Makita BO4556 2 Amp Finishing Sander

This Makita finishing sander is a replacement for a very similar model that I have had and loved for over 20 years. The old model still works, but recently one of the sandpaper grip levers broke off. This new model hopefully will last as long or longer. The bag design is better than the old model. The motor amperage is slightly bigger. And the hard case design will now hold the sander with the bag attached. With the old model, the bag always had to be remove for case storage. Most other brands come with a soft-sided bag for carrying and storage. I prefer that hard case for this type of tool. Being still new, I haven't had much opportunity to use it, but so far it exceeds my expectations.

After struggling to get a decent finish on new pine stair treads with my cheap black and decker r...

After struggling to get a decent finish on new pine stair treads with my cheap black and decker random orbital sander, I decided to give this finish sander a try. I purchased this one based on other reviews and I am happy to say that this sander does not disappoint. While it does technically have an orbital motion, the pad itself does not spin so there you're less likely to wind up with swirl marks if you're careful and go back and forth with the grain.This square pad sander was better for my project because the treads are already installed with skirt boards, so the round pad type sanders can't get into the corners. Additionally, the dust bag works surprisingly well compared with the old sander I have. You could also hook up a vacuum to the dust port but you'd ... MoreAfter struggling to get a decent finish on new pine stair treads with my cheap black and decker random orbital sander, I decided to give this finish sander a try. I purchased this one based on other reviews and I am happy to say that this sander does not disappoint. While it does technically have an orbital motion, the pad itself does not spin so there you're less likely to wind up with swirl marks if you're careful and go back and forth with the grain.This square pad sander was better for my project because the treads are already installed with skirt boards, so the round pad type sanders can't get into the corners. Additionally, the dust bag works surprisingly well compared with the old sander I have. You could also hook up a vacuum to the dust port but you'd need to find or make a vacuum hose adapter.Overall, for the price this is a great finish sander and completely removed all the swirls that were left behind by my random orbit sander. I used 150 > 220 grit with this tool.

Bottom fell completely apart

Owned this sander for a couple of years and only used it maybe a handful of times for a few minutes each time. Thought it was a definite upgrade from my previous cheap black and decker sheet sander. Plugged it in today, used it for about 3 minutes, and suddenly parts started flying. Shut it down and noticed the base was missing; it was still inside the cabinet I was sanding. My other sanders are bosch, porter cable, and black and decker. Owned those sanders for years without any problems.

Definitely a five star product. Purchased to remove patches of failed paint from my deck. Ate rig...

Definitely a five star product. Purchased to remove patches of failed paint from my deck. Ate right through the flaking paint and went down to clean wood with little effort. That being said, I did not have to strip the entire deck, only patches. I would expect a bigger model would be more appropriate for a major job, but for a finishing sander this is top notch. Unlike a couple other reviewers, I had no issues at all with paper slipping and actually the paper didn't even wear as much as I expected with this chore. The product didn't even tire out my hands and I am small and not super strong. Great product and tremendous value for the money. Very glad I purchased it and looking forward to having it in my tool chest for a long time to come. I've attached before and ... MoreDefinitely a five star product. Purchased to remove patches of failed paint from my deck. Ate right through the flaking paint and went down to clean wood with little effort. That being said, I did not have to strip the entire deck, only patches. I would expect a bigger model would be more appropriate for a major job, but for a finishing sander this is top notch. Unlike a couple other reviewers, I had no issues at all with paper slipping and actually the paper didn't even wear as much as I expected with this chore. The product didn't even tire out my hands and I am small and not super strong. Great product and tremendous value for the money. Very glad I purchased it and looking forward to having it in my tool chest for a long time to come. I've attached before and after pictures of a small section of the work.

Hassles with clipping in sandpaper

Here’s why you don’t want to buy this machine. most machines are engineered so that a quarter sheet of sandpaper is easily inserted into the Sanders clips. My style is to insert one and fully into the cavity and then clip it. However this machine if you do that the other clip will not reach the rest of the sandpaper. Takes too much time to fiddle with the sandpaper getting it perfectly aligned before you can clip them. Mine is going back to the store. Review helpful? Give it a thumbs up.

