Customer Reviews
Great sander for any woodshop 
2008-02-29
Bosch's reputation is well established and continues to improve as they continue to add new tools to their extensive line of products. Bosch charges a premium price for many of their tools but its usually worth every penny. When you buy a Bosch, you can expect it to last up to 10 years or more depending on use.
This Random Orbit Sander (ROS) only serves to help embody Bosch's reputation. Its construction is very sturdy, has minimal vibrations in comparison with other models that leave your hand feeling numb, variable speed to allow adjustments depending on the medium and type of sanding you are performing (painted wall vs wood and/or rough vs. finish sanding). The motor takes only a few seconds to reach top speed, and there is sufficient vacuum to prevent a good portion of dust from escaping into the air. I have rarely seen scuffing left on my work, (most of scuff marks occurred because of poor technique). Although this sander was meant for area sanding, its versatility has allowed me to sand panels without any problems.
This being said, there are probably a few cons that should be taken into account when purchasing this sander. When rounding over corners, the sander often gets stuck in this nickel sized indentation that causes rapid wearing of the sandpaper if the paper doesn't break within the first few minutes. Even this can be turned to an advantage as it prevents the sander from wandering too much, but it does require an alteration of technique. Lastly, the micro-filter although a great idea, is extremely hard to care for and clean properly often getting clogged mid piece and thus losing one of the reasons you purchased this sander in the first place.
Despite some of the negatives associated with this sander, it is a pleasure to work with and I look forward to sanding several miles worth of wood with it.
Engineering-Engineering-Engineering!!! 2008-02-24
This sander is well built and sturdy-it has fallen twice from work table to concrete floor with no obvious damage. Stock removal is rapid and smooth with no surface swirls if good quality sanding pads are used. Don't try to use cheap sanding pads and expect professional results. The dust collection filter is a weak point and could be better. Shop vac hose diameters are now fairly standard and design parameters should not require adapters to facilitate dust collection.
orbital review 2008-02-16
I ordered this item based on an emergency. My long time orbital(a dewalt)quit on me, and I needed a replacement. I decided to try another brand. Not, that I didn't like Dewalts product, but their cords and switches seem to break down abnormaly fast, and I've grown weary of replacing them. I like to use small sanders for finishing cabinet doors and face frames. The sander arrived in a plastic tool box. Pretty much worthless. I sawed the lid off, and now use the base as a storage area for the unit(on a shelf). I have found, that if you store these sanders upright, the pad will eventually distort slightly, causing uneven sanding. The unit works very nice. The variable speed is a nice feature, for more controlled sanding and stock removal. The switch is a little awkward, but I can get used to it. The dust cannister does not slide all the way forward to clip in place, but still appears to work without falling off. I own the larger version of this unit, and both appear to have the same persistant reluctance for easy dust-cannister lid removal. After you snap all your finger nails off, it finely yields to the pressure, and douses you completely with a layer of fine dust. There must be a better way? My only other criticism, is the 2 prong plug. A tool like this, that gets lots of hard use, will not stay plugged in with a 2 prong plug. The added grounding post helps. Eventually, I end up snipping off these plugs and replacing them with the usual 3 prong grounded plug. Come on Bosch!
FANTASTIC SANDER 
2008-01-18
A wonderful sander. With its variable speed and quick hook and loop sheets, I can remove as little or as much as I want--very versatile. And I try not to be swayed too much by name brands, but Bosch is sort of my gold standard to be considered closely when buying a frequently used tool.
Very good sander 2008-01-11
I bought this last month. It does an excellent job, but the dust collection leaves a bit to be desired. First off, you have to buy an adaptor from a non-Amazon source. With shipping, this will be in the $10 range. Since that adaptor works only with the Bosch vacuum hoses, us plebes need an adaptor for the adaptor to hook in up to the regular hose. That runs another $10 at Lowes, and the two adaptors make sanding a two-handed proposition.
Even with this and a 450 CFM dust collector, you still wind up with a coating of dust on the sander and table. I've read that the Porter-Cable 333 VS is better in this regard and plugs right in to a shop vac hose.
superior dust control 2008-06-07
Only sander that actually has great dust control that doesn't cost hundreds of dollars. Just keep the pleated filter clean with your air compressor and dump the dust after every project.
The only better sander would be the festool ones with powered vac to match but I can't justify that for my shop. THIS IS A GREAT ALTERNATIVE.
works for awhile 
2008-05-25
Bought two of these based on recommendations from others. I am a boat builder and use these sanders three days/week. First the hook pads went out on them requiring new ones at $20/each after 6mos usage. Then the motor on one went out requiring replacement in the warranty period. Can't use either of them now and they will both require repair. They worked great while they lasted but didn't last too long.
Excellent sander, very pleased 2008-03-24
I've had this sander for about a year now, have used it extensively for several types of projects and media. Very happy with it. It is well made and performs very well.
I feel I should comment about some of the reviews that I see here that complain about the dust collector filling up too quickly or not doing very well when sanding drywall. This is to be expected! Sanding drywall mud generates an enormous amount of dust, most of it very fine and very abrasive. The little dust collector doohickey thing is not going to be able to keep up, and it will fail in short order. But you can't blame the sander. The ONLY way to use this sander on sheetrock is if you connect a Shop-Vac to it via the vacuum port. But even that can clog your vacuum filter in a short time. If you are sanding a small area, like a patch, then this is fine. But for sanding an entire room of new drywall, this is not a good choice. You are better off renting one of those huge Porter-Cable drywall sanders, they are designed for this type of project. Or, do what I have done, put on old clothes and a hat, don a respirator mask (NOT a dust mask), then put a huge fan in one window of the room, open all the other windows and close the door. Then get one of those big sanding pads with the pole and the open-cell paper, and go to town.
Before I bought this sander I couldn't see what good it would be to have variable speed, but now that I've used it quite a bit on lots of projects, I'm really glad I have that feature. I don't find the variable speed control hard to adjust, in fact I like that it stays put at the speed where you set it.
My only complaint with this sander is that I had to order the vacuum attachment as a seperate item. This should be included with the sander, and the case should provide space for it. It's really hard to get everything in the case with the dust collector and extra discs, this thing makes it worse, but it is doable. I actually have yet to use my dust collector, I always use my vacuum with it.
Paper weight 2008-03-17
I have many Bosch tools, some good and some okay. I bought two of these sanders at the same time to replace two DeWalt sanders that were used almost daily for over a year. The dust collection works well, for about 5 minutes until the pleats in the filter clog, then you might as well take it off at least the board will be dust free. Then after about three days of sanding drawer boxes and doors with no heavier than 80-grit discs the hook and loop pad wouldn't even hold a new disc. After calling Bosch and pleading my case they did send me two new pads free of charge. To the credit of truth in advertising, the box did say, "Lasts 5x Longer"; resulting in almost 15 days of use. Other than the case they came in, they are worth, well, about nothing. Spend the extra money on a Metabo or Festool and you'll actually save money with the extra hours spent in service. The only reason for one star is because I can't post the review with no stars!
best ro sander 2008-03-04
Excellent sander. As a professional, I have used most of the sanders out there. After some hard use, I had to replace the hook-and-loop disk, but that is to be expected. Also, the dust collection actually works pretty well, better than any other non-vacuum setup I've used. This feature is not very high on my priority list (everything makes dust, and the only way to minimize it is with a central vac system. Dust is part of carpentry. Get used to it) but it is an added bonus.
