Cordless cavalcade continues
I’ve talked here so many times about my love for cordless tools that I probably sound like a broken record. (Note: “Records” were how we old woodworkers used to listen to music.) But it’s true; I’ll go cordless every time the choice doesn’t involve an exceedingly long run time where a corded tool would have the edge.
I’ve talked here so many times about my love for cordless tools that I probably sound like a broken record. (Note: “Records” were how we old woodworkers used to listen to music.) But it’s true; I’ll go cordless every time the choice doesn’t involve an exceedingly long run time where a corded tool would have the edge.
But that’s the trick, isn’t it? For this reason, I’ve usually shied away from battery-powered versions of tools typically used continuously, namely routers and sanders. But in the last couple years I’ve softened my stance on that. First it was a really nice cordless sander that surprised me two years ago with both its longevity and power. Last year it was a cordless trim router that I’m still loving.
In the meantime, tool companies keep new ones coming and improving older ones. Case in point – I got a press release just this morning from Milwaukee about their new cordless random orbit sander. While I haven’t had a chance to play with one yet, it looks interesting.
The new offering updates the one I got two years ago (inset in the above photo). The basic specs are the same: 18-volt power, variable speed up to 12,000 OPM, and a 3/32” orbital pattern. But the new one is a bit beefier at 3.1 lbs., and the streamlined shape is quite different with a lower height, shorter length, plus a bit more width, which should significantly improve the balance.
It also has two nice features. The first is Bluetooth capability that wirelessly links the company’s Packout portable vacuum to automatically control vacuum operation when the sander’s used. The other is a low-tech, why-didn’t-I-think-of-that feature I’d not seen before – a snap-on edge guard/collar that prevents marring of adjacent surfaces, such as when sanding shelves or baseboards. Simple, but kind of cool.
Cordless will never totally replace corded, but what’s coming out these days is so far evolved beyond earlier offerings that the line between corded and cordless grows thinner with each new arrival. I’m looking forward to putting one of these new arrivals through a full workout.
A.J. Hamler is the former editor of Woodshop News and Woodcraft Magazine. He's currently a freelance woodworking writer/editor, which is another way of stating self-employed. When he's not writing or in the shop, he enjoys science fiction, gourmet cooking and Civil War reenacting, but not at the same time.
