BOSCH GEX18V-5N 18V Brushless 5 Inch Cordless Random Orbit Sander (Bare Tool)

Bosch quality as usual

This sander has been excellent for woodworking and general sanding projects. It runs very smoothly with noticeably less vibration than cheaper sanders I’ve used before, which makes it much more comfortable during longer sessions. The brushless motor feels powerful and maintains good speed even under pressure. Dust collection is decent, and the sanding finish comes out clean and consistent. Being cordless is a huge advantage since it’s much easier to move around larger projects without dealing with cords getting in the way. The build quality also feels very solid, as expected from Bosch. Overall, a very good sander that performs well and feels like a professional quality tool.

Bosch no decepciona. El diseño es único: potente y ligera, no cansa la mano y puedes cargarla para lijar en lugares incómodos. Es ergonómica. Recomiendo usarla con batería de 4Amp.

I'm mostly invested in Milwaukee but have several 18V Bosch tools and so far they have all been excellent - and the battery packs are a better value with fantastic performance and longevity for me so far. I do not like the ergonomics and poor weight distribution of pretty much all the palm and RO sanders on the market but this Bosch stood out for its design differences. I thought about it for a year and finally bought it. Wow, it really is fantastic. Enough that I would say it's worth someone buying and investing in the packs/charger even if it's the only Bosch they will use. The dust chute is cast zinc, well made, and helps to dissipate any heat generated during long operation. It's configured best for right handers but the fantstic ergonomics and balance of this tool make it easy and comfortable (and controllable) to use in any rotational position with either hand. I'm a lefty and had no problem holding it "backwards" to put the chute opposite of my body in use, and also no problem keeping control and finesse in my right hand. The simple push button is wonderful, too...easy to operate and also completely out of the way if you're shifting around. Dust collection works really well but I don't often use the dust bags on tools (indoors on occasion, or a vac hose). Speed control works great - higher settings do of course eat up a little more juice but the difference isn't huge, surprisingly. I was a little skeptical whether the 4Ah packs would be sufficient for work but man they really do last a long time!! And they are wonderfully balanced and out of the way despite sticking out to the rear so far from the pad. The 6Ah packs do put some weight to the rear but they're still doable and don't affect control much in use unless you get sloppy while moving the tool on/off the work. As an example, with a fully charged 4Ah pack I was able to sand both sides of a pretty rough 4x8 sheet of sheathing plywood with 40g paper, including edges and some corner rounding, and still had one bar left on the battery. I didn't time it but it was a good long uninterrupted haul on speed 5 - probably 30 minutes or so. For most jobs and if you can turn it off intermittently to let the cell voltage rebound, I'm pretty sure the run time will be longer than that (or if you can use a lower speed setting, but again it's not a huge difference there). I really can't think of anything to complain about with this tool. It's true, you won't be able to check battery charge with the pack on the tool...no big deal. The pad is very good quality, too. Take note: the red foam is sold as medium firmness and is marked with an "M" on the edge of the pad. If you want other pads then it gets confusing and apparently Bosch knows but isn't going to fix. Their "soft" accessory pad with white foam and a black plastic backing is actually pretty much exactly the same is the stock red medium pad. Undetectable difference. You can buy both as replacements but the red pad is usually more expensive for some reason (part vs. accessory maybe). The "extra soft" pad is actually nice and soft with a good amount of squish. It's worth buying (marked with an "S" on the pad and a grey plastic backing). It's good for larger profiles and pretty decent on sharper angles and corners (with care of course). If you're after super soft then you'll want to buy the open cell foam interface pads from some company and probably will want film-backed discs there instead of thicker paper-backed. Material removal rate is of course governed by the grit you choose, and this is not a tool where you want to press harder or dwell longer to try to make a finer grit do "better" where a coarser grit is smarter. Comparatively speaking the material removal with this sander is very good but maybe not as much as comparable electric sanders - and of course a 6" pad does more/faster work still. This sander is a winner, though, no regrets and highly recommended. Also, it's not stated anywhere, but if you change pads and want to help the rubber shield last the longest, you'll want to smear a very thin layer of light viscosity silicone grease on the pad backing when you swap. I'd suggest real silicone over SuperLube standard grease (that company makes both). Those rubber shields are cheap enough but a pain to replace - if your pad is spinning up and not dampening the rotation with no load, then it's probably time for a replacement of the shield.

Good

I needed this at work. Its small but works perfectly on all materials i use it on. Easy to clean and worth the extra this brand costs