Power Tools Reviews
Porter-Cable 343K 5-inch Random Orbit Sander Kit - Hook & Loop Pad
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 Love it. This thing is fast and slick. It works beautifully....except for the dust collector. Buy some extra black plastic electrician's tape to keep it from vibrating off every thirty seconds or so.... If you can live with that (or if you use a shop vac) you'll love it, too. Another great porter cable product I own several Porter Cable products and this one lives up to their name. It works great for all your light to medium duty sanding needs with a strong 3 amp motor. Vibration is less than cheaper models and when you apply more pressure for difficult spots the motor doesn't bogg down. The longer power cord and rigid dust collector with positive locking are nice features for a sander in this price range. The storage case is sturdy but lacks any pockets for storing sanding discs. A minor issue considering the overall value of this product.  better than the old 333 version I've been through 2 of the 333 model sanders. They were decent sanders and my main complaint was the cost of replacing the velcro pad. My local P-C supplier charges close to $30! As it was time for a new pad, I decided to spend an extra $30 and try the new version of the sander. It's definitely improved. The feel in hand is far more comfortable and they seem to have refined the clutch mechanism so that it practically stops when you lift if from the workpiece, which is great because you can put it down without waiting for it to stop spinning. Another improvement is the plastic hood which goes over the pad is enlarged enough so that you can go into an inside corner without damaging the pad or the workpiece. As with other reviewers, I've had problems with the dust canister falling off. Unlike like the old model, you now keep the base of the canister in place and remove the cylinder to reveal a multi-sized vacuum hookup. This is a great feature that holds the vac hose more securely than the old style and puts the hose in a far better position so that it's not at all in the way. Since the overall result is a design improvement, I can live with duct taping the canister in place. At first I was irked that they switched to an 8-hole pad, but mine came with some 8-hole paper from Lowes and it does work better for dust collection. And I think P-C was the last holdout of the 5-hole pattern, so it makes sense for 8-hole to become standard. If you have a huge stash of 5-hole paper, the other reviewer who mentioned switching pads has a great idea. Besides, you are going to need to replace the pad eventually, so hold onto the 8-hole for later. The case is much better than the old ones. I don't use the cases that come with tools because I have big work boxes for my remodeling business, but I'll reuse this case for some other purpose. P-C and Dewalt are now under the same ownership, which is kind of scary, but it also seems to have yielded some nice cross-engineering. This case as well as some of the design features of the new sander are clearly Dewalt. I've also got a 6" P-C right angle sander that is great for large flat work or just hogging material, but this sander is much easier to control and more comfortable to use. The 6" is really a two-handed tool. Lastly, I've yet to pop the top off, but it's a nice feature that it can be removed to clean out the inside of the machine. My first 333 died because the inside was caked with dust. Great sander, poor dust collection As far as the sander and it's performance goes, I wish I could give it 5 stars, but after a few weeks, the cannister started vibrating off in the middle of sanding. I had an O-ring of the same size that was used to keep the canister in place and thought replacing it would be the answer. It was for about 5 hours of work or so, and it's back to it's old trick. It's actually very frustrating because if you get your face down close to your work to get a closer look at a certain area and the thing decides to fall off, you get a face full of sawdust. Taking it to Porter Cable is on my list of stuff to do, but for now I turn on the ambeint air cleaner and toss on a dust mask while I'm sanding (which I should be doing both anyway). The performance of the acutal tool has been supurb. The tool feels very good in your hand and is easy to handle in many different positions - and the best part is your hand and arm stop vibrating when you turn the tool off as opposed to other brands I have used that you can feel the vibration from your finger tips to your elbow until the next morning. As far as sanders go, this is one of the quietest I have ever heard. | |||||||||
