DEWALT 5-Inch Random Orbit Sander with Dust Extraction - DWE6423K - Perfect for Woodworking, Sanding & Finishing Projects

I own several Dewalt power tools and purchases this sander for my son as a present. He let me use it and afterwards decided to purchase one for myself. Found it easy to use and doesn't strain my hands some larger sanders. Would buy again.This review is just based on initial usage, but I am pleased with the DWE6423. I bought this sander to see if I could improve upon my Ridgid R2601 5" random orbit sander without spending 5 times the money for a Festool or Mirka. Lighter weight? Check - about 8 oz. lighter than the Ridgid, officially just under 3 lbs. Low vibration? Check - much more comfortable to hold with almost no vibration, but longer sanding sessions will confirm or disprove this. Adequate power? Check - this has a 3A motor and a few quick tests on some ugly scrap wood with only 120 grit paper showed quick stock removal, although my primary use for this is only as a finish sander. I tested the sander at the highest speed setting (12,000 RPM). I have variable speed on my Ridgid and seldom do I change settings unless there is something odd in the surface that requires a lower setting. Sanding quality? To be determined, but there were no unusual swirl marks or pigtails on the surface, and my feeling is that with progression through finer grits the surface quality will be excellent. Cord length? About even - a bit over 6 feet (2 meters, actually). Dust collection? Check check - I connected the sander to my Shop Vac with a Rockler FlexPort hose and adapter, and this was a huge improvement over what I thought was decent dust collection with the Ridgid. The sander comes with a dust collection bag, but I doubt I will ever use it. Noise? Well, it is no louder than any other ROS I've used, but sorry - no firm decibel readings to pass on to you.So why only four stars? First, the photos on Amazon are completely misleading when it comes to the carrying bag. The bag is why this model has the letter K at the end and sells for at least $10 more ("K" stands for "kit"), but it is very flimsy and doesn't look as if it will last nearly as long as the tool. Add in sanding disks, any connector adapters or small items that real people stash away in their tool bags, and I don't see this bag lasting very long at all. And speaking of sanding disks - none are included in this "kit", but it uses standard 8 hole 5" hook & loop disks. This is the same as my Ridgid uses, and I have a good selection of disks, so no need to go sandpaper shopping today.In conclusion, I bought this sander for finish sanding with less fatigue from vibration and for superior dust collection, and my first impressions are that it will meet these requirements nicely.I bought this sander to use on refinishing a picnic table. Worked great, hand never hurt and sanding discs were easy to remove and replace. Would buy again. Although it had variable speed, I found I didn’t need that. Light weight and easy to use. The bag is great for storing the sander and the sanding discs.Trustworthy DEWALT quality. The sander fits easily in smaller hands and is not too heavy to hold during extended use.The sander is great. Hook and look is strong. Dust collection is good. By itself it's I guess ok, but you really need to hook up to a shop vac (then it's practically flawless). This is hard due to the proprietary connection on the sander. I used a rubber pvc adapter (1.25 to 1.5) and some worm clamps to fix a pvc pipe to the sanders port, then cut out a wooden donut to slip over the OD of the pvc and fit the ID of the 2.5in shop vac connection. This is temporary until I get a better hose, but you get the picture. It still works quite well for me.The sander has speed control (just keep it maxed on any wood). It doesn't wander too much, and really I'm just overall happy with the purchase.I used the sander to refinish a maple table. I found the sander easy to use and effective.The dust collection is just okay. It will collect a good deal of dust, however there will still be dust everywhere. I used this inside of an apartment and my partner nicknamed me "little Chernobyl", after basically coating our apartment in dust. I don't think you can really avoid that though. Dust is small and is hard to contain.if you must work in an apartment like me, I suggest to do it in a small room and close all the doors. That will make clean up easier and contain the mess. You should also wear a face mask. It is especially bad to breathe in dust from sanding away wood coatings like poly. These can be very toxic.I wore gloves because the sander does make a bit of noise and feels scarily powerful in your hands. It helped buffer against the vibrations. I found that when I used the sander for a long time, my hands got really tingly. But most of the time this didn't happen. It only happened when I used it for a long time on the highest setting.The sander was very easy for me to use. Basically you have an on-off switch, a little dial which increases the strength of your sanding, and a removable bag that you twist off that collects the sawdust. I periodically dumped the bag out often, based on reviews here. Someone suggested to not let the dust accumulate too long because the bag could catch on fire. I assume this is from sanding a flammable coating. I did not experience any burning or burnt odors myself.I found that if you want to eat away at some wood in a concentrated area, you can slightly tip the sander on its side and it will dig into the wood pretty well. Not sure if this could be bad for your sander, but I did that and it worked for me when I wanted to remove the burnt area of the wood that went down fairly deep.I do not recommend buying the pads that come with the product. The reason I say this is because they are only one grit, and it is the lightest grit of sandpaper. This would be fine if you are only doing some light sanding. However, for most projects you will want a heavier grit too. So I suggest instead to get a wider range of grits. I purchased a set of sandpaper rounds ranging from 80(coarse) to 220(fine). I bought Mestool brand 125 mm 8 holes paper P-58 gold sandpaper Velcro.Overall, the sander worked really well. It nicely finished my table and I was really pleased with the results.This little sander was perfect for refinishing our maple kitchen butcher block.What can I say, it's a DEWALT. Great sander with an adjustable rate of speed. Feels good in my hand and has very little vibration.My only complaint (and the reason for the 4 stars) is that it does not easily attach to a shop-vac. Eventually I went to the hardware store and found a rubber 1.25 to 1.5 inch coupling in the pluming section. It cost $5 and included a ring clamp at each end. The small end fit over the sander exhaust and the larger end had a good pressure fit over the adapter I use on my shop-vac hose. These couplings come in various sizes so you should be able to find one that works with your setup.Based in the UK. Bought in the Uk, but the tool came with a European plug.I watched so many reviews online about this sander before I bought it. Most of my beginning tools were bought on the cheaper end but I am extremely happy with this investment! Easy to use, super comfortable and the little catch bag holds more than I thought it would.Having adjustable speed is super handy too.I've personally used king and Makita random orbitals and I have to stay that I like this one the best. I am a rather small woman so using any power tool with crazy vibration is uncomfortable quickly, but I can use the DeWalt for hours no problem. This sander is super smooth to use and I recommend it as a hobbyist and as a professional.Overall, I am quite pleased with the sander. It works great, the variable speed feature is a step above what I am used to .... slower speeds result in less friction and depending on the project it makes a big difference in sandpaper longevity. I was not happy with the proprietary dust bag attachment. Hooking up to my shop vac without DeWalts special adapter would be difficult. Fortunately, a friend of mine got a 3D printer for Christmas and thanks to the internet, we were able to crank out an adapter for about 25 cents worth of plastic. Shame on DeWalt.Used it to finish off a outdoor patio set. Great product, and surprisingly enough the dust collector works really well. Obviously it doesn't get everything, but I would say about 95% of the sawdust is caught with it.The `hook and loop` bottom is great. The ability to change sanding grains within seconds is awesome. I just bought a set of 100 no name multi pack off of amazon and they work great. They stick perfectly.As for the adjustable speed, I haven't needed to adjust the speed to lower than 6 (which is the top), but I would see using the slower speeds on super fine work where the sanding might burn. Otherwise this sander is amazing, and also comes with a case that fits the sander and the dust catcher....perfect to transport without having any residual sawdust falling out.