I bought this to replace an older version of the same Makita sander that I'm passing on to my dau...

I bought this to replace an older version of the same Makita sander that I'm passing on to my daughter. Here's how the new one compares to the older model.PROS: the new one has a slightly more powerful motor, it has a round port to the dust bag instead of oval - this allows connection to a shop-vac, it comes with a "free" hard case that protects well, and it seems slightly smoother (less vibration) than the old sander.CONS: It's a bit heavier and slightly larger than the old model, the hard case is far larger than it needs to be and has surprisingly little storage space for its ample dimensions. The old sander and extra paper still fit perfectly in the (much smaller) cardboard box they originally came in.Still, this new finish sander has the look and feel of ... MoreI bought this to replace an older version of the same Makita sander that I'm passing on to my daughter. Here's how the new one compares to the older model.PROS: the new one has a slightly more powerful motor, it has a round port to the dust bag instead of oval - this allows connection to a shop-vac, it comes with a "free" hard case that protects well, and it seems slightly smoother (less vibration) than the old sander.CONS: It's a bit heavier and slightly larger than the old model, the hard case is far larger than it needs to be and has surprisingly little storage space for its ample dimensions. The old sander and extra paper still fit perfectly in the (much smaller) cardboard box they originally came in.Still, this new finish sander has the look and feel of excellent quality, it runs very smoothly and has several convenient features like the improved dust bag and easy clamps for the paper - all for a modest price. Hopefully, it will hold up as well as the old one.TIPS: 1) This is a FINISH sander. It is the right tool for getting a super smooth finish to flat woodwork that is already fairly even. Use some other kind of sander (orbital, belt, etc.) for removing tons of rough material.2) "1/4 sheet" sanders like this are very economical to use because you can get 4 work pieces from one regular sized sheet of sandpaper. Just fold in quarters and cut with scissors.

I like that the dust bag actually works. Poke holes in the sand paper per the instructions and t...

I like that the dust bag actually works. Poke holes in the sand paper per the instructions and there really is much less dust, particles coming off of the sander as you work. This product was recommended to me by the Home Depot team in the store. I explained the need I have and they said this is the right tool. I get why they would say that. However, it's not been a great way to complete the job I'm working on. It's taking a lot longer and much more effort to smooth the surface I'm working on. I'm smoothing the ceiling of a bathroom that previously had wood strips (like a sauna) glued to it. The glue is dry and brittle but the sander just can't smooth it down, remove enough of it, to make the ceiling clean and smooth for painting. I think a sander with more movement ... MoreI like that the dust bag actually works. Poke holes in the sand paper per the instructions and there really is much less dust, particles coming off of the sander as you work. This product was recommended to me by the Home Depot team in the store. I explained the need I have and they said this is the right tool. I get why they would say that. However, it's not been a great way to complete the job I'm working on. It's taking a lot longer and much more effort to smooth the surface I'm working on. I'm smoothing the ceiling of a bathroom that previously had wood strips (like a sauna) glued to it. The glue is dry and brittle but the sander just can't smooth it down, remove enough of it, to make the ceiling clean and smooth for painting. I think a sander with more movement on the pad, more speed or power, and lower grit paper would be more effective.For a lot of purely mild surface smoothing on wood or drywall it's likely fine. It's a good tool overall. For my application it is making the job pretty hard and taking a long time even with the lowest grit sandpaper. Maybe an orbital would have been better but I went with the recommendation in store.

The first thing I would say about this product and it's description is that mine did not come wit...

