Porter-Cable 9444VS 1.8 Amp Variable Speed Profile Sander Kit

by Porter-Cable

Product Description

Amazon.com Review

This smooth-running, lightweight detail sander allows its user to easily sand trim and molding. It's an ideal tool for professional painters and renovators who do a lot of detail work on older buildings. It also fits the budget of do-it-yourselfers intending to do their own restoration work. The sander comes with a variety of different profiles that you can quickly interchange. Because the profile pieces are made of rubber, you can easily cut them with a utility knife to custom fit the exact profile of virtually any trim. The sander has a large grip that's easy on the hand during long-duration sanding. The tool uses durable cloth-backed adhesive sandpaper, and will also work with paper-backed adhesive paper. Profiles clip into the sander's nosepiece, and can be popped out and replaced with the included flat sanding nose or offset profile nose. --Brian Trinen

From the Manufacturer

Porter-Cable 9444VS 1.8 Amp Variable Speed Profile Sander Kit

See all Product Description

Product Details

• Product Dimensions: 17.9 x 14.5 x 4.2 inches ; 3.8 pounds
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 pounds
• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• Shipping Advisory: This item must be shipped separately from other items in your order. Additional shipping charges will not apply.
• ASIN: B0000222XM
• California residents: Click here for Proposition 65 warning.
• Item model number: 9444VS
• Average Customer Review: 2.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (33 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #52,495 in Home Improvement (See Top 100 in Home Improvement)
  • #7 in Home Improvement > Power & Hand Tools > Power Tools > Sanders > Detail Sanders

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

40 of 41 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars There are better profile sanders available, November 6, 2002

By 

Timothy J. Connolly (Freeport, Maine USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Porter-Cable 9444VS 1.8 Amp Variable Speed Profile Sander Kit (Tools & Home Improvement)

Like many others I purchased the Porter Cable profile sander on the reputation of the company. I owned it about two hours before I returned it.
The tool is powerful enough though rather bulky. The problems with the sander stem from the poorly designed profile material and the pressure sensitive adhesive used to hold the paper to the profile.
The profiles are made of the same rubber your mother hated for putting black marks all over her kitchen floor.
At least she could remove the marks. Ever try to get a rubber mark off bare wood in a tight place?
With profile sanding it is a given that the sandpaper is going to be fit to a small contour or a point and therefore will wear out or clog very quickly.
With this sander quickly literally means seconds!
It is an enormous waste of time and sandpaper to change paper after every 30 seconds of use.
Machines should be time savers,not trouble makers.
Dremel makes a profile sander that is much easier to use. The profiles do not make black marks as the paper does not wear out so quickly.The paper is industrial quality cloth backed which helps greatly.
The paper is in the form of a hollow sleeve attached only by the form of the profile.
You simply pop the profile off the machine ,roll the sleeve a little and pop it back on. Ah fresh paper cuts so well!
Like the other reviewers I own other Porter-Cable machines which I like very much. PC circular saw,the router/plunge router combo,4" x 24" belt sander and a biscuit joiner.

Please save yourself the trouble and frustration of the Porter Cable profile sander.
If someone gives you one as a gift,smile,thank them, and as soon as you can sell it!

38 of 40 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Typical Porter Cable -- a tool that excels in it's job.., December 11, 1999

By 

"bajaphil" - See all my reviews

This review is from: Porter-Cable 9444VS 1.8 Amp Variable Speed Profile Sander Kit (Tools & Home Improvement)

A while back following a major wallet-emptying experience buying new windows for my house I decided to save money by recycling the 60 year old case molding. Having admired from afar the Porter Cable 9444 I finally felt justified in purchasing one. It was the right thing to do. This machine with it's 1.8 amp motor has the power to remove material surprisingly fast in small places while giving you excellent control. Despite the seemingly small footprint of the sanding pad and the accessories, this machine cut far faster than I had hoped for. Over 640' of molding that had been badly re-painted several times came clean quickly. There was always a profile head that matched a particular nook or cranny. Originally, I had thought to use the 9444 only to do the grooves and tight places, but I found it fast enough to do the faces and edges of the molding as well - it was easier (and safer for the molding) than getting out the belt sander. When you use this machine your hand circles the entire motor. This is not a perfect feeling and I found myself having to stop at times to rest my hand. However there was far less vibration transferred to your hand that I expected. Porter Cable seems to think that you will never need a place to store extra sandpaper in the ubiquitous molded plastic case - there is a place for everything that comes with the purchase but nothing extra. When will toolmakers realize that they are missing a free marketing-moment by this sort of shortsighted design? I consider these gripes somewhat minor compared to the overall excellence of the machine. If you only have occasional tight-place sanding to do, there is probably a less expensive rodent-like solution out there. But if you have a seriously large project to do or are in the trades you can't go wrong with this machine.

44 of 48 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Wow... No rating with Zero Stars? The Worst Tool Value!, January 9, 2002

By 

Jeffrey A. Smith "jasncompany" (Athens, AL) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Porter-Cable 9444VS 1.8 Amp Variable Speed Profile Sander Kit (Tools & Home Improvement)

I have a lot of Porter Cable tools, and I'm one of the company's biggest fans. I love their routers, their circular saws, their biscuit joiner, and I have them all. But this is without a doubt the worst value in a tool ever.

Here's what's good about the kit:
1) The profiles are handy when not attached to the sander

Here are the problems:
1) First of all, the profiles never REALLY fit what you're sanding, so there's always a point early-on during the sanding where the aggressive action of the sander wears right through the sandpaper and you start leaving black rubber streaks on your material (the profile is now rubbing the wood directly).

2) The machine is not smooth.

3) It's noisy.

4) The profiles won't stay in the holder. They fall out.

5) PSA paper (uses adhesive). Not much fun.

So... there's my opinion. I consistently rate this as the worst purchase I ever made as far as tools go. Save yourself some money and buy the profiles separately. All by themselves, they're usable. Attached to the aggressive sander, they last about 3 minutes before you're burning rubber.

Sorry, PC... I would have loved to have said something more positive!