Straight-Line Floor Sander
By J.R. Bluett
As wood projects go, you’ll probably never deal with any bigger surface than wood floors, and sanding them with a hand tool, powered or not, is a huge project. To hide as much scratching as possible you’ll want to sand with the grain — which is impossible with the big rotary floor machines — but the SL-8 straight-line floor sander will do the job nicely.
The Essex Silver-Line website claims this sander is the most popular rental sander, and small wonder — the sealed motor means “low maintenance,” and the straight-line motion makes high-quality results easier, which means “happy renters.”
The price tag and application also push this tool into the rental niche — most DIYers aren’t going to need floor sanders more than a few times in their lives, and street pricing on the SL-8 is $2,600.
SL-8 Sander [Essex Silver-Line]
Street Pricing [Google Products]
Via Amazon [What’s This?] [What's This?]
June 30th, 2008 at 12:13 pm
Would something like this work well on a deck surface of pressure treated 2×6s? Or is it meant more for indoor flooring?
June 30th, 2008 at 12:25 pm
I think my floor finishing sub uses Clarke sanders - and some high-powered vacuums to collect dust. I recall him saying that the collection bags on most sanders are just a step up from worthless. I also recall seeing some new machines that claim to control dust a lot better.
June 30th, 2008 at 2:15 pm
>Would something like this work well on a deck surface of pressure
>treated 2×6s? Or is it meant more for indoor flooring?
Aerosolizing PT lumber is a REALLY bad idea, even outdoors and with the newest non-arsenate lumber. Even with the catch bag you’ll spread arsenic- or copper-contaminated dust all over the place.