Palm-held finishing sanders are among the most popular tools purchased, and if you’ve ever spent time hand sanding even a modest-sized project, you know why. Their ease of use and ergonomics help speed a typically tedious job. But these advances in the current crop of sanders, so much improved compared to the old ¼ sheet ‘vibrators,’ have had an unintended effect. Consumers have demanded that these tools do more than ‘finish,’ and the increased availability of coarser grades of sandpaper that fit these machines has allowed said users to take these lightweight machines and ask them to do projects for which they were not designed. Specifically, I’m speaking of tasks like heavy paint removal, drywall mud sanding and dimensional grinding. These fine tools begin to disappoint when used for these purposes.

So it wasn’t really a surprise when Porter Cable, the venerable power tool manufacturer that produces the top selling random-orbit finishers, recognized the potential niche that a palm-sized belt sander could fill; all those jobs too heavy for their finishers, but finer or in more confined spaces than the typical brute-force belt sander could be used. The 371K fills this niche uniquely. Indeed it is slightly larger than the typical palm sander, but is still controllable with one hand, with a second handle available for pushing it harder. It’s powerful but not wrist-wrenchingly so, and can do jobs that destroy orbital sanders prematurely. Truly a great tool destined to be imitated. $119.95