Despite the orbital sander being such a useful tool with a diverse range of applications, it doesn’t need to be an expensive power tool. To highlight this fact, we have tried various sanders across multiple different brands in order to find the best orbital sander under $100. Despite the low price bracket, we were surprised to find that sanders in this category were generally very competitive in terms of power and performance.
The Random Orbital Sander is a Diverse Power Tool
The random orbital sander is such a diverse power tool. It has so many uses and can save you time on a wide range of DIY projects from renovating a hardware floor to polishing your car. As well as having a wide range of uses, there is also an extremely wide range of orbital sanders available and in order to find the best orbital sanders for each specific project, you need to consider a number of factors including price, features, and quality.
What to Look for in an Orbital Sander under $100
We have done extensive research on orbital sanders. We used this research initially to rank, and rate, a wide variety of sanders in terms of their performance. In our research, we have tried and tested lots of different sanders with a wide range in price. However, for this specific article, we looked only at sanders below $100.
Some of the things that you should look for, and that is reasonable to expect from an orbital sander inside the $100 price bracket, include:
- Speed – look for a sander somewhere in the region of 12,000 OPM – this will provide good performance and is a realistic expectation for an orbital sander that comes in under $100.
- Features – there are plenty of orbital sanders under $100 that have multiple features including a dust collection unit, carry bag, and sanding pads included.
- Warranty – lots of orbital sanders come with an extended warranty – typically around 3 years – this is no different with sanders under $100 so it is a good idea to look for a warranty of 3 years.
DWE6421K Dewalt Orbital Sander – Best Orbital Sander under $100
We took all of the sanders in our original orbital sander review, then we removed all of the sanders that were over $100. With the remaining sanders we compared all of the features, we looked at sander performance and we also looked at the quality of the sanders. As well as comparing all of these things, we used each sander and then made our own judgment as to how easy it was to use, how durable it was and how each sander compared, overall, to the other.
After we had made all of these comparisons, we ended up with one orbital sander, in particular, that stood out as being the best sander coming in under $100. In fact, even when we compared this sander to other sanders on the market (ones over $100 in price), we found that it still stacked up pretty well. So it’s definitely fair to say this sander is very good all around, regardless of the price point.
Based on all of our research, and partly our professional opinion, the best random orbital sander under $100 is the Dewalt DWE6421K. First of all, Dewalt sanders are all made to a very high standard. When you pick up the DWE6421K things are no different; you can immediately feel the quality and craftsmanship of the orbit sander.
The Dewalt DWE6421K also comes jam-packed with features including:
- Lightweight at only 4lb
- Mains powered
- 12,000 OPM
- Dust collection unit included
- Carry case included
- Easy Velcro attachment system
- 3 year limited warranty
It is pretty amazing when you look at this long list of features for a sander that costs quite a bit less than $100. You really are getting great value for money with this sander. That is one of the reasons why we have picked it as being the best sander that you can buy for under $100.
Dewalt DWE6421K performance
After looking at the features of the sander, we wanted to get stuck in and see what it was actually like to use. We tried a couple of different tasks with the Dewalt orbital sander. We wanted to see how it handled the sanding process with different mediums, we wanted to see how it performed under pressure and most importantly we wanted to rack up a few hours of use with this sander, in order to fully test its capabilities.
Sanding a wooden table
The first thing we tried with the sander was to sand down a wooden table. We had a table that was a bit old, had a poor quality coating of varnish on it, and generally needed some love and care. We put a standard sanding pad on the sander and got to work on the table. The Dewalt had no problem handling this job. We had the table fully sanded down in less than an hour. We had a nice smooth finish and decided the Dewalt orbital sander had done a great job.
Sanding back the paint on a drywall
The next task we tried with the Dewalt sander was to sand down drywall. This worked really well also. In fact, this project was a big contributor in our decision to rate the Dewalt sander as the best orbital sander under $100. The reason for this; when sanding down the drywall we found there was a lot of dust produced. The great thing about the Dewalt is the dust collection unit that comes with it. With this unit attached, we were able to collect a large portion of the dust produced from sanding the wall. This really helped to minimize the mess produced from sanding the wall. It also helped to decrease the amount of dust that was left floating in the air during and after sanding.
Sanding wood decking
The last task that we carried out was sanding a deck. Ordinarily, we would probably use a larger sander for this type of project, especially on a large deck floor. However, for the purpose of testing out this sander, we gave it a go. We wanted to see how the Dewalt sander would perform on a tough, and long, a job such as this one.
The results were impressive; we spent several hours sanding the decking with the Dewalt. The sander produced a really smooth finish on the floor, it took up almost all of the stains and abrasions on the floor and it didn’t overheat or anything during the process. To us, this proved that the sander was manly enough for big sanding projects and it further justified our decision to rate it as the best sander available under 100 dollars.
If you would like to find out a little more information about the features and other benefits of the Dewalt DWE6421K take a look at our detailed product overview.