Makita BO5031/1 110V 125mm Random Orbit Sander

Wow. This performs much better than I expected. I've had random and oscillating sanders before but not a random orbital. Sands quickly and smoothly. Really pleased I bought this. Tip - Not sure the photos show this - the sanding base has 8 holes to vacuum the distilled so most after-market disks fit (I bought some on Amazon that fit fine). Cord is plenty long enough and seems heavy duty. Vacuum attachment keeps the levels of dust down. Quite noisy so be sure to use ear defenders if using for a long period.

This is the best electrical sander I've used by far. I have a 6" Air DA Sander which will make light work of the bigger jobs in the workshop and bought this to use away from the air supply and instead of firing up the compressor every time I need to do a small sanding job. It has now, in fact, taken over from the air sander completely.The dust extraction bag works very well to the point that I have sanded a few internal doors and skirting with minimal dust. (Just try it without the bag to see the difference!)Bottom line - this is professional equipment and does cost a bit more than the the higher end DIY offerings but it works infinitely better and gets the job done in a fraction of the time. I bought in conjunction with the Tacklife discs and the total package has exceeded my expectations!

Im onto my second one after 6 years, so i bought this to bridge the gap while the 150mm sander was being repaired. It gets abused in our workshop and is used most days, I cant really complain, ive dropped it a fair few times and the top housing bosses/mounts had failed, we've had a problem with the cable and its been repaired once I bought a second because we had a deadline and the hassle of repair and the cost of repair added to the down time meant it didnt make sense to repair it although its still in the drawer and could be repaired.As for performance it sands well, the variable speed is handy for working with plastics and other melt-ables, the dust extraction is pretty good but there is certainly dust! even with a proper extractor.Ultimately you get what you pay for and this little sander is really the base line price for a professional unit but it works super well and is well worth the money, if you can afford better then go for it but if your strapped its a very capable unit.

I'd been dithering about whether my compressor had the capacity to power a pneumatic sander and bought this as a bit of a compromise. Been using it every day for about a week, rubbing down paintwork on an old lorry and it is excellent. Easy to handle, with different holding positions, it isn't tiring and the simple dust extraction works very well. I've been using Bosch discs, which are Velcro backed, so easy to change and they last well. It is a bit noisy, possibly due to the type of surfaces I've been working on, so have resorted to ear defenders. Fantastic piece of kit though.

I’ve got a lot of use out of this sander for my woodworking projects, I should have bought one a long time ago! With a big box of cheap discs you can get a lovely finish on wood. It’s comfortable to use for extended periods, even without ear protection. I tend to use a face mask as well on big jobs, but the built in dust collector it probably fine for quick jobs.

Good piece of kit, works through paint, hard wood, soft wood, chipboard, laminate, grp, metal etc. Be careful using 40/60 grit on softer surfaces - it will eat them for breakfast!! Best discs are from Festool or equivalent - phone them and they will give great advice.Recommended.

It looked good, felt sturdy and was well made, but after getting it out of the box, I saw that the rubber pad was split and delaminating. I imagine if I'd used it, the pad would have disintegrated. Returned for refund.

I had a Ryobi hand sander which was very torquey and constantly left swirlies, so I decided to bin it and buy the Makita. It is a joy to use when compared to the Ryobi. It's light, maneuverable with one hand and a lot quieter than other sanders I've had. The variable speed means you can select from a gentle finishing sand, through to more aggressive material removal. I also bought a couple of packs of Makita sanding disks which seem to stick very firmly to the pad.