1/4 Sheet Palm Sander ???Engineers????

[The RackMan]

Bought the new ORANGE 1/4 Sheet sanders last week and have been using them every day.

Did the engineers have a brain dump, the screws which hold on the base plate with foam have too large a head on them. As soon as the foam, which by the way starts to disintegrate within a week gets broken down at all the screw heads wear out the sanderpaper where they are located under it, and they also cause bumps in the finished product.

Also, the foam is not a memory type foam. It will wear in one spot and return it's shape if you do minimal edge sanding in the same position. We have not had any other sanders do this in such a short period of time.

Simple fix for Ridgid, change the screws and put some better foam on the base plate. Other that that, the sander handles well and is quite, which is a concern for us. It also is heavier than any other palm sanders we have used, but you do get used to it.

HEY, HELP outa new Forum guy RIDGID. Give me a fix. [img]tongue.gif[/img]

PS. by the way our shop has nearly every wood machine made by ridgid. By buying the products for years now and have had some great tech support.

The RackMan [img]smile.gif[/img]

[noteasy]

Re: 1/4 Sheet Palm Sander ???Engineers????

The response is less than encouraging. I took two 2500 sanders to the local authorized service center for repairs on Feb 1 and had to pay a $10 deposit for each. No problem except that it took until today, Feb 13 for them to let me know that they found "nothing wrong" with the tools I took them for repairs. The man there told me I was not pressing the sander hard enough, that's why it skates off to the side during use. I told him that I only try to guide the sander, the sander is not supposed to require heavy pressure to function. The motor speed varied wildly on idle and he said this is normal. I have had these two sanders for over 3 years and I had been very pleased with their functionality until recently when the problems I describe above started. I went and bought a new 2500 so I could take these two in for repairs. They refused to repair them and told me that Ridgid sanders are an inferior product. I told them I had been well pleased until they started wobbling and skating off to the side, the motor revving and dying out.
To say I am unhappy having spent $20 and two weeks to find out that my defective sanders are supposed to run that way is an understatement. I have a fourth Ridgid sander bought 3 years ago and it is functioning as good as new, but the latest one which I bought in Oct. '06 was defective out of the box and now I realize I have no place to have competent repairs done. I did not return it earlier because I wanted to get the first two sanders back from repairs before attending to it. What does Ridgid suggest?

[Woussko]

Re: 1/4 Sheet Palm Sander ???Engineers????

Edited version
Note: I need to give up and go to bed. Brain is not working. Good luck with this.

Please see post by CWSmith. His brain is working.

[CWSmith]

Re: 1/4 Sheet Palm Sander ???Engineers????

Noteasy,

Suggesting that you buy another brand, doesn't help the product that you own or your current investment.

Regarding the sander that you just purchased, you have 90-days to return to Home Depot for a refund, as it sounds defective.

With regard to your two older sanders and the obvious, "head where the sun doesn't shine" response you got from your local service center, I'd be on the phone to Ridgid Customer Service and let them know how you were treated. This is NOT the kind of service or reputation that Ridgid has strived to obtain. You are correct in that there should be NO variation in motor speed, nor should you have to bear down on the sander in order to keep the paper properly positioned on the sander. That answer is truly absurd. Hopefully, this guy wasn't the manager of the service facility!!

Also regarding the $10 deposit, what was that all about? Why should you have to pay a deposit to receive service on a tool, when there should be no charge at all (presuming you have previously registered, and have the Limited Lifetime Service Agreement). But even if not, the guy has your tool and if any thing is exchanged, it should be that he gives you a receipt. You should have also gotten your money back when you picked up the tool.

I recently sent a Ryobi router in for service (in my area, the same service center used by Ridgid). Not only did I get the tool back fully repaired in a week and a half, but on calling them to confirm receipt, the secretary was kind enough to call me to let me know when it was shipped back!. No charge for anything, and a detailed receipt was provided to let me know what they did. Now that's service the way it should be. I wouldn't let this first bad experience discourage you.

Again, I'd give Ridgid Customer Support a call and see what they can do for you. Not sure where you are located, but I'd also look to see where the next closest service center is, and I'd give them a call.

CWS

[noteasy]

Re: 1/4 Sheet Palm Sander ???Engineers????

I bought the two older sanders at the beginning of the LLW promotion but no registration papers were included and, being extremely busy during the holiday season, did not ever get around to getting them registered. I was willing to pay for repairs, but they obviously did not want to be bothered. Last night I took a better look at the sanders and one had a new pad installed but the other had never even been unscrewed. The dust that collected around the screws both on the top and the pad had not been disturbed. The new pad was put on the one whose motor revs and dies down. The motor on the other is good. Iwas in the repair shop arguing with the repairmen for over half an hour; they "tested" the sanders in my presence by pushing down very hard on a greasy wooden workbench with no paper installed. I am not impressed by their competence. How did Ridgid select these folks?
Regarding my latest purchase it was bought in Oct. '06 but my credit card extends any warrantee period so I'll be dealing with it that way. I didn't take it back because I had two sanders out of commission for the very busy holiday season and needed it. The Home Depot is a 50 mile trip and I just couldn't squeeze in an extra trip.

[Woussko]

Re: 1/4 Sheet Palm Sander ???Engineers????

Power Tool Support - Customer Service: 1-866-539-1710

Power Tool Service Center Locator: http://www.ridgid.com/MenuDriver.asp...enters&Code=PT

If a service place plays games, call Ridgid and tell them. Then try another service center. That place that took your $$$ and made a mess out of everything should not be in business.

I wouldn't bother with E-mail. Normally a phone call gets far more done and much sooner. Be sure to have model and serial numbers and the date of purchase. The more info you can give to Ridgid, the better.

