small holes into the 1/4sheet of sandpaper for the dust collection to operate properly. You punch the holes after you have mounted the sandpaper sheet onto the PC Sander. If you don't want to use the dust collection, you just don't punch the holes.

I used the dust collector with just the bag connected and my shop vacuum. You will need an adapter unless you have a 1 inch or 1 and 1/2 inch vacuum. With just the "bag" attached (actually a thick plastic canister), it cleaned up quite well - I know this because my Craftsman had no dust collection at all.

With the vacuum attached the clean-up was remarkable. I dusted the piece off with a brush and saw just a trace of sawdust flying onto the floor, then rubbed my hands across the sanded piece and my hand did not pick up any noticeable saw dust film as had been the case sanding with just the canister.

It is easy to attach the sandpaper sheet to the unit, once you get use to it. It also holds the sandpaper firmly into place. I sanded about 9 square feet of Oak plywood and the 150 grit paper stayed where it belonged. My Sears unit would have required me to stop and reposition the sandpaper back straight onto the base a few times as it always slipped out of place after a minute or two. I am not saying anything about Craftsman power tools as the one I had may have been 20-25 years old.

The warranty is 90 day money back guarantee, one year warranty (free service), and three years limited warranty.

I wish my Craftsman had broken down a long time ago. I have to rate this 5 stars. I can't find anything wrong with it.

I have four daughters. One of them spilled a bottle of nail polish on our brand new kitchen table before I had a chance to put a sealant on it. So, I bought some sand paper and a sanding block and removed the entire surface of the table. We then stained it with a Minwax Red Oak stain. (Don't get Minwax). It was terrible. So, we investigated what to do. When I learned that the best solution was to resand the entire table, I decided to buy a new sander. (My Black & Decker iron shaped sander just wasn't very good). Because I've had a good experience with a Porter Cable biscuit joiner, and because of good reviews on the 342 model, I decided to get one.

Let me talk about this Sander. First of all-it's not a 1/4 sheet literally. That's just a name. It takes almost 1/3 of a sheet of sand paper. So if you are planning a project, count on three pieces per sheet, not four. Some people complained about how to cut a sheet of paper and put the sanding paper on the unit. Honestly I figured it out without reading the instructions in less than 3 minutes. It's very simple. But to save you the 3 minutes, here's what to do:

Just take a ruler and mark off on the back of a sheet of sand paper at 4 3/8" by 5 7/8". Then cut it with a pair of scissors. Push the levers in a bit and then swing each side up. Slip the sand paper into each end and swing the levers back to their original position. There should be no slack. Then use the hole punch form and punch holes in the sand paper. IF you do this, you will have virtually zero dust in your project.

This unit has a palm grip that is very comfortable. It also had more oscillations than the other sanders I looked at (14,000 OPM vs 12,000 OPM). It also has a 3 yr limited warranty (the box doesn't say this on the outside-but it has a pretty impressive warranty for a small hand power tool). Instead of using the dust bags that can leak more easily, a hard plastic cannister slides onto and twist locks onto a plastic connector that attaches to the back of the sander. This connector slides onto a well designed vacuum port that has an o-ring to keep the dust from leaking. My unit did not leak. However, the o-ring came a little loose before I slid it on, and I had to press it into position for the unit to work correctly. No big deal at all. I like the o-ring idea. Good engineering concept. A cannister has the advantage of not dropping down onto a table when you turn off the power. It's virtually leak proof. I thought I would not like this feature, but now that I've used it, I prefer it. the port could also have a vacuum hose to a vacuum system or wet-vac hooked up to it, but I love the little cannister.

This unit is so powerful, that I would not recommend using it with one hand, although a pretty strong person could do that, it tends to wander if you use one hand for me anyhow. So use two hands. The power cord is a bit heavier gage than most power tools of this size. I appreciated that too. It's about 8 feet long, but it does not have a grounding connector. I don't like the two prong connectors that many tools have recently come out with. What's up with that anyhow?

This unit also has a 3 screw access panel on top of the handle. This makes it easier to access the unit for repair or cleaning. The screws are recessed so you cannot feel them when using the unit. The rubber grip is soft yet strong. Excellent material.

The vibration on this unit is pretty quiet compared to other tools with a similar number of strokes per minute. For example, it's a lot quieter than my well loved Dremel tool. It's about the same volume of noise as other finishing sanders.

