Easily the best 1/2 sheet sander out there... beautifully balanced, quiet, effortless to move, and with virtually no vibration... and the variable speed control is great. BUT... totally frustrating in that it comes WITHOUT the punch plate needed for the thru-the-pad dust collection system to work... 'had to hunt a week and drive the local dealer nuts until we located a punch plate from another model that works [#192523-3 for Model 9046]!!! Why Makita would make a truly great sander and not include the punch plate is beyond me. Order the sander AND the plate together... tried all the 1/2 sheets out there except Hitachi (couldn't find it) and this is THE BEST! Plus, only this and Hitachi offer variable speed on a 1/2 sheet.

I have used the Makita Model 9046 1/2 sheet sander for 4 years. It is almost identical to this model.
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br /I had the opportunity to do a hands on evaluation of 1/2 sheet sanders. I liked the ruggedness Porter-Cable, the economy of the Milwaukee, and the feel of the Bosch, but the Matkita is in a class of it's own.
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br /At first it seemed a little heavy, but after I got use to it and let it work, it did a fantastic job. This 1/2 sheet sander oscillates much more than the others and does the job in half the time. It leaves the surface dead flat and is very kind to veneer.
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br /It has vacuum pich-up holes in the paper/sander like a random orbital sander. If you hook it up to a vac the dust is minimal ( This may require a little tape around the outlet to fit your hose). The punch plate does not come with the sander. So unless you can find the special pre-punched paper, you need to order the plate from a Makita rep or make one.
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br /I do not recommend starting with 80 grit paper. This sander can be very aggressive, so start with the finest grit that will do job.
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My application requires a minimum dust sanding system (house with air heating ducts). I could not find any vendor selling the vacuum hose and punch plate for the BO4900V sander so they were ordered directly from Makita. The sander was ordered from Amazon. When all parts arrived from the two vendors nothing fit. Called the the Makita Service Center and talked to Dalton who resolved the problem (one of the parts was was quickly replaced). The question was asked: why don't you include the punch plate with the sander? Answer: many customers don't need or use the punch plate and so it gets lost; this just adds to the price of the sander. This is a quality punch plate (1/2 lb steel), rugged, accurate, virtually indestructible and worth the price. Wait! There's more! The edge of the sanding pad has air holes to vacuum dust from the two long sides of the sander without the punch plate; but it's even better with holes in the sandpaper from the punch plate. I am now the proud owner of a great sanding system!

It IS the best sander I've used so far. Quiet, balanced, does the job faster AND it's good looking. Doesn't come with a punch plate...$17+ shipping to order from Makita. Make your own with some dowels and a block of wood. Other than Makita not including that in the package, you won't be disappointed with this sander.

I have been using the Metabo 1/2 sheet sander for years, and have a couple of them. I have always been very satisfied with them, but one day somebody dropped one off a ladder and offer to replace it. I had trouble finding the Metabo at a reasonable price, so I bought the new Makita. It is about as good as the Metabo in every regard except for the dust collection. Not having a punch plate does not bother me (I usually use a nail set,) but the dust port in the back is maybe a 1" pipe, and does not fit any standard dust collection vacuums (Fein, Porter Cable, Festool.) I've been told that I need to buy a special hose to tote around in order to attach to a vacuum, or maybe cob an adapter together out of vacuum parts. The reason I did not buy the Bosch (another good sander) was because I would have to buy an adaptor to make the rectangular exhaust round and able to hook up to dust collection. I figured that would get lost once or twice a year. Makita repeatedly says how easy it is to hook up to dust collection, but I fail to see that. The Metabo is expensive, but no adaptors are needed.

I have owned and used Craftsman and Milwaukee 1/2 sheet finishing sanders and liked them both. I bought the Makita and sent it back as being unacceptable for the following reasons:
br /1) In order to have the dust collector function, special Makita sand paper must be used or a special hole punching machine must be purchased in order to make the special sand paper required. 2) If standard paper is used, not only does the dust collector not work, but the many dust collecting holes in the pad do not support the paper, resulting in inefficient use of the paper.