Customer Reviews
Swirls and caked dust 
2005-09-26
After realizing that this sander makes the nicest little "r" shaped swirls, I relegated it to the light sanding of paints and primers, between coats. The problem now is that the paint dust clogs inside sander, never making it into the attached dust canister. Even with the dust canister completely removed, paint dust still collects inside and is not properly expelled. Obviously, this requires constant cleaning with an air hose coupled with a heavy "tapping" on the exhaust port with my hammer handle to help dislodge the caked dust. Hopefully, it will die soon from my endless tapping so that I can buy another, this time from a different manufacturer.
Cutting corners 
2005-02-12
As noted in the Amazon description, this sander is intended for hobbyists and home users. This is seen in it's less than robust construction, in particular, the somewhat flimsy sandpaper retention springs and plastic pad holder. In light comercial shop use, the holder lasted about 4 months before breaking at the spring hinge. We should have bought the speed-bloc...
Terrible product 
2004-05-10
Sander leaves swirles. Harder to insert new paper than most - in my old Mikita I could do it with 1 hand - this takes 3. Dust collector is hard and therefore restricts sander positioning.
Not Bad 2003-01-14
I've owned this sander for a couple years now. It's not too bad. In my experience, it clips the sandpaper very well. The dust collector is ok...but not all that. Just a guess, but I'll say, it collects about half of the dust it sands off. That was one of the main reasons why I purchased it. I don't like the hard plastic collector either, since it tends to get in the way sometimes. It's definately great for drywall, since drywall sands easy.
The case that comes with the sander [could be better] IMO. It leaves little room for the cord and I find myself having to force it close most of the time. Maybe I'm rushing, but that's what I noticed. Great price on this little sander though. It's very dependable and has served me well.
I, like the other guy noted, prefer a random orbital sander for most of my sanding needs. It just takes off a lot more, a lot quicker (I have the DeWalt DW421 for that).
reliable and easy to use 
2002-12-19
In retrospect, I'm not sure why I bought this sander. It is meant to be used as a finish sander to sand between coats of paint, varnish, etc. or in preparation of painting. For large areas it works well in this regard. However, for smaller jobs, it is easier to simply sand by hand rather than get this tool out, load it with paper, and punch dust collection holes in it. I prefer my 6 inch random orbit sander because it can be used for more aggressive sanding as well as finish sanding. The only advantages of this tool are its lighter weight and ability to sand in corners. If you wish to own just one sander, then I would get a random orbit type.
reliable, effective sander 2008-05-01
I've had this sander for at least 5 years, and used it a great deal in that time (mostly sanding wood).
Pros:
o lightweight, well balanced.
o rugged
o excellent for rounding over edges and smoothing wood
o reasonably aggressive sanding considering it's size and weight
o fairly easy to install and remove sandpaper using metal spring-clips
o comes with hole punch
o reasonably good dust collection
Cons:
o noisy
o short cord
Overall this is model 340 sander is a very nice machine.
Recommended.
Great for the occasional user. 2008-01-27
I used this sander for many small home projects and to do some wordwork on a sailboat. It was great for all that and pretty good at fitting into crevices most of the time. I did have a few complaints. Maybe because I'm female, I found holding the wide grip at the top of the sander quite stressful after several minutes work. While sanding an unfinished bookcase, I found myself having to take more and more breaks just to give my hand a rest. Slipping the sandpapers under the clips was sometimes challenging to get the papers taut. I eventually found the dust catcher worthless and didn't use it. This caused dust to go everywhere so I only would use it outside. In the weather of So. California it wasn't really a problem but it would be in Wisconsin. On the good side, I think the sucking of the dust up through the holes in the bottom through the sander and out the back reduced build-up on the sandpaper so I could use pieces longer. This is just a guess on my part. Regarding the hole punch jig, I lost it from the dock while working on the boat. It went into the marina water never to be seen again. Had to make my own hole-punch jig from a sheet of thick plastic.
My favorite 1/4 sheet sander 
2007-01-05
I've had several of these gems over the years. I co-own a cabinet shop, so we put them to harder use than most folks, they're in use nearly every day, for a total of several hours each day. They are dependable and do a great job. I have on occasion replaced the bottom pad on them, and usually someone will damage the power cord which causes me to replace them eventually. They outperform the other brands that I've tried over the years, in the end, I always come back to Porter Cable.
Leaves a fine finish! 2006-06-17
If you've read my other reviews, you know I own a lot of sanders, and this is one of them.
This sander has been around for years and does a great job. Because it leaves a better finish than the Bosch I prefer to use it, although I with it had the same features as the Bosch. At least this one comes with the dust hose adapter.
The sander is light, pretty quiet, and relatively vibration free. It's the best sander you can buy in its class.
If you want a better 1/4 sheet sander yet, look at the Porter-Cable 330 SpeedBlock. I gave P-C a hard time in my review, but it produces even better results than this sander by a narrow margin. The real draw of the 330 is it's quiet and almost vibration free, although it does not have dust collection and is not light.
Unless you're buying the SpeedBlock, buy this sander--you'll love the results.
get the random orbiter instead... 2006-02-26
It's a decent sander, but since I got the Porter Cable 333VS, this thing rarely comes off the shelf. Great for square corners, but the 333VS is much better as a general use sander.
