Got decent furniture hanging about the place that has gotten a little frumpy with the remorseless passage of time? Thinking of getting rid of them but loathe to replace them with flatpack things from the yellow and blue land of the meatball? Are they merely looking a little rough but are otherwise perfectly serviceable?
Then call a stay-of-stick execution, get yourself a sander and smooth, polish and buff them back to buffness, eking out many more years of use without the need for the Swedes.
But what kind of sander? For there are many different types, including Orbital, Drum, Belt, Drywall, Detail, Finishing, Disc, and Oscillating. Heck, there’s even Colonel Sanders. So, which one is right for you and your upcycling needs?
Well, for the sake of approaching this piece in the ‘light DIY’ way that it’s meant, I’m going to stick to the more portable, more every-day-person-in-the-street models on the sander market in the shape of mostly Orbit and Detail sanders, as these are the one most likely to prove useful when it comes to taking your furniture from ‘drab’ to ‘fab’, as the catchphrase might be if this were a show on daytime TV.
What should you look out for in furniture sanders?
Things to watch out for include power, RPM (rotations per minute) or OPM (orbits per minute), speed settings, size and weight, plus, if mains powered, how long the cord is. Also, some options come with a dust collection bag/box to stop sanded stuff flying everywhere and ruining your hair/day, but even if the model you chose does feature one, you – and I can’t stress this enough – still need to wear protective goggles!
So, whether you’re refreshing furniture solely for yourself or considering launching some excitingly lucrative upcycling side hustle, here are six superb sanders that will stand you in smooth stead…
Best furniture sanders at a glance:
- Best for power in the palm of your hand: VonHaus 130W Palm Detail Sander - £30, Von Haus
- Best for sanding and more: Gtech Multi Tool Bundle - £130, Gtech
- Best for light to medium woodworking: Ryobi One+ Cordless Random Orbit Sander - £46.99, Robert Dyas
- Best for low-cost furniture finery regeneration: Draper Random Orbit Sander - £36.95, Amazon
- Best for small, quick tidy-ups: Black & Decker Cordless Random Orbit Sander - £55, Amazon
- Best for bargain Tri-Base: Draper Storm Force 230V Tri-Base Sander - £32.39, Amazon
VonHaus 130W Palm Detail Sander
Best for: Power in the palm of your hand
Small but perfectly formed, the 130W Palm Detail Sander from VonHaus is an ideal option for smaller jobs, working wooden chairs, tables and shelving units, as it fits (as the name might have suggested) neatly in the palm of most adult hands and weighs a very totable 920g, meaning less muscle fatigue.
Mains operated, the VonHaus comes with a nicely lengthy 3-metre power cable, so if power outlets are a bit of a stretch away, you’ll be very glad of it. It also offers a reasonably mighty 13,000rpm, making it speedily adept at creating smooth surfaces, removing old paint, polishing up, or sharpening edges. The pointed tip makes this Detail option perfect for smoothing over tight corners
Coming complete with no fewer than 12 sanding pads, the little VonHaus also comes with two dust collection bags and a dust extraction nozzle that can attach to a vacuum cleaner hose to keep you utterly airborne offshoot-free.
Very much going to prove that you don’t always have to pay through the nose for perfect performance, the compact VonHaus also costs only 30 gold nuggets, which compared to the cost of new furniture is next to nothing, so save your sovereigns and get sanding.
I used this little beauty on the pine lid of an old storage chest which later was used as a coffee table, with much of the expected damage associated with that very much in evidence. Ten minutes with the VonHaus and the scars of hot mug service could no longer be seen without even breaking a sweat, and a lick of paint later the long-suffering lid looked as good as new. Now covered with drinks coasters, of course.
