Chosen Solution

The sander pad is not sticking during normal household use of the DeWalt D26451

Orbital sanding pads won’t stick if debris or tears in material are present. To replace the hook and loop / Velcro pad: Simply remove the three screws on bottom of sander to replace pad. Here is a link to a replacement pad. http://www.mscdirect.com/browse/tnpla/80…

Apparently everyone one else is just experiencing worn out sanders or sandpaper disc’s. I just took my brand new Hyper Tough 2.4 Random Orbit Sander out of the box this morning. I also purchased 2 boxes of discs. I used it on and off for about 45 minutes before it started throwing the disc off. The disc I was using wasn’t even used up yet. But I still put another new one on. They only hold about 15 minutes worth of sanding before falling off. Obviously these things are defective in their design. I’m very disappointed. After experimenting it is not the attached sander pad that is the issue but the sanding discs that won’t stick on firmly. Now I’ll have to remake my discs by glueing on my own loop and disc tape. The sander I have is the Hyper Tough 2.4 Random Orbit Sander ( it came with 2 discs that have the same problem) The two extra boxes of 5” Hook and Loop Sanding Discs are made by Gator Power.

I don’t know if your refering to the sanding disks or not but I am going on experience here that the sanding pad which is screwed on the tool that allows you to put hook and loop sanding disks on it. If your not able to but sanding disks on the pad then your sanding pad is worn and can be replaced for $20 which I am getting pretty close to having to replace mine but I had my sander for quite awhile and never had a problem like that. It’s just my sanding pad is tearing on the upper part now to replace it I will have to get back to you on that. I heard it’s really simple by taking the screws that is in the sanding pad out and then it comes right off i just have not done it myself. Finding the part is easy go to Dewalt.com then hit what country after that, go to parts and information tab now from there you will find what you need on the second coumn on the right hand side in the small print you will find where to find parts by clicking on the find parts on service net.

Harbor Freight - buy a new cheapo sander. Cut your old pads to fit. OR- Find a auto-paint-body-shop supply store. They cater to all bodyshops, ask your local bodyman. Buy common paper-backed discs of whatever grit desired. This ain’t HomeDepot, so don’t ask for ‘medium’. Buy a small amount of Disc-Adhesive. Maybe a tube, or can/w/brush. Remove the hook pad from your sander. I used a blow-dryer. Zipped right away. Paint on the adhesive, let dry, several coats, nice glossy surface. Paint the disc with very-light-and-thin coat, let dry, slap on. If you really want to be a pro, buy the pre-glued discs with peel-off wax-paper backing. They don’t smell like glue. My 25yr old Black&D JitterBug, and my MonkeyWard orbital, are both converted. The JitterBug cushions had hardened with age. I cut a old mouse-pad rubber, epoxy over the old pads.

I have a Ryobi PSA that I never have trouble with. I just picked a Makita and replaced the PSA backing pad with a new one. The new one will not hold discs. I get about 5 minutes of sanding and then the disc is off across the room. The Ryobi seems to have a much firmer backing pad than the Makita and I wonder if there is too much flex in the Makita backing pad which might be causing failure in the glue. The Makita pad also has little bumps on it while the Ryobi is completely flat. The Makita is running at 12000 rpm while the Ryobi runs at 11000. With the problem I am having I am thinking of sanding off the bumps on the Makita and maybe running it through a rheostat to slow it down a bit. Another thing I might try is to find a thin rigid backing pad and gluing it to the makita pad to provide a firmer surface.

I have used random orbital sanders for many years. The hook and loop connection to a sanding disc will certainly fail if either or both of the following 2 cases occur. Dust is allowed to get between the sanding disc and pad - due to not having discs that match the exact hole cutout of the sanding pad. For example, say you have an 8 hole pad on your sander, but buy discs with 4 holes that align. As dust is pulled into the sander, some will creep back through the 4 holes that aren’t being used. This works its way into the sanding disc. As it does, it disrupts the hook and loop bond. This is compounded greatly when you have a dust bag or trap that is packed full. If you keep this empty and blow out your sander every 30 - 60 minutes of hard use, you’ll find the discs stay attached a lot longer.Worn pad on sander. Just using your sander (for those that feel the need to push down hard on the tool) for a few dozen hours will cause the hooks on the pad are flattened and stop bouncing back. As they flatten, the connection to the next sanding disc is weaker and weaker. The operator usually gets mad and pushes harder and harder making this problem even worse. The tool needs minimal pressure to do a good job as long as you have the right grit to match the job. So any solution will include fixing the sanding disc to sanding pad bond. That requires either a replacement pad or being creative as others have suggested here - like using 1” velcro squares and gluing them to the sanding pad. I am all for extending the life of the original pad for as long as possible but to get optimal life out of your sander, you’ll need to keep the trap clean, blow out the sander and pad before and after you use it, and not push incredibly hard when you sand. Best of luck to you!