I'd like to report my experience with the new, 6" random orbital sander from Ridgid. I purchased one of these machines from Home Depot today to see if HD's exclusive position with Ridgid tools was justified in the new, power hand tool line that has just been introduced.

After an hour and a half test drive with the sander while doing some prep work on my new boat before applying a last course of fairing compound, I am happy to say that this machine has a real future in my shop.

The R2610 RO sander is competitively priced against the benchmark Porter Cable 6" RO sander at $148. The tool comes with a hook and loop, six hole pad, a variable speed control, spin dial to provide orbit speeds between 4,000 and 10,000 rpm and an integrated dust collection system that draws through the pad with no external skirt. The motor supplies 3.8 amps of power which is slightly more juice than the Porter Cable puts out.

The power avaliable is only half the story, though. The potent aspect of this machine is in the rpm's it can turn without bogging down. The Porter Cable sander cranks out 2,500 to 6,000 rpm with its variable speed motor. The rpm difference between the PC and the Ridgid unit translates to a much larger amount of work in the same amount of time for the Ridgid product.

The molded-in handle on top is nicely angled to prevent fatigue with a smaller, removable hand hold mounted to the front of the motor head for the times when you really need to bear down with the pressure.

The package includes a convenient dust bag with a skeletal framed basket to keep the bag up and off the surface of the work. Also included in the kit is a vacuum adapter so that the dust bag can be completely removed for a hook-up to a dust collector of your choice. The adaptor has dual sizing capacity for vacuum hoses that are 1 1/4 and 2 1/4 inch sizes.

In action, the machine is solid, balanced, and powerful. The quality of the dust collection system is amazing. I'm reminded of the Euro units from Fein and Festool for their dust collection efficiency. Literally, no dust present outside the sanding pad when in action. WOW! My body is going love this. The Porter Cable dust collection, while very good, doesn't come anywhere close to this performance.

Porter Cable uses a skirt that fastens to the outside, stationary part of the sanding head. Because it doesn't go all the way down to the surface to complete the vacuum connection, there is a constant gap where sanded material escapes to the air and surrounding surfaces. The skirt also gets in the way when trying to push into tight spaces.

I have two Porter Cable units in my shop that I've used and used hard. They have been nearly bullet proof in their performance and have excellent durability. Since I have only just purchased this new tool from Ridgid I have no idea how it will hold up to the wear and tear of regular use in my work. So far, the machine looks to be a winner. I really like how the Ridgid design team went out and harvested all the best features of the leading tools and still brought the product to market at a very competitive price point.

The usual disclaimers apply here; I don't work for Ridgid or Home Depot, they don't sneak me tools for my boat shop in exchange for favorable reviews (though, if this machine is an example of the new line, I'd really like them to) and I plunked down the cash myself to take a shot at their new product.

Chris