I hope you find this dry info useful. I think the results will hold true for most budget to mid-range 5"/125mm Orbital Sanders. If you are looking to upgrade your sandpaper in Australia, but don't want big packets of 50 or 100, check out Kerry at www.thesandpaperman.com.au as he sells 5 or 10 packs of most products I've tested here. Hit me up if you have any further questions and I hope you hang around here on Fixit Fingers by subscribing. Cheers! - James PS - I live-streamed a full hour of the process and explain a bit more here... ruclips.net/video/Sh3JyRgWZhE/видео.html ;)
James not only is this a Grand video with immaculate presentation but a source of reference that I’ve saved for the next purchase of sanding disc’s, I love the Abranet but I see that on hardwood it struggles somewhat but it’s still my go to option. Thank you for the hard work you’ve put into this video & it will do well 🇦🇺🍻👍
Oh I wouldn't say or struggles, or just makes sense the tougher ceramic ones are more at home on our concrete hardwoods! Also, hard wood creates less dust, so the open net weave is not as important there. Cheers for watching mate 🍺🍻
Cheers mate, still running the Abra-nets, bought them in bulk after this research. However, the 3M Extract is now available in Australia and I've heard nothing but awesomeness from it, worth checking out!
Not so much 'hard' as 'prolonged' lifting 😁 I think the results will hold pretty well for most 5" / 125mm ROS sanders.If I ever step up to a bigger unit, I may do some more testing... MAY.😂
Brilliant stuff James 😊 I'm happy someone else made this video instead of me. I struggle with dust at the best of times and this would have had me on my back 😁 It's a fantastic reference for the future, but a pity I can only find or buy one or two of these brands here 😊 Blessings to you all there ॐ
That's the trouble I had! Sandpaper seems to be a very regional thing, a lot of the American ones are not available here too. A better dust extractor is on the master plan...along with about a dozen other things 😅 I will get there eventually!
James, you truly are the one and only Ozzie Sawdust Maker!!! That was incredible, to see Diablo which started all this back in 6th and Aldi ahead of Irwin and Flexovit is amazing. Well done mate, it felt like the sandpaper olympics so next time we need some crowd cheering every time the scoreboard comes up! hah
Well it depends on where you put your preference. Sure, the Aldi is cheapest which bumped it's rating, but do you want to be changing pads every 3 minutes? (Plus you can't get it most of the time! ) Not sure if I'm using the Irwin wrong...it just was awful. If Flexovit and Diablo came in 50 packs to halve their price... It would have been VERY interesting to see how that changed things. So many things to consider, it's always going to be a judgement call on what's best for your worship, not what some jackass on RUclips says is best 😉
Great sandpaper selection, fantastic test, thank you ! The paper SIA recommends for sanding wood is 1960 siarexx, maybe it would have fared well in you test.
I still have post traumatic sanding disorder from this 😅 But it was worth it, I've been well stocked ever since. Another one to look out for that wasn't available in Australia at the time is the 3M cubritron. Apparently very good
Thanks for your dusty efforts. I'm guilty of using Flexovit because it's so easy to get a hold of but the differences in performance has inspired me to give other brands a go!
That's why we all use it! It's the convenient choice and readily available. If it came in bigger packs dropping the price per disc, it would be a competitive product at the budget end. Not everyone needs 50 discs of indestructible ceramics, so it has a place in the market for the occasional user which is what they target I think.
Thanks for all the hard work I have the same sander love it. I found similar reults with the Erwin pads with my last project could only get Diablo in one grit and Erwin in another covid.As I went through the grits even though some life left in the Erwin pad when I took it off the sander it disintegrated at least with the Diablo I could take it off and back on again to get the last of ware out of it . Steve
Good to know it's not just me! I think Irwin tried to do something different with the silicon carbide...and it just didn't pay off. The Diablo ones are great, just a shame they only come in small packs and cost so much.
