It can be a real pain sanding and finishing wood. Thankfully, life can get a whole lot easier for you for your DIY projects with a little bit of help from a palm sander.
A palm sander is a must have for any woodworker, but you don’t need to spend a fortune to get one!
You may be wondering what to look for when buying a palm sander. It can be hard to know what to look for without breaking the bank. Thankfully, we’re here to take the guesswork out of getting the best palm sander for you. Read on to find out about some of the best palm sanders on the market.
You can also read our handy buyer’s guide to help you to know what things to look out for.
In a hurry? Here’s our top pick!
In a hurry? This is our winner!
- Contoured grip with non-skid elastomer coated surface
- Conveniently located on/off switch
- Large clamping lever for quick and easy paper installation
Best Palm Sander – Comparison Table
Best Palm Sander – Reviews
Makita BO4556/2 240V Finishing Sander
Makita is pretty well known in the power tools world, and it should come as no surprise that the Makita BO4556 is such a well loved palm sander. This product has hundreds of positive reviews which are a testament to its high quality build and performance.
First of all, comfort. The Makita BO4556 palm sander is designed for your comfort with a contoured grip and a power switch that is positioned in such a way that it can be easily pressed even with a one handed grip. There are minimal vibrations when using this tool also. Furthermore, the tool is designed to be incredibly durable and long lasting, so you can sand the day away for copious hours without you needing to worry about it breaking.
As far as operation is concerned, the Makita BO4556 runs very smoothly, and it even has an oversized clamp to make it easier to install and replace sheets. It’s also small and easy to store too, and if you’re a small person then it’s small enough for you to hold comfortably. Buying sandpaper won’t cost a lot of money either because the tool uses cheap and readily available sandpaper rolls. Overall, it’s a fantastic choice for woodworking enthusiasts looking for a high quality palm sander to help them to complete any projects with ease.
- Compact and small
- Ergonomic and comfortable design
- Durable
- A little expensive
Ryobi EPS80RS Palm Sander, 80 W
If you’re looking for a truly fantastic mouse palm sander, then you won’t find much better than the Ryobi EPS80RS. This is an extremely comfortable to use palm sander that’s lightweight and compact for easy storage. Of course, it also boasts an impressive performance too!
The palm sander is powered by a cord, and features an 80 watt motor that’s more than powerful enough to handle the majority of medium sized sanding tasks. You can use it for most DIY tasks or any refurbishments without issue. You can even get into some of the tighter corners easel due to the triangular shaped sanding plate and flip down finger sander.
Furthermore, there are a few extra luxury features included in this sander. For instance, this is a very quiet sander so when you’re working you don’t need to worry about disturbing family members if you’re working from home. It is low in vibration too. The sander features a dust box too that’s incredibly easy to empty. You will even get an ultra helpful tool bag with it so you can keep the tool and all its accessories in there for easy storage.
- Triangular shaped sanding plate helps to reach harder areas more easily
- Low vibration
- Minimal noise
- Comes with tool bag
- It’s a corded model so may not be ideal for all workstations
Hi-Spec 2A 240W Electric Random Orbit Palm Sander. Compact 5” 12,000RPM Dual Action Wood Hand Sanding & Pads
If you want to do some DIY projects but you’re on a bit of a budget, look no further than the Hi-Spec 2A 240W Random Orbital Disc Palm Sander. The product is pretty powerful for a budget pick with a 240 watt motor that is capable of an impressive 12,000 orbits per minute.
The tool doesn’t leave any circular marks on your project as you may expect with an orbital sander, as the tool moves in random little orbits that will vibrate in small circles. This is perfect for when you need to easily and quickly sand larger areas,
The tool also allows for effortless dust collection with an integrated dust collection box, so your workspace will be cleaner than ever before! It’s also super easy to use and comes with 10 sanding sheets in total. Not bad for a budget option!
- No circular marks left on projects
- Integrated dust collection box
- Impressive motor power
- May not be effective in larger projects
Silverline 521333 DIY 135 W Orbital Sander 1/3 Sheet 135 W, Blue
If you weren’t keen on the previous pick, how about the Silverstorm 264125 Palm Sander for a budget option? This is yet another fantastic choice for beginners who don’t have a fortune to spend on the more premium palm sanders.
The sander has a number of fantastic features. First of all, you don’t need to keep your finger on the trigger for a long time to get it to work, as there is a lock on button feature that will allow you to keep the motor running for as long as you need it to. It also has a dust extraction feature for safety, and the handle is designed to be ergonomic so you will have a comfortable user experience.
Furthermore, it’s also incredibly easy to change the sand paper just by lifting up the metal levers on either end of the plate and then you just remove the older one to put the new one in. It’s not really a whole lot different than a lot of other sanders on the market but by far the price is the biggest selling point.
- Comfortable
- Easy to use
- Affordable
- You can get more impressive options for a slightly higher price
BLACK+DECKER 55 W Detail Mouse Electric Sander with Removable Quick Fit Tips and Sanding Sheets, KA161BC-GB
If you’re looking to do some slightly more complicated sanding, then the Black + Decker KA161BC Mouse is a fantastic options to help you do just that. It’s more of a detail sander than anything else, which allows you to get into those harder to reach areas.
The tool comes with a bunch of great accessories and features that make it a fantastic choice for any DIY enthusiast. It has a rotatable base so you have less waste out of your sand paper, and it even allows you to quickly change the sanding sheets as they are simply velcro’d on. The accessories include one polishing pad, a rust removal pad, 2 80g sanding sheets, 3 120g sanding sheets, 1 180g sanding sheet and 1 finger attachment.
Furthermore, this tool provides fantastic value for money, so it’s perfect for anyone looking to get a real bargain for their money while still getting the stellar performance you would expect at this price point.
