Broke my favorite pad sander, need a replacement

[KLF]

I was using my trusty Ryobi S-500 1/6 sheet pad sander to sand some door edges yesterday, and it slipped out of my hand and fell about 6' to the floor. Bent the shoe, and now the thing has a nasty vibration and annoying noise, I'm assuming the motor shaft is also bent. DARNIT!! I really liked this sander for doing stuff like door jambs, window sashes, other narrow stuff. Unfortunately Ryobi doesn't make it anymore, I've had the thing for about 15 years.

I guess the closest replacement is their "Corner Cat" model, but I'm not crazy about it. I don't like that you have to buy the specially-shaped sanding pads, I can't just rip up standard sheets to use in it.

Is there another brand that makes something similar to my old one? I checked Bosch, Makita, Milwaukee, and Delta/Porter-Cable. I also have a nice Bosch 5" ROS, so I don't want a 1/4 sheet pad sander.

[dbhost]

I've got the Corner cat. It's not a bad sander. You might find quarter sheet is what you will end up with though...

[docrowan]

This is a timely thread for me. My BIL broke my HF 1/3 sheet sander (I told him to, I didn't like it and wanted a new one.) I like the 1/3 sheet size, but I've only found 1/4 sheet size sanders. Has anyone on the forum used both and prefer one to the other? Also, if I did want to get another 1/3 sheet sander, does anyone know a good brand and where I can get it?

[cabinetman]

I've dropped my finishing sander a few times and got lucky with flattening out a bent corner. If that doesn't do it, check out Ebay or CL for a replacement, they gotta be cheap enough. I also get very attached to old friends that work well til they get fine tuned by accident.

The one third sheet sanders are great for large panels, but can get tiring after a long time. My complaint is that my 1/3 sheet sanders and 1/4 sheet finishing sanders have the lever lock/release for the paper, and that's a PITA. I still use a 1/4 sheet finishing sander, but I prefer a 5" H&L ROS.
.

[docrowan]

Cabinetman,

Do you have a Ryobi 1/4 sheet sander? I was looking at them this morning on Home Depot.com. Only two reviews, one of them gave it 5 stars and couldn't say enough good about it, the other gave it 1 star and said they'll take up too much landfill space. I don't know what to think.

[dbhost]

Docrowan,

I'm the one that wrote the 5 star review, and I still stand by it. I am honestly stunned by the issues the other reviewer had with the sander. Mine has been a gem since I got it. And no I am NOT one of those people that gives glowing reviews on everything. (I posted a few here today that should prove that).

I honestly can't say how well this sander is going to hold up over a long period of time, but so far it has been a good sander for a good price. It is helping me get my kitchen refinished when I have the time to work on it...

[cabinetman]

Cabinetman,

Do you have a Ryobi 1/4 sheet sander? I was looking at them this morning on Home Depot.com. Only two reviews, one of them gave it 5 stars and couldn't say enough good about it, the other gave it 1 star and said they'll take up too much landfill space. I don't know what to think.

My 1/4 sheet sanders are Makita and PC. But I have two Ryobi 5" ROS's that I can't complain about. They both get used quite a bit.
.

[docrowan]

DB,

Cool, I had no idea it was you who wrote the thumbs up review. That's good enough for me.

[dbhost]

If you were close by, I'd let you use it for a day or two to get a feeling for it. It's been a nice little sander... Way better than the Makita it replaced...

[AlanR]

I know this is a very old thread but I have a fix

My S500A sander suffered a similar fate. The power switch was bit sticky and was not completely switched to off. It turned itself on and walked off the bench to a concrete floor. Bent the plate and had the vibration.

I located a new plate, a real find with a couple pads as well. I also repaired the old plate. The problem with the vibration was another story.

It's a simple problem, not a bent shaft, the repair not quite so easy. There's a lead counterweight on the shaft above the plate, two bearings between it and the plate. That counterbalance was knocked out of place.

You can press off the plate by rigging up a puller to pull off the bottom plate, there's a hole dead center in the plate. Then you have to remove the upper bearing, I made a simple puller from a piece of steel channel with a 1/4 28 bolt threaded into it.

Now you can slide off the counterweight. It's held into place by force fit with a steel roll pin into the shaft which fits into a slot in the counterweight. I had 2mm roll pins on hand so I cut a piece just long enough to create a good force fit and forced the counterbalance back on.

Reassemble and it's good as new.

I hope this may help someone else, it really is a very nice sander and it's a shame to just throw it away for such a simple problem.

I was using my trusty Ryobi S-500 1/6 sheet pad sander to sand some door edges yesterday, and it slipped out of my hand and fell about 6' to the floor. Bent the shoe, and now the thing has a nasty vibration and annoying noise, I'm assuming the motor shaft is also bent. DARNIT!! I really liked this sander for doing stuff like door jambs, window sashes, other narrow stuff. Unfortunately Ryobi doesn't make it anymore, I've had the thing for about 15 years.