I hadn't actually added it up... now thanks to your comment I have. Over the course of testing I turned over 1.2kg of perfectly good wood into sawdust 🤣
Been so long since we were chatting about this on CLAMP, so I was excited to see this video finally released. Some very interesting results and some good info for someone like me that just purchases the cheapest giant box available on amazon. Maybe I will start looking more closely at what I buy (but likely not, because I have a giant stockpile, lol)
Great review thanks. I’m in the middle of a pack of Irwin net discs and I’m REALLY disappointed. I always get my turning colour coded paper from the Sandpaperman but bought my orbital and belt paper from the green shed, brain fade, I’ll be using the Sandpaperman solely in future, just need to wrap my head around postage like you I’m a tightarse. By they way came over from JDN Creations after his sander review and subbed.
Cheers Steven! Kerry is a lovely fella, if I had a second choice after Mirka for my sander I'd probably run his Zirconia Sia. On a big 6" I reckon the Sianets would go hard too
TOP VIDEO JAMES!!!! the community thanks you so the effort! Mirka all the way! Very useful information in there! There is only one question! Now that you have sanded that hardwood sleeper what are you going to make with it :)
It WAS for shelving in our dining area... but just that half is over 40kg and there is no way it will hang on my wall 😅 It may still become rough edge shelf if I can find a way to mill it into smaller bits... but it is like concrete (probably river redgum) and 2.4m long...
Cheers Vipun. Can't wait to next block off work when I can actually get back to making something other than dust 😄
3 года назад+1
Hello James, This is a great, very detailed review. Nice and useful information about sanding papers. We agree on using a sandpaper and machine for whatever purpose it will be used for. Thank you for sharing this useful information. I watched you calmly and curiously. Subtitles help a lot. You gave detailed information on this subject. See you. Stay healthy and happy. Big greetings. Yours truly....
How good are auto subtitles? 😊 Cheers Mehmet, it is certainly horses for courses, or sandpaper for workshops as the case may be!
3 года назад
@@FixitFingers We absolutely agree. You are a great emery king. Thanks again for the nice and accurate information. Subtitles are always a good guide. Stay healthy and happy.
Thanks for all the hard work mate, really appreciate it ! Im gonna try that mirka abranet and see how it goes with epoxy. Cheers Mate, You're a Legend 👍👍
Oh God, another variable! 😂 The limit you'll hit is I think the grit on the Abra doesn't go that high, so you'll still need your special papers for that epoxy shine!
@@FixitFingers Gotta love variables, what would we do without them ! Thats fine, as long as I can get to around 280 grit, after that I wet sand anyway. The dry sandpaper clogs up very quickly with epoxy, if I can skip that I would be a very happy man. Thanks Again for the great and informative video 👍👍
I'm a little confused mate, I was looking for the end comparison from what I've seen ya do on YT and IG but feel like I've missed something seeing this?
18:55 is the final comparison table? I did cut out a lot of 'analysis' chat as the video was getting long and boring. What in particular did you want to know? It may have ended up on the cutting room floor 😅 Short version is for a battery powered 5" sander with average dust extraction, the Mirka seems to be the best if mostly working softwoods, the Siatop 1815 is the most balanced and another great option. For more powerful sanders with better dust extraction, I am guessing the Norton Blaze, Siaspeed 1950 (/Festool Granat) and Sianet CER (/ Festool Granat Mesh) would really come into their own.
James what a great video mate, you have the patients of a saint.... I have never heard of half these sandpaper’s so thank you for opening my eyes to the world that is sand paper.... cheers mate and great video. 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺👍⚓️
Just stubborn as a mule and a gross underestimater of time required to complete a 'simple' task 😂 I learnt most of what I know about abrasives doing this. Kerry at the Sandpaper Man was a great help.
You've got a Rotex don't you? While you won't have to go to my craziness it would be fun to see a quick side by side of the Mirka, Norton Blaze, Siatop and the festool mesh or Sianet CER!
Wouldn't you know, after I did this video Mirka reached out to me an sent me some along with there SiC and a few others as well. Once we are out of lockdown and I can have my friend with a big 6" sander over, I will be doing a followup video testing those too ;) Should be interesting!
@@2byforge Looks like it is a similar orbit to the Makita with probably the same poor dust extraction, so I think the results here will hold and be the same for you.