- Type: Detail
- Power: Mains (3m cord)
- No-load speed: 13,000 rpm
- Dimensions: 15 x 9.5 x 12.5cm (HxWxD)
- Weight: 920g
Buy now £30.00, VonHaus
Gtech Multi Tool Bundle
Best for: Sanding and more
Okay, now whilst this grinding inclusion from Gtech is very clearly actually an out-and-out multi-tool, forming that ‘multi’ bit are attachments that allow you to saw, chop and, yes, sand, so you’re all set to smooth all things over with this omni-useful sanding machine.
Powered by a 20V battery with a run time of around 40 minutes, the Gtech has a good solid heft about it, at 1.5kg, without feeling too heavy or cumbersome thanks to the fact it’s incredibly well-balanced, so sits in the hand firmly a bit flexibly.
Six-speed options give you a starting spin of 8000 rpm, ramping up to an epic 18,000, for tackling those tougher sanding and polishing jobs, while the sanding pads (three of which are included) can be changed between jobs without the need for any fancy specialist tools that you’d no doubt misplace on day one anyway.
Powerful and very versatile, the Multi Tool Bundle includes the Multi Tool Bare Unit (well, duh), one Gtech lithium-ion battery and charger for use across the whole Gtech range of tools, one Multi Tool Blade, one Multi Tool Round Blade, and those three sanding pads, which is a bulging bundle indeed for £130.
Tackling one half of the body of the project coffee table box, the Gtech made short work of the, admittedly, badly scuffed pine panels, whipping away countless years of misuse, including a period spent as a neglected TV stand, in next to no time, the pointed tip of the sander plate easily working away into the corner detailing, leaving the whole previously shoddy shebang looking clean, fresh and ready for varnishing; after the other side had received a similar sanding with my next contender, obviously.
A performance-packed sander/multi-model that’s ergonomically excellent, works well on wood, metal and plaster, and is very nicely priced to boot, it’s time to Multi Tool up.
- Type: Detail
- Power: Battery (20V)
- No-load speed: 8000-18,000-rpm
- Dimensions: 32.5 x 17.5 x 7.5cm (HxWxD)
- Weight: 1.5kg
Buy now £130.00, Gtech
Ryobi One+ Cordless Random Orbit Sander
Best for: Light to medium woodworking
If you’re not interested in detail work, but are very interested in the smoothest finish possible, then a Random Orbit option should be right up your sanding street. Unlike other sanders, Random Orbit models feature a sandpaper disc that spins while the pad itself moves in an oval shape, the result of which is that the same motion is never repeated, thus avoiding leaving swirl patterns behind, no matter whether you work the grain or against it. This, of course, leaves a finer finish and requires considerably less effort on your part – a double win.
This Randomiser from Ryobi, is an excellent example, being an 18V battery powered (note: sold as a bare tool, so battery has to be purchased separately) that excels at paint removal and finishing, whilst also being easy to operate and adjust thanks to a quick fit hook and loop base that makes changing sanding sheets a breeze.
With 10,000 rpm at your disposal, plus three included sanding sheets, the only thing you need to worry about is the mess you make… yet, what’s this? The Ryobi comes complete with a built-in dust extraction system and bag to whip all the waste away and keep it stashed ready to be emptied straight into the bin.
With the battery (see brackets earlier) being a part of the whole Ryobi 18V ONE+ ecosystem, akin to Gtech, it can be used to power all other tools in that Ryobi range, plus can run for up to 50 minutes on a full charge, so flexible and packing some wallop.
At 1.6kg, the Ryobi is a bit of a chunk, but it fits into my to-scale man-hands with no difficulty and it is very comfortable to use on level surfaces, such as on a workbench, so don’t be put off if you have the miniscule mitts of a child.
A sturdy, solid sander that will see you and your furniture fix-ups right for years to come, the Ryobi is a woodworking workhorse.