- Lots of accessories included
- Gets into hard to reach areas easily
- Less sandpaper waste due to rotatable base
- A little expensive
Best Palm Sander – Buyer’s Guide
So those were the best palm sanders on the market (in our humble opinion after hours of testing!). The question remains though, what makes a good palm sander. You may have noticed some recurring features crop up that make these products great, but if you missed it we’re here to break down some key selling points to look out for when buying a palm sander.
Questions to Ask
Before you even start looking for a palm sander, you will first of all need to know what exactly you need the sander for. This will be covered more in depth later on, but as we all know the whole purpose of a palm sander is to smooth and finish surface materials, right? Well, yes, but there’s more to it than that!
The first question you need to ask yourself is what kinds of materials you’re going to be sanding. The vast majority of sanders are able to sand common materials as long as you use the proper type of sanding paper but you should always check before buying.
The next question to ask is what kinds of shapes and sizes the materials you’re going to use are. The technique you use for sanding a flat and large square is going to wildly vary from what you do to sand a smaller object that has curved surfaces.
Also consider if you’re going to need a certain level of surface quality. Some sanders are going to give you a nice smooth surface, whereas others are going to provide a rougher finish. Different projects are likely to need different things, so consider this before you buy. In addition to that, consider what kinds of abrasive types and backing pads you can use with it too.
Finally, consider your budget. Your budget is often going to determine what you get with the tool, for example if you’ll get accessories or if you’ll have extra functionality. Consider what things are important to you so you don’t end up spending money on a product where you won’t even use half of the functions and accessories.
Things to Look For
Comfort
It can take a lot of time to sand a DIY woodworking project, so it’s not ideal to be holding a vibrating, potentially heavy rotating piece of plastic and metal for hours at a time.
It’s not initially clear whether a palm sander has comfort features, but the main difference between a tool designed for comfort and one that isn’t is that you’ll most definitely notice is after holding the tool for a certain amount of time. You may not notice after a few minutes but after hours go by you will see a huge difference.
Some things you should keep an eye out for include a padded grip, an ergonomic handle designed for being held comfortably, and a vibration reduction design. More often than not in more recently made power tools you’ll find these little ergonomic elements, but they are not present in every power tool so if this is important to you, you will need to factor that in to your consideration.
Durability
While palm sanders don’t experience quite the same degree of wear and tear as saws or drills do, they do still need to be durable to be used for any DIY project. Your sander is going to be constantly in contact with your project, so you need to make sure it will be able to withstand some significant wear and tear.
A decent palm sander should also last a much longer time than tools that aren’t so rugged. It can be a little difficult to test out how hard wearing a tool is without actually using it though, and some manufacturers can say their tools are rugged but it isn’t in the consumer’s mind. This is why it’s so important to read up on customer reviews first as they will point out any problems.
Dust Collection
Dust is an irritating element of woodworking, so it’s important to make sure that the tool you get has some form of dust collection! For sanders especially a good dust collection system is essential. To start with, when you’re using a palm sander you’re likely making the final touches on your project. Your results aren’t going to be as smooth if you have lots of dust remaining on your workpiece.
In addition to this you also have the issue of health problems. Sawdust is a carcinogen, so without proper dust collection you will be breathing in all of these carcinogens, which, suffice to say, will not be good for your health.
The vast majority of palm sanders will come with a dust port, and some even come with a collection pouch. Much like you wouldn’t go without using goggles and gloves to do a woodworking project, it’s just as important to make sure that you have a dust extraction strategy.
Dust Seal
So we already mentioned the importance of dust collection for your health, but proper dust management is also important to ensure that your tools don’t get damaged too. The problem with dust is as it’s moving through the air it can get into the inside of the sander, causing the motor to clog up. It can even make the tool break entirely.
A lot of tools on the market these days actually come with dust seal designs to help combat this issue. They are designed to stop the dust from getting into the inner workings of your palm sander so that you will get more longevity out of the tool.
Orbits Per Minute
The type of surfaces your palm sander is able to interact with will largely depend on the orbits per minute that the sander is able to make. You’ll need a lot more power in order to work with harder woods.
With that being said not everyone needs high orbits per minute for their projects, but it’s worth remembering that some projects will require that. Getting more OPM in your sander can be very useful if you want to branch out into using some more varied materials.
Pressure Detection
This is another incredibly useful feature that is definitely a game changer when you’re looking for a palm sander. A Pressure detector essentially lets you know when you’re pressing too hard with the tool. So, when you do press too hard the sander will vibrate to let you know, or on some models you will get a sensor light that will do it instead. If you have more experience this may not be necessary for you.
If you’re just starting out with woodworking this can be a pretty handy feature to have. Your project is going to experience a bit of damage if you’re overzealous with pushing on the tool, so this safety feature means you can navigate your project without the worry that your hard work will go to waste.
Battery Operated vs Corded
There are a number of benefits and pitfalls about both battery operated and corded palm sanders, and ultimately what you choose to get is going to come down largely to your personal preferences and circumstances.
It’s often easier to work with battery powered sanders because you don’t need to operate around a cord, but the issue here is that they don’t run for as long as corded devices. They need to be plugged in to recharge them. Another issue is that battery operated devices don’t always have the same kind of life expectancy as corded models, because the batteries will eventually stop holding charge. Your options here are either to buy a new sander or get new batteries, both options that are very expensive.
You don’t have this same issue with a corded model, as they can operate for many hours as long as the cord is still plugged into the mains and the device. Sadly, you also have fewer ways to move around, and you can only use them when you’re in reaching distance of a plug socket. This can be problematic when you’re working outside.
As we said, it depends on what you want and your needs. Just assess both options first to find out what will be the best fit for you.