My former (I deleted it later) suggestion to try a Porter-Cable 330, isn't going to fix the ones you have, but I have owned one and so have several friends. We all think there are very good and would buy them again as needed provided changes (lowering quality) haven't been made to them.

[chic]

Re: 1/4 Sheet Palm Sander ???Engineers????

well it sounds like a wobble bearing(eccentric bearing)problem,or some part is worn out and is letting it skate.now the problem with the service center is not ridgids problem it is tti that has the problem.the company i work for is a warranty center for all major brands includeing ridgid.the ridgid warranty is only on there threading tools and pumps,well only on the real ridgid tools.we do not even want to be a center for the woodworking tool or all the other tools made by tti,nor were we approached by tti to become a center.the only centyers are like these small hardware stores or places like m and d mower supply.my buddy owns a hardware store and is a warranty center for ryobi and ridgid and is not to happy with the way he is paid by ryobi.he says it is not even worth it.he gets alot of tools in for warranty.to me these tools are like throw aways.some of the parts list i have looked at these tools look like snap together tools.I hope you get your problems solved.the reving up and down part maby a variable speed control problem or a brush problem.NOw lets not put the blame on ridgid(but they are the ones that have there name on th tool to collect that 10% off every tool sold by homedepot).

[texan168]

Re: 1/4 Sheet Palm Sander ???Engineers????

As chic said the problem sounds like the lower bearing it is probably gummed up and that would also acount for the variable speed problem as the bearing heats up and starts to grab.The wandering would be caused by uneven friction on the bearing. This problem can also be caused by a build up of dust on the inside of the exhaust fan that throws it out of balance. In either case if you hold the sander down hard it will mask the problem. As far as service centers there are a number of reputable service centers for Ridgid. Mine is currently a center for around 70 different companies including Ridgid although about 90 percent of our work on Ridgid is wtty it brings people in the door, people that also have other tools.

[noteasy]

Re: 1/4 Sheet Palm Sander ???Engineers????

Just updating this old thread. My husband took the two defective sanders apart and spotted the problem right off the bat. Took the functioning bearing out of the sander with the defective pad and put it into the one with a defective bearing and it runs just fine now. Sice Ridgid won't sell the parts, the other one is a total loss although it could be easily repaired. The new one is on a back shelf, even with a Lifetime warranty, there is no place to take it. I know what is wrong with it but cant get parts either. Maybe I'll check and see if I can scavenge a 'leg' from the cannibalized sander..

I have bought 2 Bosch sanders since this problem and am very happy with the results. You shouldn't have to use a lot of pressure on a sander, the tool is supposed to do the work and the Bosch sanders only need to be guided as they smooth the wood. I was very happy with the Ridgid sanders also, but if I can't get parts or service I will not buy another one.

[Velosapien]

Re: 1/4 Sheet Palm Sander ???Engineers????

I had a 2500 and was never really satisfied with. I quickly relegated it to junk duty like fiberglass or quick rough work. For anything requiring quality finish I got the Bosch 1/4 sander which I find is far superior. The pad foam on the 2500 was really bad and it vibrated way too much to be easily controlable. Without a good grip it could easily shoot off and flip itself over. Left dents in the wood if you weren't careful. Eventually it literally shook itself apart. Started vibrating awfully and plastic debris started shooting out the vent holes. I just took it apart, salvaged the cord and gave the motor to a friend for tinkering. For $40 tool I found its just not worth the hassle to bother getting it repaired. Driving to a service center or shipping it for repairs, plus the time wasted would likely cost me more than what its worth. For about $5 more its just better to get the Bosch sander. I have a bunch of Ridgid tools but overall I think the palm sander is a substandard product.

[Max Power]

Re: 1/4 Sheet Palm Sander ???Engineers????

Have you tried ridgidparts.com? They have parts on there for the power tools.

[Velosapien]

Re: 1/4 Sheet Palm Sander ???Engineers????

I haven't tried but I don't think the end user can actually order the replacement parts from there.

[erngum]

Re: 1/4 Sheet Palm Sander ???Engineers????

I got this sander free with the belt sander. The problem I found (after much frustration) was that the plastic sanding plate is not rigid (not a pun) enough to withstand the twisting force of the spring clips that hold the paper on. I found that when the clips are secured, two opposite corners of the pad were bowed toward the work surface. This is what was causing the sander to take off unless you pushed down like you were giving CPR.

I decided to try to flattten the pad the same way you tune the subbase of a router so it does not rock. I mounted some self stick sand paper to the melamine top of my work table and ran the sander over it with no paper on the pad.

It was obvious from the wear pattern that the sanding pad is severely bowed. About 1/16" or more of the pad was sanded away before I had a flat sanding pad. I basically supported the sander with no pressure as it ran over the sand paper. I continued for several minutes, only stopping to clean the sandpaper. The sander eventually wore the pad down to an even plane with the table top, although the plastic mounting plate is still bowed behind it.

Now the sander works very well and is very controllable. I'm glad it worked because the next stop for the 2500 was the garbage. It's a decent sander (now it is) and the price was right (free). The 2500 would not be my first choice if I was going to purchas another 1/4 sheet. I have the Ridgid belt sander and 6" ROS and they are both excellent heavy duty sanders. I don't know what they were thinking when they put a plastic plate on the 2500.

Ern

[Max Power]

Re: 1/4 Sheet Palm Sander ???Engineers????

Yes an end user can order from ridgidparts.com

[Velosapien]

Re: 1/4 Sheet Palm Sander ???Engineers????

hmm... I just checked it out and looks like the site has been updated and you can actually order now. Last time I checked you could see the parts but either you couldn't order replacement parts directly online or I couldn't figure it out.