I just spoke to Wayne at Mallee Agencies here in Oz and he says he'll ship to NZ... a 120grit 125mm are $1.00 per disc with him or $47.30 for 50! Even with postage you should come out way ahead! www.malleeagencies.com.au/collections/abranet/products/mirka-abranet-125mm-abrasive-sanding-discs?variant=36867879297
I have too...which is why I did this test! ;) The biggest issue with FlexOvit is the price. If they were available it 50 boxes at 75c a disc... they would have ranked MUCH higher being good value even though they are lower on performance. It's the usual economy of scale, they market to the DIYr who only needs a few sheets.
I hope you find this dry info useful. I think the results will hold true for most budget to mid-range 5"/125mm Orbital Sanders. If you are looking to upgrade your sandpaper in Australia, but don't want big packets of 50 or 100, check out Kerry at www.thesandpaperman.com.au as he sells 5 or 10 packs of most products I've tested here. Hit me up if you have any further questions and I hope you hang around here on Fixit Fingers by subscribing. Cheers! - James PS - I live-streamed a full hour of the process and explain a bit more here... ruclips.net/video/Sh3JyRgWZhE/видео.html ;)
I just added it all up... Over the course of testing I turned over 1.2kg of perfectly good wood into sawdust 🤣
James not only is this a Grand video with immaculate presentation but a source of reference that I’ve saved for the next purchase of sanding disc’s, I love the Abranet but I see that on hardwood it struggles somewhat but it’s still my go to option.
Thank you for the hard work you’ve put into this video & it will do well 🇦🇺🍻👍
Oh I wouldn't say or struggles, or just makes sense the tougher ceramic ones are more at home on our concrete hardwoods! Also, hard wood creates less dust, so the open net weave is not as important there. Cheers for watching mate 🍺🍻
That was an awesome test. Thanks for all the effort!
Cheers mate, still running the Abra-nets, bought them in bulk after this research. However, the 3M Extract is now available in Australia and I've heard nothing but awesomeness from it, worth checking out!
I have that same sander so thanks for doing all the hard lifting to give me the answer to your question!
Not so much 'hard' as 'prolonged' lifting 😁 I think the results will hold pretty well for most 5" / 125mm ROS sanders.If I ever step up to a bigger unit, I may do some more testing... MAY.😂
Brilliant stuff James 😊 I'm happy someone else made this video instead of me. I struggle with dust at the best of times and this would have had me on my back 😁 It's a fantastic reference for the future, but a pity I can only find or buy one or two of these brands here 😊 Blessings to you all there ॐ
That's the trouble I had! Sandpaper seems to be a very regional thing, a lot of the American ones are not available here too. A better dust extractor is on the master plan...along with about a dozen other things 😅 I will get there eventually!
I've been saying that for years mate, and I'm beginning to think eventually is a place that can't be found or I have the wrong directions 😁 ॐ
@@TheWoodYogi I have a plan! There is a set order I've drafted for workshop improvement. If only I could retire and it'd get done a lot faster hehe
😁 ॐ
James, you truly are the one and only Ozzie Sawdust Maker!!! That was incredible, to see Diablo which started all this back in 6th and Aldi ahead of Irwin and Flexovit is amazing. Well done mate, it felt like the sandpaper olympics so next time we need some crowd cheering every time the scoreboard comes up! hah
Well it depends on where you put your preference. Sure, the Aldi is cheapest which bumped it's rating, but do you want to be changing pads every 3 minutes? (Plus you can't get it most of the time! ) Not sure if I'm using the Irwin wrong...it just was awful. If Flexovit and Diablo came in 50 packs to halve their price... It would have been VERY interesting to see how that changed things. So many things to consider, it's always going to be a judgement call on what's best for your worship, not what some jackass on RUclips says is best 😉
I just added it all up... Over the course of testing I turned over 1.2kg of perfectly good wood into sawdust 🤣
@@FixitFingers hahahah that's incredible!!! You are the true sawdust maker. I will send you all my logins and transfer all rights of OSM to you hah
All that hard work paid off mate. Thanks for the insight. 👍😀
Any time! It was actually a lot more interesting than it comes across on video :P Still, glad I can go back to actually makign things now.
Great sandpaper selection, fantastic test, thank you ! The paper SIA recommends for sanding wood is 1960 siarexx, maybe it would have fared well in you test.