- Type: Random Orbit
- Power: Battery (18V)
- No-load speed: 10,000 rpm
- Dimensions: 16.51 x 15.49 x 15.01cm (HxWxD)
- Weight: 1.6kg
Buy now £85.00, Ryobi
Draper Random Orbit Sander
Best for: Low-cost furniture finery regeneration
The first of two picks from Draper, the Hampshire-based family-run firm’s Random Orbit sander is our corded absolute bargain of the bunch, being, as it is, a 1.8-metre corded solid sanding lump with a no-load speed of 5000 – 13,000-rpm spread across six different settings, making it pretty much adaptable to any task.
Changing sanding papers is made simple thanks to the hook and loop base and, keeping your tidying up time to the bare minimum, this Draper comes packing a dust collection box and extraction facility, siphoning all the sanded shizzle out of sight and mind.
Quite a weighty proposition at 2.12kg, this is a well-built beast that belongs on a workbench, but that weight gives a nice even pressure for seamlessly smooth sanding which requires less effort on my part, and as a lazy man this is nothing but another Draper plus point.
Coming armed with three sanding sheets to get you up and going straight away, the Draper Random Orbit is a mean, clean, sanding machine that brings power and performance in equal measure at a price that’s almost ludicrously low.
- Type: Random Orbit
- Power: Mains (1.8m cord)
- No-load speed: 5000-13,000-rpm
- Dimensions: 22.6 x 14 x 15.2cm (HxWxD)
- Weight: 2.12kg
Buy now £46.99, Robert Dyas
Black & Decker Cordless Random Orbit Sander
Best for: Small, quick tidy-ups
Not every touch-up task is a whopper requiring varying rpm speeds and endless hours of work. Indeed, sometimes all your slightly tattered furnishings need is a light buff to take out scuffs and scratches, which is exactly where this little Black & Decker Random Orbit is at its best.
Running from an 18V battery that’s good for 13 minutes of use, while the length of play might not appear much, offering that spinning wobbly style of sanding at 12,000 rpm means you can buff up blemishes in the blink of a (safety goggles covered) eye and be back about your domestic business before you know it, your furniture on its way back to its former glory, free from swirls.
Compact but comfortable in use, the inclusion of a handy dust bag keeps the air and floor clean, and at just 910g, it’s light enough to lift to deal with, say, doors while they still hang.
Sold with one sanding sheet, the B&D comes as a bare unit, so you’ll have to splash an extra £30 of your cash on an equally B&D Lithium-ion battery, taking the asking up to – here comes the math – £85, which may seem a little steep for a little sander, but small, mighty and reliable, it’s important to remember that, treat it well, and a Black & Decker is for life.
- Type: Random Orbit
- Power: Battery (18V)
- No-load speed: 12,000 rpm
- Dimensions: 19 x 13 x 13.7cm (HxWxD)
- Weight: 910g
Buy now £55.00, Amazon
Draper Storm Force 230V Tri-Base Sander
Best for: Bargain Tri-Base
My second selection from Draper, if you’re looking for some magical marriage of power, control and price, then look no further than the Storm Force 230V Tri-Base, a tool to tackle tree-originated furniture as though it were a military operation.
Mains powered, with a 280W motor and six-speed options taking it from 3000 to 10,000 rpm, the Storm Force is just as at home reducing level rough surfaces to smooth-as-a-baby’s-bum status as it is angling into corners to complete any challenge.
Speaking of which, used to render the final panels of the aforementioned box-cum-coffee table, nooks and crannies and all into smooth shape with utter ease, the dire June weather managed to hold out just long enough for me to get the job done in the great outdoors before having to lug everything back into the shed where it shall sit and await varnishing – a task I have sworn blind I now won’t simply ignore for the next six months, as I’m absolutely prone to doing.
Supplied with three sanding sheets, Draper Storm Force is a powerful, precise ally in the serious sander’s arsenal.
- Type: Tri-base
- Power: Mains
- No-load speed: 3000 – 10,000 rpm
- Dimensions: 39.2 x 9.8 x 9.8cm (HxWxD)
- Weight: 1.2kg
Buy now £32.39, Amazon
