Palm Job (ELU Palm Sander)

Member Name: gryphon

Product:	ELU Palm Sander
Date:	04/04/01 (580 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Capable, comfortable, effective and efficient

Disadvantages: onboard dust bag leaky

When doing a lot of work with one tool, it's important that it is suitable for the job, and you can use it without undue effort for however long it takes.

This means you need a quality product that is well engineered and thought out- the ELU 135watt palm sander fulfils all these criteria and then some.
At 135 watt, there is more than enough power for the size of base plate, which means that the motor is never stressed, and has a longer life.

A palm sander should fit snugly into the palm of your hand [!]: The Elu is admirable in this respect; it has a rounded top, side grip ribs, and the on/off locates just under your index finger at the front.
To the rear is the exit for around 3 metres of decent cable, and a port for attaching a dust bag if required.

The sanding sheets measure 80 x 140 mm, and are prepunched for dust extraction, attaching to the baseplate with velcro.
It is possible to use non velcro sandpaper, by attaching it under clamps at either end of the baseplate- should you want to do this, ELU supply a steel template and cutting punch to make the dust extraction holes in your homemade sheets.

I recommend making the holes, as it greatly helps stopping the sandpaper clogging up, thus extending its usability- if you go down this route, its best to buy your sandpaper on a roll/ by the metre, either 80mm or 140mm wide, so that you only have to make one cut for each piece you need [cut from the back of the paper with a sharp stanley knife or similar- no need to go right through the grit, and blunt your blade, but just score the backing, then tear].

Unlike many delta sanders, and some third sheet orbital sanders, this sander purrs, as it vibrates away in your hand, and even this vibration is minimal. The sander is made in West Germany, and is obviously well balanced, and on my experience built to last.

When rubbing down a wall that has been polyfilled after paper removal, this is my sander
of choice, above a belt sander [too agressive], above a third sheet sander [too heavy, awkward and noisy] or a delta sander [too noisy, and not large enough].

The way it fits into your palm gives you a good feel for what you are doing, and means that you exert an even pressure without having to think about it.

Because it is single hand operation, the other hand can follow after to check all is smooth- it is so easy that it almost feels like polishing the wall.

I find that despite the smaller footprint, I actually work faster sanding with this tool because everything is just right and usage is intuitive.

Obviously, it works fine with all sorts of other sanding operations, with a wide range of different grits available on the sanding sheets. The only niggle is the dust collection bag that tends not to seal off properly, so just gets in the way a little, while the dust goes through it.

Overall, this is my sander of choice for most jobs, [unless a lot of material needs removing, when I'll use a belt sander.] It is light, convenient, not very noisy, and easy to use.

Update
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I recklessly lent my pride and joy to a diy tyro [albeit with a little trepidation], and when I finally retrieved it from his grasp, as I needed it for another job, he was honest enough to testify to the durability of the sander.

He had managed to 'bounce' the sander from up a ladder [more than once], and was prone to pulling his extension cable reel along by tugging at the sander [I saw this and winced].

Despite the poor treatment, the sander still works perfectly, and looks no worse for wear, so I have to add that it is very durable. [I may have to think twice before lending my friend more tools, though :-} ]

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