I was really disappointed in the performance of this palm sander. I usually do my research before purchasing tools, but I neglected to so this time and thought, "Hey, with DeWalt you can't go wrong." I was wrong. The power isn't there and the dust collection bag, which was a selling point for me originally, collects very little dust - maybe 20%, if that. What's worse, if you're not careful, the bag will just come right off because it's not securely fastened to the sander.

I am a handyman/contractor. I own several of these units, and basically I find them "just fine". First off, they are inexpensive enough that I don't fear loaning or losing them on the job.
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br /They perform radically better than the Mikata orbital sanders I bought 5 years ago (to be fair, new Makitas probably do better too). Now I wish I hadn't waited so long to replace my older units!
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br /Yes they are noisy ... but in my opinion so are all the other units on the market. I wouldn't use ANY palm sander for more than a minute without ear protection, period.
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br /Dust pickup is so-so as described, but in the jobs I do it doesn't really matter. I usually don't use the dust bag at all as it takes too much time to punch the paper and empty the bag for the benifit gained. If I need dust containment I do the work outside or use the Zipwall system (which customers really like!). And incidentially, no plam sander picks up enough dust you can safely sand previously painted stock without a respirator to protect you from lead.
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br /One of my units had a loose fit between the dust bag and the sander. I roughened the plastic up a bit and that, more or less, stopped the problem.
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br /What really counts, in my opinion, is it sands VERY well and quite fast. And with fresh paper you can easily get within 1/4" of a 90 degree corner, which isn't bad for a sander which uses generic (ie non-glued) sandpaper.
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br /All in all, I like the DW411 alot.

This is the best 1/4 sheet palm sander I have ever used. It is a tough little sander and works great. I use it as a finishing sander and have had great performance with it using 120/150/220 grit paper. The bag collected more dust than I thought it would (make sure you punch holes in the paper though). It comes with a nice case and paper punch.
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br /I ordered the vacuum attachment but have not received it yet. I have 5 sanders in my inventory and this is by far my favorite to use.

This is my second DW411 sander. After 10 years of regular use the bearings wore out in my first one and I decided to replace it with a new one. I was pleased to see on the new one that the heavy wire clamp handles had been recessed better over the pad which eliminated the problem of the handles hitting the wood in corners. I was also pleased to see that the pad was beefier than the old one. Then I turned it on. I couldn't believe how loud it was. I thought it was new and would quiet down after a little break in. I've used it now for over 4 months and it's still so loud you MUST use ear protection. I'm beginning to think there is something wrong with it it is so loud. It works great, but is so loud I don't want to use it. Time to get something else...

I'm surprised to read that some of the other reviewers were less than thrilled with this sander. I love it! This is my second one, and I specifically hunted down this model. The fit in my hand is perfect. The first one lasted about 9 years of heavy daily use. I always said I would be thrilled if everything I bought was of the quality of this little guy.

i am a carpenter of fine furniture
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br /good points:
br /1. the sander has lots of power, works quickly on oily hardwoods too
br /2. fits great in my hand
br /3. easy to change sand paper
br /4. long cord
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br /bad points:
br /1. after 20 minutes of sanding the vibrations is too much. i never have this problem with my bosch 5" orbital sander
br /2. no dust goes into the dust collection bag. (yes, i used the hole puncher for the sandpaper). i have like 4 hours of use with this and the bag is clean inside. the only thing i can imagine is that the bag is used to filter the air before it goes into the motor!!!!! you will need to hook this up to a vacume for dust collection, if dust collection is even possible

Works great, I really like having the dust canister. It doesn't collect all the dust, but does help.