I still have post traumatic sanding disorder from this 😅 But it was worth it, I've been well stocked ever since. Another one to look out for that wasn't available in Australia at the time is the 3M cubritron. Apparently very good
Thanks for your dusty efforts. I'm guilty of using Flexovit because it's so easy to get a hold of but the differences in performance has inspired me to give other brands a go!
That's why we all use it! It's the convenient choice and readily available. If it came in bigger packs dropping the price per disc, it would be a competitive product at the budget end. Not everyone needs 50 discs of indestructible ceramics, so it has a place in the market for the occasional user which is what they target I think.
Great work mate. I bet it feels amazing to finally be finished.
I think I nearly cried in that last clip 😂 Time to move on thank God. Exciting little announcement coming up soon 👍
@@FixitFingers haha I could tell. Ooooo how long do I have to wait for the announcement?
4 days of work, then I'll film something ;)
@@FixitFingers awesome! Look forward to it mate.
Thanks for all the hard work I have the same sander love it. I found similar reults with the Erwin pads with my last project could only get Diablo in one grit and Erwin in another covid.As I went through the grits even though some life left in the Erwin pad when I took it off the sander it disintegrated at least with the Diablo I could take it off and back on again to get the last of ware out of it . Steve
Good to know it's not just me! I think Irwin tried to do something different with the silicon carbide...and it just didn't pay off. The Diablo ones are great, just a shame they only come in small packs and cost so much.
"a lot of material to get through here" is somewhat of an understatement :)
I hadn't actually added it up... now thanks to your comment I have. Over the course of testing I turned over 1.2kg of perfectly good wood into sawdust 🤣
Been so long since we were chatting about this on CLAMP, so I was excited to see this video finally released. Some very interesting results and some good info for someone like me that just purchases the cheapest giant box available on amazon. Maybe I will start looking more closely at what I buy (but likely not, because I have a giant stockpile, lol)
It feels like ages too. I haven't 'made' anything since September thanks to this 'quick' little experiment. Very happy to move on 🎉
@@FixitFingers that's crazy! I've barely made anything either, but that's because I'm lazy and I like to procrastinate 🤣
Great review thanks. I’m in the middle of a pack of Irwin net discs and I’m REALLY disappointed. I always get my turning colour coded paper from the Sandpaperman but bought my orbital and belt paper from the green shed, brain fade, I’ll be using the Sandpaperman solely in future, just need to wrap my head around postage like you I’m a tightarse. By they way came over from JDN Creations after his sander review and subbed.
Cheers Steven! Kerry is a lovely fella, if I had a second choice after Mirka for my sander I'd probably run his Zirconia Sia. On a big 6" I reckon the Sianets would go hard too
TOP VIDEO JAMES!!!! the community thanks you so the effort! Mirka all the way! Very useful information in there! There is only one question! Now that you have sanded that hardwood sleeper what are you going to make with it :)
It WAS for shelving in our dining area... but just that half is over 40kg and there is no way it will hang on my wall 😅 It may still become rough edge shelf if I can find a way to mill it into smaller bits... but it is like concrete (probably river redgum) and 2.4m long...
thanks for the hard work mate!!
Cheers Vipun. Can't wait to next block off work when I can actually get back to making something other than dust 😄
Hello James,
This is a great, very detailed review. Nice and useful information about sanding papers. We agree on using a sandpaper and machine for whatever purpose it will be used for. Thank you for sharing this useful information. I watched you calmly and curiously. Subtitles help a lot. You gave detailed information on this subject. See you. Stay healthy and happy. Big greetings. Yours truly....
How good are auto subtitles? 😊 Cheers Mehmet, it is certainly horses for courses, or sandpaper for workshops as the case may be!
@@FixitFingers We absolutely agree. You are a great emery king. Thanks again for the nice and accurate information. Subtitles are always a good guide. Stay healthy and happy.
Thanks for all the hard work mate, really appreciate it ! Im gonna try that mirka abranet and see how it goes with epoxy. Cheers Mate, You're a Legend 👍👍
Oh God, another variable! 😂 The limit you'll hit is I think the grit on the Abra doesn't go that high, so you'll still need your special papers for that epoxy shine!
