There are several different types of sanders used for refinishing hardwood floors.
Different kinds of floor sanders.
An edge sander will obviously work the edges of your wood.
They can also be used for sanding a concrete floor.
Types of floor sanders.
An edge floor sander has a dust bag.
Deck sander drum sander floor edger random orbital floor sander.
Floor drum sander clarke floor drum sander.
The larger random orbit sander is best for hardwood floors like oak.
This category of sander actually contains a few different types of sander.
These can be easily found at tool yards and will help get your wood down to its smoothest finish.
You need a fair degree of skill to operate a floor sander and at least two people to carry it around.
An edge floor sander is a small hand held sander designed to get in those hard to reach areas that the drum sander and large orbital sander cannot reach.
These sanders will simply glide across the floor and pose no threat to your wood.
The random orbital floor comes in two different styles.
This smaller handheld floor sander is great for soft woods like cork and pine but not so great for hard woods because it lacks the power needed to do a good job.
We use these types of sanders for smoothening wooden floors.
The distinguishing features of these are their use in stripping and prepping floors and their generally larger size.
Edge floor sanders available for rent are far more powerful than hand held orbital sanders that many homeowners may already own.
The best floor sander for beginning diyers unless you plan to sand many floors in your lifetime your best choice of floor sander is the random orbital sander from one maker in particular.
All are available to rent at your local tool rental center where you can also purchase sandpaper to fit each machine.
Moreover these professionals also usually have a floor.
The smaller handheld and the larger random orbit sander.
Most refinishing professionals arrive at the work site with a drum sander and floor edger and some also bring an orbital flooring sander.
There are two basic varieties of floor sander.
Vibrating sanders are much lighter and easier to manage than the aforementioned drum sander.