As part of our inlaw house to be sold cleanup, we've got a lot of wooden windowsills that need to be sanded and re-varnished or polyurethaned. My father in law had a "Fein" tool that worked exceptionally well, but... it looks like he loaned or sold it to someone before he died, so we don' t have it any more. So I need to buy one.

And now there are a lot of copies of that sort of tool. Does anyone have one they like ? It will probably get lots of work, so a cheap Harbor Freight model would die.

Depending on how old the house is, and how old the paint is, be careful of lead based paint being disturbed by sanding.

Consider using a liquid, like this, rather than sanding everything: Liquid Sander/Deglosser.

I answer to your actual question , I use a Milwaukee M12 multitool which I like very much.

Cary-
Good point. Fortunately I know for absolute certain there was no lead. You see, I had the original paint cans that my inlaws used to paint the house when they built it in 1962. I checked with Benjamin Moore. No lead.

Ed: Besides, I always wear a mask when sanding inside (or outside without a stiff breeze). I'm an asthmatic.... particles make me choke and wheeze.



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2013 08:45AM by cbelt3.

I would look into a Festool or Bosch both high quality.

[www.festoolproducts.com]

Or the bigger one...

[www.festoolproducts.com]

[www.boschtools.com]

Quote
cbelt3
Cary-
Good point. Fortunately I know for absolute certain there was no lead. You see, I had the original paint cans that my inlaws used to paint the house when they built it in 1962. I checked with Benjamin Moore. No lead.

Ed: Besides, I always wear a mask when sanding inside (or outside without a stiff breeze). I'm an asthmatic.... particles make me choke and wheeze.

Having worked in lead mitigation, I find it highly doubtful that exterior trim paint and primer applied in 1962 is lead-free, no matter what Benjamin Moore says. Test it with one of those cheap lead swabs from the hardware store before sanding.

Wearing a mask is missing the point completely. Lead poisoning affects primarily children who ingest the sanding dust that gets into the soil, carpet and dust carried by the HVAC system. Your exposure during painting is short-term and unlikely to be harmful, even without a mask. It's the dust that gets scattered on the ground that is the problem. I urge you to test the paint before touching that sandpaper. Lead is very persistent, so even if there are no children exposed now there will be long after you are gone from the house.

Also, as noted by M>B>, Fein, Bosch and Festool make the best multitools.

---

"In science it often happens that scientists say, 'You know that's a really good argument; my position is mistaken,' and then they would actually change their minds and you never hear that old view from them again. They really do it. It doesn't happen as often as it should, because scientists are human and change is sometimes painful. But it happens every day. I cannot recall the last time something like that happened in politics or religion." (1987) -- Carl Sagan



Edited 2 time(s). Last edit at 05/07/2013 09:42AM by davester.

davester-
OK. Thanks for the reminder. FWIW.. we're sanding varnish with this gizmo. No paint sanding took place in the house, and we're replaced flooring all through it. I believe lead paint tests are a required home inspection step, so it's prudent.

This is what I use: [www.sears.com]

Not sayin' its necessarily the best if its just for sanding, but it is a vibrating triangle gizmo. If you do frequent DIY projects I suspect you'll soon find it indispensable. I do. All sorts of tight spots for cutting can't be done easily with any other tool.

FWIW, I've found the cheap drills that use these same batteries to be exceptional performers for the weight & cost, which are both low.

I have a dremel multi-max. Same as the others. Don't know how it compares, but I use it for sanding as well as cutting.

I have a Dremel and the Fein multi-tool. Started with the Dremel. It's fine for what it is. My wife gave me the Fein for my birthday. Haven't used the Dremel since. The Fein works a lot better and it's easier to change attachments. I had the screw holding the attachment work loose and fall out while using it up on a roof. Boy was it a pain to find that screw.

If you've got a lot of work to do and plan on doing hours at a time, do yourself a favor and get a professional grade tool that's designed for continuous use. It's worth buying a good multitool as it has so many uses.