Porter-Cable makes various power sanding machines for woodworking and carpentry, including belt sanders, disc sanders, random orbital sanders, and finish sanders. The company was founded in 1906 and invented the power belt sander in 1926. They also make handheld belt sanders and stationary models with a disc sander. Random orbital sanders are preferred for finer work, while finish sanders are meant to be used before applying a finish.
A Porter-Cable sander is any of several power sanding machines, some portable and some stationary, made by the Porter-Cable company. Primarily used for woodworking and carpentry applications, each Porter-Cable sander is designed to meet a specific need. Specifically, Porter-Cable manufactures power belt sanders, stationary belt sanders, disc sanders, portable belt sanders, random orbital sanders, and finish sanders.
Founded in 1906, the Porter-Cable Company began manufacturing power woodworking tools in 1914. In 1926, its chief engineer invented the power belt sander. Consisting of a cloth belt with an abrasive surface stretched over and between two rotating cylinders, this Porter-Cable sander revolutionized the power tool industry. When the tool is powered, the cylinders rotate and the belt rotates around them, removing excess wood from a workpiece very quickly. Some belt sanders are stationary, mounted on a workbench, and the workpiece is held on the rotating sanding belt. Larger projects, such as table tops, can be sanded more easily with a hand-held belt sander. Designed for quickly removing wood from a workpiece, belt sanders are typically only used in the initial stages of a project and not for finishing work. That is, they are not designed to bring a piece to the final level of smoothness suitable for applying a finish.
Some of Porter-Cable’s stationary belt sanders also have a disc sander installed as part of the same tool. A disc sander is a smooth disc to which an abrasive disc is attached. When turned on, the disc spins rapidly, making many thousands of rotations per minute. It’s not as aggressive at removing material as the belt sander, and once a piece is initially sanded on a stationary belt sander, it can be sanded more finely on the disc sander.
Porter-Cable also manufactures handheld belt sanders. While they provide a much greater degree of flexibility than fixed models, they do sacrifice some stability. While the aggressive nature of belt sanders can lead to mistakes and ruined workpieces, it’s easier to make a mistake with a hand-held belt sander than with a stationary model. However, the portable belt sander is the most popular Porter-Cable sander.
Porter-Cable also manufactures random orbital sanders and finish sanders. Random orbit sanders look like portable disc sanders, but they have a very different function. Unlike the disc sander, whose disc rotates at a high speed, the disc on a random orbital sander makes small movements in two separate axes and is generally considered preferable for finer work. Many woodworkers will use a random orbital sander as a finish sander. Porter-Cable’s other sander, the finish sander, is sometimes called a palm sander because it’s designed to be held in the palm of your hand. These sanders accept a very fine abrasive surface and are meant to be the last tool used before the finish is applied.
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