Customer Reviews

Skil 7290-01 2 Amp 1/4 Sheet Sander with Dust Canister

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I bought this to replace my 5 year old Makita palm sander.

1. It's very, very difficult to attach the sandpaper. I thought my Makita was hard to load but its much easier than this Skil sander.

2. My old Makita is 1.6 amps. The Skil 7290 sander is 2.0 amps. But my ancient Makita palm sander removes material at least twice as fast with 1/2 the effort as the Skil.

3. On the plus side, the dust collection works pretty good and the 7290 is prettier and quieter than my old Makita. Too bad it doesn't work very well. Its not pretty enough to use as a paperweight. I can't think of another use for it.

Save your money.

I got this for Christmas 2005 as part of the Skil 5-piece 18v cordless set (Drill, Circular Saw, Sander, Jigsaw, Light and case) that was priced too low to resist. While every other tool in the set works as good as a set of this price range could, the sander was BY FAR the worst component. It died after 2 weeks of ~30 minutes of light use each day.

As for performance, it was much louder and vibrated much more violently than an older, similar Black & Decker. It was so loud, I'd occasionally switch to the B&D sander just to enjoy a slightly quieter sanding experience -and rest my weary ears.

Sanding quality: it seemed very...harsh. If you applied even slightly too much pressure, the sander would instantly dig a hole in hardwoods, even with 320 grit paper.

The sander did an OK job of dust removal and suppression with the included dust port and canister, but the port clogged very easily, the canister needed frequent emptying. It's not great, but it's better than nothing.

Additionally, the sander's pad is a textured foam rubber that is way too fragile, especially if you miss the pad's holes with the sandpaper hole-punching template (easy to do, as the guide lets it fit on all four sides, two of which don't line up). Also, when punching holes in the sandpaper, the torn paper strips form a tube inside the dust ports which completely blocks them. This ruins any dust removal unless you manually cut out the punched-out sandpaper shreds with a razor, which is impossible to do without gouging the foam pad. The upshot? You soon discover that you're getting zero sawdust removal and sawdust is caked inside the dust ports and on your workpiece. This is very annoying.

While I was upset the thing died after 2 weeks, in retrospect, had I used it all this time just for the dust collection, I would likely have been sacrificing the quality of my work. I would never buy another of these. With tools, the adage "you get what you pay for" is all too true and this product is no exception.

Update: --One year later--
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I finally took this sander apart to find the cause of its death and seems to be a poorly designed On/Off switch. Amazingly, it offers zero protection from the minuscule dust particles inherent in sanding!. In the two weeks of light usage, enough sawdust accumulated inside this switch (behind the really hard-to-press rubber switch cover) that it completely coated the contacts; which insulated it and preventing it from powering on. A few blasts with some canned air and a few angry whacks on the ground dislodged enough dust that it works again. For how long, remains to be seen.

The switch design was bad enough, as it was hidden behind a clunky, unlabeled rubber disc which required you to remember which direction to press to turn it on or off. That this switch has a seal, yet is still open to sawdust from the inside is just another unfortunate design flaw.

I own 3 finish sanders a Makita, Skil & a Black & Decker! This Skil I put in the middle. It works well for me, it has less vibration then a Makita and certainly much better then the B&D I also have, which is a hand killer! Its does a good job of removing material from my projects quickly. The dust collection system is not as good as a Makita, doesn't take long before its blowing out here and there. The makita uses a bag and keeps dust to a minimum. Also the rubber pad is susceptable to damgage with the paper hole punch! So care is recommended here Also, as with any sander, blow them out with compressed air from time to time to keep them clean and running well!
The clamping mechanisim is a bit more difficult to use then my others, but haven't found one that is aggravation free yet! There have been no slippage problems!! The palm grip is nice and I found it easy to guide and move around. Really does a nice job on MDF and have had no problems on finer wood either. I like its heft, its a bit heavier then my Makita, which probably accounts for a faster removal rate of material. Like any other power tool, pay attention to what your doing and your project will turn out fine. This is a nice sander for the price and is certainly a step up from a B&D and a smoother operator then a makita!