The first thing I would say about this product and it's description is that mine did not come with a hard case. Having said that I would say that this has been a fine product and I have used it to remove some paint that was improperly applied to my house. I still have a lot of paint to remove and I will continue to use this sander to do so. The addition of the sample sandpapers was a bonus. This machine works great. It is easy to handle and it seems powerful enough to handle my job. The sandpaper retainers are somewhat stiff but you need that to hold onto the paper. I was confused by the Punch plate in that I thought It would help me cut full sized sheets of sandpaper to the correct size but it was my mistake. This sander has holes in the plate that allow a vacuum ... MoreThe first thing I would say about this product and it's description is that mine did not come with a hard case. Having said that I would say that this has been a fine product and I have used it to remove some paint that was improperly applied to my house. I still have a lot of paint to remove and I will continue to use this sander to do so. The addition of the sample sandpapers was a bonus. This machine works great. It is easy to handle and it seems powerful enough to handle my job. The sandpaper retainers are somewhat stiff but you need that to hold onto the paper. I was confused by the Punch plate in that I thought It would help me cut full sized sheets of sandpaper to the correct size but it was my mistake. This sander has holes in the plate that allow a vacuum to work better at removing dust. The Punch plate will allow holes to be punched in the sandpaper to line up with those holes in the plate.

This is a great sander. I only gave it 4 stars because the pad actually has a slight concave patt...

This is a great sander. I only gave it 4 stars because the pad actually has a slight concave pattern while it’s running. I checked with a few different straightedges and the pad itself is flat. But, while it’s running, it will create a pattern on the front and back edges of about 3/4”. It’s not ideal on flat panels, but is easy to work around. This sander has a little more RPM than the makita orbital sander and it does make a difference in finishing sanding. It will still give swirl marks if you don’t be careful about building up too much sanding dust(depending on the material you’re sanding). I’ve tried both punching “suction” holes with the provided guide, as well as running without and i actually got better results without the holes. I use almost exclusively ... MoreThis is a great sander. I only gave it 4 stars because the pad actually has a slight concave pattern while it’s running. I checked with a few different straightedges and the pad itself is flat. But, while it’s running, it will create a pattern on the front and back edges of about 3/4”. It’s not ideal on flat panels, but is easy to work around. This sander has a little more RPM than the makita orbital sander and it does make a difference in finishing sanding. It will still give swirl marks if you don’t be careful about building up too much sanding dust(depending on the material you’re sanding). I’ve tried both punching “suction” holes with the provided guide, as well as running without and i actually got better results without the holes. I use almost exclusively Makita in my Shop and would highly recommend ALMOST any power tool they make. This was a great addition to help with sanding in tighter/right angles where the orbital just doesn’t reach.

This sander has been a great one for me. ...

This sander has been a great one for me. The palm fit is very comfortable for my hands and the balance feels good. Clamping quarter-sheet sandpaper is a breeze. The clamps hold the paper securely and are pretty easy to use.Dust collection works very well. I use the included punch for sandpaper. There’s very little or no sanding particulate on and around my work. The dust bag fits snugly but is easy to remove and empty.Vibration to my hand seems average for palm sanders. This sander is quieter than my venerable Makita4510, and I think this one may last as long too. My old Makita sander lasted over 40 years. As well as it held up and as nice as it was to use I was confident this new Makita palm sander would be a keeper.I would buy it again but I bet I won’t need ... MoreThis sander has been a great one for me. The palm fit is very comfortable for my hands and the balance feels good. Clamping quarter-sheet sandpaper is a breeze. The clamps hold the paper securely and are pretty easy to use.Dust collection works very well. I use the included punch for sandpaper. There’s very little or no sanding particulate on and around my work. The dust bag fits snugly but is easy to remove and empty.Vibration to my hand seems average for palm sanders. This sander is quieter than my venerable Makita4510, and I think this one may last as long too. My old Makita sander lasted over 40 years. As well as it held up and as nice as it was to use I was confident this new Makita palm sander would be a keeper.I would buy it again but I bet I won’t need to - although I could have one loaded with 100grit paper and one with 220grit paper. Hmm, that may be a great idea! Try this sander - I think you’ll be pleased with it.