I have never had a sander like this before, but when I was refinishing a desk for a lady , I decided to get one. I compared several other units and decided on this one. I love the variable speed and with a course grit belt, it made light work of the 3 coats of paint I had to remove. it is very maneuverable  and the dust catcher works great also.  I used a light grit belt and some light hand sanding  for the polyurethane finish and the lady's words were: "you turned my old desk into a thing of beauty"  .