@@FixitFingers Gotta love variables, what would we do without them ! Thats fine, as long as I can get to around 280 grit, after that I wet sand anyway. The dry sandpaper clogs up very quickly with epoxy, if I can skip that I would be a very happy man. Thanks Again for the great and informative video 👍👍
I'm a little confused mate, I was looking for the end comparison from what I've seen ya do on YT and IG but feel like I've missed something seeing this?
18:55 is the final comparison table? I did cut out a lot of 'analysis' chat as the video was getting long and boring. What in particular did you want to know? It may have ended up on the cutting room floor 😅 Short version is for a battery powered 5" sander with average dust extraction, the Mirka seems to be the best if mostly working softwoods, the Siatop 1815 is the most balanced and another great option. For more powerful sanders with better dust extraction, I am guessing the Norton Blaze, Siaspeed 1950 (/Festool Granat) and Sianet CER (/ Festool Granat Mesh) would really come into their own.
I think you need a shop apron... :) great work!
I was getting rather dusty in the nether regions by the end of it... 🤔
Fantastic, well done!
Cheers Biggles! Glad it was helpful. I'm still rocking the Abranets, I stocked up in bulk, and not been disappointed
James what a great video mate, you have the patients of a saint.... I have never heard of half these sandpaper’s so thank you for opening my eyes to the world that is sand paper.... cheers mate and great video. 🇦🇺🇦🇺🇦🇺👍⚓️
Just stubborn as a mule and a gross underestimater of time required to complete a 'simple' task 😂 I learnt most of what I know about abrasives doing this. Kerry at the Sandpaper Man was a great help.
Interesting results, thanks for doing this. Will help me save some $$$ on future sand paper purchase :)
You've got a Rotex don't you? While you won't have to go to my craziness it would be fun to see a quick side by side of the Mirka, Norton Blaze, Siatop and the festool mesh or Sianet CER!
@@FixitFingers yes I have a rotex, I also just bought 2 boxes of granat, I’ll will definitely try some others in the future.
Oh I'd be very interested to see how it goes...you should come visit and try it on my giant sleeper! 😅
Have you tried Mirka Abranet Ace?
Seams like a very affordable ceramic abrasive upgrade from the standard Abranet.
Wouldn't you know, after I did this video Mirka reached out to me an sent me some along with there SiC and a few others as well. Once we are out of lockdown and I can have my friend with a big 6" sander over, I will be doing a followup video testing those too ;) Should be interesting!
Is the DB0180Z and the X0B01Z the same unit?
@@MrMusashiMusashi I believe so, the X is the US version, the DB rest of the world.
haha James, good that your surname is Fingers. Man, after all this much sanding, how are those fingers!!! 🤘👍👌😀
I was super impressed with that little Makita sander. Hour upon hour of sanding, and not once did I get 'tingles' in my hands or fingers.
But which one is going to be ideal for my orbital sander?
What are you running again Dazza?
@@FixitFingers Ryobi corded orbital sander
@@2byforge Looks like it is a similar orbit to the Makita with probably the same poor dust extraction, so I think the results here will hold and be the same for you.
Calm down big fella, I found this to be an extremely abrasive video! 😂
True Grit padre 🤠🤠🤠🤠
😂😂😂 I thought it might grind on some people and leave them a bit dusty...especially the festool fans as I was too tight you include 'actual' granat 😋
garrrrk! $33.24 for 10 discs of Abranet in NZ
I just spoke to Wayne at Mallee Agencies here in Oz and he says he'll ship to NZ... a 120grit 125mm are $1.00 per disc with him or $47.30 for 50! Even with postage you should come out way ahead! www.malleeagencies.com.au/collections/abranet/products/mirka-abranet-125mm-abrasive-sanding-discs?variant=36867879297
@@FixitFingers cheers m8 I'll look into that!
so what you're saying I think is that I've been using the second to shittest one for the past ten years. 💩
I have too...which is why I did this test! ;) The biggest issue with FlexOvit is the price. If they were available it 50 boxes at 75c a disc... they would have ranked MUCH higher being good value even though they are lower on performance. It's the usual economy of scale, they market to the DIYr who only needs a few sheets.