Customer Reviews
Quiet and smooth a dream come true 
2005-05-26
Everyone knows when the switch is flipped most sanders are going to wake you up fast and cause all other sounds to evaporate and retire to the distant background , you know this and it may very well be the most used reason for not sanding at all . The perfect reason for putting these tasks off for some other day , when you may be ready for such an assult to the central nervous system , this is of course if you are like me and don't like noise of this nature , some may actually enjoy this and be lulled into a woodworking trance .
Sanding is the final step in most woodworking projects , one takes great pride in a wood crafted cabinet and one should , they have conquered all the tools used in it's construction and have got through this with not one mistake ( for a change ) .
In comes the sander , most with one speed , full on 12,000 to 15,000 OPM , you have finally attached the paper not quite certain which grade to begin with and make contact , suddely the realization hits and you have now rounded a corner in seconds beyond and past all hope or caring .
Your project now has a flaw and much of the pride and excitement have gone , all of which you possessed regretably just seconds ago . Do I now redesign this with all rounded corners or continue on and sand this side thinner than the rest in hopes of salvaging it ?
In comes the makita , here you have a sander that even the case it is housed in is well made , you can remove the sander and put it back in without first downloading a digital photo of reference .
I has all you will ever need . speed control ( something I often wonder what took so long to include ) and a nice one at that , it is located where you can reach it while working and it rolls easy plus has the benefit of a wide range of almost this is exactly the speed I need feel to it .
Changing paper is so easy , pull one off and place one on , hook and loop , wonderful thing it is .
Handles , now here is something manufacturers seem to think we can get along without . I HAD a makita random orbital with dust collection and even a way to attach a vac hose , it was styled much as a dumb bell .
I was not certain where to hold it , on top was not a good idea , this is where the motor finds the air to cool and the tool is tall and not balanced this way . How about the waste area it had one of these , must be the place .
But we have one speed and an on/off switch that is on or off , you must move it of it stays there forever , not good when the tool locates a grip in the grain and begins to bunce and jump breaks free heading for the house trailed by 50 feet of life giving A/C support to chew through anything in lands on .
The new makita has two handles and a switch you can choose to hold on of emergency release of lock it on once you realize you can control this sander with very little effort .
It has a low center of gravity with the added benefit of a dust collection system that does perform well and is out of the way under a handle .
To remove this bag a push button latch is provided so you no longer need to tug and pull for it's removable , always resulting in half the contained dust shot all over the workplace as well as you , always the half moon shaped spill you really wanted to avoid .
This unit has all the power you need and it does not seem to need extreme noise to provide this , in fact you can dial the speed down where the sander is at a cats purr and this makes it a pleasure to use .
It never begins to oscillate nore does it vibrate , it simply sands and leave you with a swirl free surface ready for stain or clear coats with no extra help from you .
Great machine , wonderful tool , sanding is something I always hated and now I don't mind it at all .
You can finish your work and even engage in a conversation with soneone without uttering the word WHAT !!! once and lift a cool drink without a ripple form a vibrated hand .
Good sander but pad wears out too soon 
2004-11-25
I've owned this sander for about a year and have used it on furniture I've built (hobby - not professional). I found it to be an excellent sander, aggressive but still giving a good, smooth finish. My problem is with the hook and loop pad on the sander. After about nine months of use, I began to notice that the sandpaper would not adhere well, especially after the sandpaper was used a bit. Soon, the sandpaper was coming off while I was sanding. I eventually had to purchase a new hook and loop pad for the sander at a price of $20. I don't know if this is normal, but $20 a year for a sander that costs less than $100 seems to be a high ownership cost. I don't know if my experience is common, or if the Makita is any worse than other brands. Anyone else care to comment?
Orbital Zoom 2004-08-09
Bought two today at Lowe's.
$40.00 each, NIB on clearance.
Hardware guy says they are dumping part of Makita line.
Ditto to previous reviews ! 2004-01-02
Thanks to previous reviewers! I purchased this sander based on the strength of their comments, and it has not disappointed. I've wanted to strip & re-paint kitchen cupboards but dreaded the fumes and elbow-grease needed for chemical stripping products. Found the sander at nice holiday price and tested it immediately. Within 5 minutes the polyurthetane and stain on a cabinet door was gone! The project is progressing nicely. Since I have an old home (80 yrs. young), I plan to strip other woodwork, including doors, once the kitchen is in order. I'm a novice, not a pro, but thus far I like what I've been able to tackle with this tool.
Shopped around... 2003-10-20
And found the Makita in a local store. I picked it up on the owner's suggestion, and was rewarded. This is a great little tool! I just used it to finish a knife block. I turned the dial to 5 to knock down the high areas, then down to 2 to smooth everything out.
The molded handle makes the Makita far and away the most comfortable of the $100 random orbitals. The trigger and trigger lock are easy to use single handed.
The best $99 I have spent on any tool in my shop.
Excellent sander 2008-05-26
I've been using the Makita BO5021 sander for about two years and I am completely satisfied with the tool.
I removed the dust bag and adapter so that I can hook my Fein vacuum (via a Fein adapter) to the sander and it collects 95% of the dust. The sanding disks are available almost everywhere (I use the Mirka Gold disks). The sander works smoothly with very little vibration and has plenty of power.
So Easy 2007-11-26
Works great. Easy to attach sanding disks and they stay in place; 5 variable speeds are a good range; dust bag works very well and is easy to detach and empty. Compact carrying case.
Eight little holes, not five 2007-11-19
Works great, super. But when you buy the 5" sanding disks, be sure to get the ones with 8 little circular holes, not 5, the latter are not compatible.
Makita BO5021K Random Orbit Sander 2006-01-17
The sander was delivered on time and was brand new, as expected. I would order from these folks again.
nice sander 2005-08-02
I bought this Makita sander on recomendation from my Dad.
It is a very nice orbital sander, uses the hook and loop sandpaper, and has the handle on the front of the sander so you can hold on to it with both hands. Double thumbs up!
