Customer Reviews

Porter-Cable 7336 6-Inch Variable Speed Random Orbit Sander Only

5 star:		(15)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Since I wrote my original review for this sander in 2001 (take a look), I have upgraded my table saw, bought 3 vibratory sanders and 3 circular saws. No, 4. I have killed and buried 3 cordless drills. (I have TWO Milwaukees now; highly recommended.) Bought a power mortiser, a portable planer and a drill-press.

This is STILL my best power tool. I STILL don't lend it out.

Biggest project I did in that period was a new kitchen with custom cherry cabinets. This sander did EVERY cabinet, door, and drawer in the kitchen. I went through 4 big boxes of sanding disks in several grits down to 220. I was a sanding fool.

Besides the kitchen, I've built several sets of speakers, a couple of tables, a big garden shed, three workbenches, an "heirloom" cherry sewing kit, a dollhouse, and innumerable cabinets for tube amplifiers. This weekend, I am stripping paint from our old wooden garage doors with 60 grit disks. I guess I've used it quite a bit, since every piece of wood I've bought in the last 9+ years has met my Porter Cable sander.

Now that I think about it, I am on my FOURTH foam sanding disk for this sander, or about one every 2-1/2 years.

Today, I only use TWO power sanders: This one and the FEIN triangle sander. If the work is small, or there are interior corners, I use the FEIN, otherwise I use the Porter Cable. I haven't used a belt sander since I've owned this tool, as I find them tempermental, expensive to keep in paper, and difficult to control compared to the P-C.

I have not had any problems with the switches as described by other reviewers, but ironically I HAVE had those exact problems with the FEIN. I strongly suspect that sanders in general are subject to "fouling" of the electrical switches from all the fine dust. Perhaps I've been lucky with the Porter Cable, or maybe my work position (hand over the switch most of the time) shields it, or maybe very frequent use keeps it healthy. Dunno.

As in 2001 I STRONGLY recommend the 6 inch version of this tool, particularly for sanding large panels; it's much easier to avoid rocking off the edge, and it wobbles much less than the 5 inch version.

At the same time, you have to be careful with veneered pieces to use fine grits and low speeds, because the 6" version makes VERY fast work of most jobs, even with fine grit papers, and you don't want to sand through your nice veneers. Easy does it.

OTOH, put some 60 or 80 grit on there and you can chew-through most anything, fast and flat.

Best illustration of this sander is glued-up solid-wood panels (like table tops); do your rough sanding (150 grit or rougher) ACROSS the grain rapidly, both sides, to true the surface. Use a nice long straight edge (like a machinist's 36" straight edge) to find the high spots. Then finish with the grain using fine papers. Works fast, works great.

Five Stars in 2001 + Five Stars in 2005 = 10 Stars.

I fully expect we'll get to 15 stars in 2009. See you then.

Right now, gotta go sand some more.

I bought this sander to use as a car buffer, primarily. This is exactly the same unit that is sold as a car buffer as well. I then went out and bought a nice set of pads, with the backing plate included. So, this way I have both a full sander and a full buffer. The Random Orbital buffer is wonderful for car paint, I can do anything with it. However, recently I have been using it for a lot of sanding. Primarily refinishing wood, but recently for sanding concrete floors. The tool will work all day, and not give me any issues. This is my first Porter Cable, and they have certainly established a great reputation for themselves with me. Highly recommended.

A friend recommended this sander to me. He is a highly skilled craftsman (Shipwright) and a self confessed "Tool Junkie" and calls this tool as "the world's best sander, bar none." I have two projects I bought the tool for. One is fairly rough requiring the evening of 2X4s glued together, stock and filler removal. The other project requires fine preparation of a large area (4' X 8') for spray painting. The sander works very well. It removes stock and primer without gouging the surface and leaves a clean smooth surface. It is much easier to control than the random orbital Bosch I borrowed. The sandpaper attachment system (sticky back) is far superior to the Velcro type on the Bosch. One caveat! Start the sander with the sandpaper on your project. Once it gets going full speed, it will act like a body grinder until applied pressure slows the RPMs down and the random orbital action becomes effective. I recommend this tool! It is the best sander I have used.

I have owned this sander for about five years,and it is my best tool, period. I DO NOT LOAN IT OUT TO ANYBODY. Have made ply and solid-wood furniture, refinished furniture, made two wooden boats, sanded parts of every room in the house, and repaired my 10 meter sailboat with this sander. Have sanded maple, cherry, oak, fir, pine, cedar, beech, mahogany, plywoods of all types, and glass/carbon composites including vinyl ester and epoxy resins.

Hook-and-loop is a fancy-pants system. Forget about it and use the adhesive paper. Get yourself a cheap tool box and store the sander and boxes of several grades of paper in there. Once you own it for a few months you'll be shocked at what needs a good sanding.

BE SURE TO BUY THE SIX-INCH VERSION if you are serious about your work. The extra inch of diameter means less wobble, very flat large surfaces, and faster material removal when that's your goal.

I bought Porter Cable because of its reputation with the pros, and because we have a service center a few miles away. However, haven't been in there except to buy more Porter Cable.

Very strongly recommended.

I purchased this sander when I was restoring a 38 foot wooden boat. I used the sander with disks ranging from 40 grit to 400 with absolutely wonderful results. With heavy grit paper, the sander strips layers of heavy paint down to bare wood in minimal time. I also used the sander to strip a mahogany transom that had multiple layers of varnish in lousy condition. The sander removed the varnish without problem. When finished with stripping, the finer grit paper sanded the wood without leaving gouges. I recommend this sander completely.

I own/operate a log home restoration company. After blasting a home, we hand sand the entire exterior using random orbit sanders. I've used the Porter Cable primarily for the last year. I've gone through 6 sanders during this time and each one has had the exact same failure.....the on/off switch. I've torn them apart and cleaned them, but if you look at the switch design, it is incredibly flimsy and poorly designed. The motor is great and the machine is great if they would FIX THE *&^*&%@ SWITCH! I'm currently looking hard for another brand to replace these faulty sanders.

This machine does a fantastic job of making my cars look their best. My only complaint doesn't even involve the machine it'self. But, the fact that I had to search all over for the accessories to use the machine. Once I got everything together I am trilled with the results.

Curt DoBraska

I bought this to polish and wax my 45' Boat. Special pads apply the polish a second pad applies the wax and a third bonet polishes the wax to a beautiful shine. This past spring I used it to sand the bottom of the boat. Extremely impressed with the waxing and sanding ability. As you might imagine, you need a lot of time to wax a large boat and this product cuts the effort in half. I also use it to polish and wax the cars. Best sander/polisher I have ever owned.

I will now be able to put the other 5 sanders away.I have 2 belt sanders that will go though stock a bit faster but are much more difficult to control and with just one false move severe damage is the result. While the 7336 is just a bit slower it is a breeze to control. A big feature for me was the veritable speed as different wood requires different settings to maximize stock removal. I have not only been impressed with its ability to remove stock but also to put a glass finish on a surface. The hard maple dresser that I recently completed was the first test for a smooth finish and the 7336 scored a perfect 5 in my book. I would recommend this sander to everyone looking to purchase only one sander.

This is a very nice unit. Works great. Would have given it 5 stars but I am afraid that the bearings may burn out relatively quickly. I've had problems with them in the past so I tried a more expensive Bosch unit. What a piece of junk. It burnt out in 2 months of light use (wet-sanding). Repaired under warranty and burnt out again 9 months later with MAYBE once a week use. I'll stick with the Porter-Cable from now on.