Customer Reviews

Rockwell RK4245K Vibrafree 5-Inch Random Orbit Sander

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

 

 

I really wanted to love this sander. Having owned an older model Dewalt sander that was good until the sanding pad would no longer slowly spin, but would just take off and spin madly, I decided it was time to try something new. I noticed Rockwell had been putting out some new products with some promise and decided to try this.
I like how it feels. Solidly built, comfortable.
Dust collection seems good, even better with vacuum attached.
Quiet operation.
Very low vibration.
Nice carry case, except i don't like the limited sand pad storage.

--This thing leaves swirl marks. -- More like "edge lines" from the two inner rings rotating in opposite directions. I know this isn't always a factor when just wanting stock removed before sheet sanding, but its still irritating. The limited suppliers of sanding disks and the swirling leaves me wishing I would have stuck with Dewalt Porter cable Makita, or Milwaukee. Anyhow It's still solidly built, comfortable, and does remove stock well, but I'll just have to use my nice Dewalt 1/4 sheet sander to chase all the lines left by the Rockwell orbital...

**EDIT**

Using this product again I did not have any issues with swirling. It was a pleasure to use. I have upgraded my rating from 3 stars to 4. (the initial swirling may have been due to using it off the edge of a board)
Hope this helps-

This sander is excellent. Now if holds up well it would be a possible 8-9, if the dust canister was a better design as far as latching mechanism maybe a 10. The sander paper is no problem to order thru Rockwell so don't order the 5" papers as a package thru Amazon they will be useless for the Rockwell design. The sander really is a pleasure to use.

11-2-2011

This sander started off great, a good workhorse....up until today when a bearing froze up in the spindle housing. . . . .
the sander bit the dust . . .lol
so I will caution future buyers of this product . . .better wear your kid gloves when using this machine, as it looks like it might be wimpy. . .

11-7-2011

Wanted to add, that the parts I need to repair my defunct sander are not available and the supplier had no idea when they would become available... I will say to a buyer do not purchase this sander. . .and if you do, don't forget I told you so...

11-10-2011

Contacted Rockwell and explained the situation, they said they would send me a new sander and they are willing to see me satisfied with the product. . . .hooray, thank you Rockwell. .!!!

There's no need to write a long review of features because there's a detailed description given by the manufacturer. The important question is whether it's hype or truth. It really does do an outstanding job, sands cleanly, is as vibration free as you can get, works quickly and leaves little dust even without attaching a shop-type vac. With hardwoods, I had no problem getting a furniture quality finish.

Replacement disks might be a hassle to find, and for years, Amazon didn't stock them. Since customers frequently bought the wrong disks with it, Amazon's system automatically let customers know what was bought together with this sander, making the problem worse. Understanding how this works makes it clear that you need disks with a separate outer ring.

The only "issue" is that some grits of paper (coarse) are harder to remove and it feels as if there's a risk of pulling the pad right off the sander. It's hard to make a case that something might happen when it didn't happen, but I make a point to hold the pad down when I peel off very heavy paper.

This is a great sander. When I checked out, it indicated that extra disks were often purchased with it so I purchased them. Unfortunately, they were not the correct type and now it is too late to return them. The 2 piece disks (cirle and concentric ring) are the ones you need. They now show them on the web page.

this is a great sander.Weight feels good,no need for extra force.Very smoothe.Just hard to find sanding discs for this sander since it has 2 sanding rings instead of one solid disc.

Works very well, good stock removal. Is virtually vibrationless and comfortable. It doesn't take standard disks, it has a central disk with a counter-rotating ring around it, which is how it balances to avoid vibration. It's getting easier to find the disks, but not every store stocks them yet, so don't run low.

A well designed product with several flaws: Dust collector fastening system is not secure and made of cheap plastic tabs that do not properly align with the body of the sander. And why is this so....because it was made in China.
And the whole China thing raises other concerns regarding long term reliabiility, metal quality and failure and tolerances. American companies just won't wake up the the fact that stuff made in China is just plain crap and consumers take note of where things are made. It seems like a good product but how can I have confidence when its says "Made in China" on the UL tag and all my years and years of experience with Chinese products, particular tools and power tools indicates that corners are cut, and quality of materials and workmanship are poor and eventually lead to premature failures. Wake-up Rockwell (and Sears).