The sander market is saturated in the DIY category and with many companies competing at this level it can be difficult to know where to even begin. I categorize this machine in the DIY/Hobbyist category for its price, NOT its quality.
It’s important to note that I have owned a 1/2 sheet DIY sander, used a variety of palm (1/4) sheet machines and spent many hours with a few leading brands’ random orbit sanders.
Bosch have delivered a product in this sander that I would have happily paid a few extra hundred for. On every level this sander has continued to impress me and four years down the line, still going strong. I turn to this machine for most of my finishing work after belt sanding. It bridges the vast gap between the cheap, right up to post R4000 machine. Like its price (low) it delivers a minimal user vibration output, important for long sessions where one’s hand can be left numb.
Everything from course sanding right down to finishing and even polishing a full canoe up to a high gloss, it has been up to the task. Wet and dry sanding, efficient dust collection and more than sufficient power for most applications. The extensively long power cable is a slap in the face to competitors and almost unnecessary in length.
Verdict: Spend twice the money that you would on a Ryobi (still small change when it comes to tools), half the money that you would on a Makita, to buy a machine that is just as good, if not better than the latter, and light-years better than your DIY range of machines. Every woodworker should have one, simple.