For my project, I found that 100 grade sand paper with this tool did not take all the stained wood off. I need a bit rougher paper with this sander. So I recommend using a 60 grade to start with. If you are working on veneered finishes, I wouldn't use a belt sander. I would use this sander. It doesn't cut too deeply. It's smooth, very clean (you can use it in a regular home without creating a sawdust storm), and worthy of a five star rating.
It uses only 2.4 Amps...so any power line in your house or shop can service this tool and several other things at the same time.

This tool's a keeper. Glad I have it in my shop!

This is a really nice high quality hand sander. Has a 1 year warranty on anything and 3 years for certain other things that I forgot exactly what they were. I will give you a hint. This other person that said you had to cut the sheets of sand paper in a certain length and width is wrong. Using his way you will only get 3 pieces out of a sheet of sandpaper. Read the directions and use their dimensions. When you cut the piece of sand paper into 4&1/2 by 5&1/2 inch lengths you will get 4 pieces of sandpaper instead of three and they fit perfect.

I bought this to help with my daughter's home rennovation project...used it to smooth large spackling areas. It is easy to handle, and does a great job. I cut flat sheets of sandpaper into 4 pieces, punched holes with the little stand and went to town. We plan to use it for corners on the oak flooring and stairs.
Do plan to use your earplugs, mask, GLOVES, goggles, and extension cord: but that's just part of the fun.
Putting the paper onto the sander really dries my hands, hence the gloves. I am a 55-year-old Mom; this is my first sander and I will never start another painting project without one.
I did lots of research before buying this, and my husband says I did very well!!

I purchased this unit to refinish a pine staircase. The unit is very powerful and does not bog down when applying pressure. It made short work of sanding down 13 treads, easily stripping off 10 years of traffic and abuse with #60 sandpaper. It does easily accept a 1/4 sheet of sandpaper, but be sure to quarter the sandpaper accurately. Anything shorter than a quarter sheet will not secure well into the spring-loaded clamps. Changing paper is easy with a little practice. There was no paper slippage. Dust collection was nominal... about as good as can be expected without a vacuum attachment. I'd say it chambered about 60% of the dust.

I use palm sanders on hardwood, usually oak, ash and myrtle. This one far surpasses my old Skil. It is relatively quiet, great dust suction, and takes off more material in less time. I see no faults!!

I had the previous model 340 and worked it hard for years and loved it. I didn't survive a drop off a roof onto concrete so I got this one and it works great. I really like how the filter comes off and it'll accept a 1-1/4 or a 2 inch vac hose.

Super performance and sticky-backed sandpaper really adheres ... too well. After the first few sheets, the pad has retained too much gumminess, making it virtually impossible to remove subsequent sheets without damaging the pad underneath. (Chunks of it come off with the sandpaper, no matter how careful you are.)

If you have a sizable project (like sanding a bank of cabinets, for example), you really want a spare pad on hand as replacement pads are not carried by the big box stores or local hardware outlets ... or even Amazon, as they show third-party vendors for this item. What this means is, you could get stuck for days on your project waiting for a replacement pad, or having to but a second sander at whatever store is near you. My replacement pad has a two-week window for delivery ... but who can afford to stand by for two weeks waiting for such a part?

Porter Cable would do well to include a spare pad in the box and charge $5 more. Until they do, do yourself a favor and order one when you buy this sander.

Having said all this, I'm very happy with the performance of this sander. Does a much better job than the Dewalt orbital sander I had been using. I'd guess my sanding time has been cut by close to half. Also, it's very easy to hold and use.

I read multiple reviews on Amazon before selecting this palm sander. It arrived a couple of weeks ago.

I wanted a palm sander that uses 1/4 sheets of regular sanding paper, which this one does. It is easy to secure the sanding paper to the sander. And punching holes in the paper once it is attached (with the enclosed hole puncher) helps to decrease the amount of dust in the air around your project.

I found that this palm sander vibrates less than other models I have used. This makes it easier to use for long periods of time.

I have already quickly completed 2 refinishing jobs with it and have been very pleased with it.

great sander.i'm a furniture re-doer and have an antique store in montana. i have always used dewalt sanders in the past, but they have let me down as of late. hence, my new P.C.sander.thanks, lisa.