After agonizing over my choices for a finish sander, reading reviews and comparisons, I settled on the Milwaukee 6010-6 and I couldn't be happier. I couldn't believe how smoothly it coasted across the wood. It uses off-the-shelf sandpaper. It felt heavy at first but when in use it seems to just float. One possible negative is that it requires a extra purchase for a dust collection bag, but I've pretty much made up my mind to go for more sophisticated collection system anyhow. I don't have a basis for comparison of how loud it is but that can probably be found in the specifications..

After using one of these, you won't even think about going back to a 1/4 sheet palm sander. The motor is strong and it takes up material fast. It works as well as you could possibly expect something like this to work, which is what one expects from Milwaukee.
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br /The downside is the dust collection. There are no venting holes on the sanding surface, so dust collection is achieved through a device (sold separately) that snaps around the whole base of the sander and vents into an attached bag.
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br /Now, this thing makes a LOT of dust -- as it should, because it works so well. The problem is, the add-on dust collection system is not designed to be attached to a vacuum. The bag connects through a narrow, oval-shaped outlet. In order to connect it to a vacuum hose, I had to basically duct tape a hose onto the weird outlet. This is annoying, when they easily could have designed it with a round outlet that could be adapted to a vacuum hose, and obviously a duct-tape connection it doesn't work as well as a well-sealed connection. This seems like a pretty odd oversight.
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br /In any event it's still a great tool and I recommend it but if you plan to use it for large projects (like floors or stairs), plan on a lot of dust and/or hacking together a vacuum connection.
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Have one at work, it just takes a beating and keeps on working.

Do you want one sander for hardwoods or stubborn areas; then this is it. Forget the little orbitals and buy this half sheet sander. I have owned mine for over 10 years and it still works as good as day one. The dust will fly and the orbits are outstanding. This is my time saver in the shop and one of my favorite tools. Make sure you secure your boards as this sander has some serious power in both amps and orbits. Have fun!