Review: Ryobi P411 Cordless Random Orbit Sander

The Ryobi P411 random orbit sander is part of Ryobi’s ONE+ 18V battery powered tool lineup. This sander is decent for lighter or shorter jobs, and it’s battery power and cordless nature makes it convenient for spot use around the home or shop. Let’s take a closer look at this one.

Sanding Power & Motor

This sander is a little lighter on sanding power than some of the other orbit sanders we’ve looked at. The 18V battery power is sufficient and this sander can run at a max of 10,000 OPM. This is a single speed sander and there is no variable speed setting. This sander has a brushed motor, so it not quite as efficient in power usage as some of the brushless motor competitors can be.

This sander can make quick work of refinishing wood and other surfaces due to the good random orbital action. Pressing harder with this sander will bog it down, but you don’t really need to press hard with a random orbit sander and you can let the orbit action do the work. The noise level is also lower with this sander, which is nice.

People who own this sander have had good luck using it to refinish furniture and other woodworking projects all the way to sanding cars before repainting. So even with it’s lighter power it’s quite capable.

Battery Power

This sander uses Ryobi’s 18V ONE+ batteries. If you already use Ryobi 18V ONE+ tools this sander will fit right into your lineup. If you don’t have any battery powered Ryobi tools you will need to also get some batteries and a charger to go along with this sander. There are some kits available with batteries or you can get this as a bare tool.

People are most commonly using 1.5 to 5 AH batteries with this sander. 2AH batteries and 4AH batteries are two good recommended size options. The 2AH batteries should get you around 20 minutes of constant runtime. The 4AH batteries seem to get people from between 30-45 minutes of constant runtime on a single charge. So if you are going to be using this sander for larger jobs you may want to consider the larger batteries.

Another thing to consider with the batteries is how they affect the size and balance of this sander. 1.5 AH and 2AH batteries have a smaller profile and weight and feel pretty good on this sander. The 4 AH and larger batteries start to feel a little heavy, and can also make this sander feel more off balance.

Charger

Handheld Design

This sander is designed with grips on the top and on the vertical shaft, and it’s pretty easy to grip for most people. It can be used one or two handed. The grips are made from rubber and this sander is easy to hold onto and to control. It feels pretty good in hand and the vibrations don’t really fatigue your hands much over time.

The power button is located on both sides of the top grip. You press the button on one side to turn it on and then the button on the other side turns it off. It feels ok to use and can be turned on/off during one hand operation.

This sander is lightweight without a battery at 2.9 lbs, but it’s actual weight during use will depend on what size battery you use along with it. The battery selection will also affect balance, since the batteries attach along the back side of this tool. Smaller batteries will feel more balanced and easier to maneuver, whereas the larger batteries can make this sander feel a little more unbalanced and prone to tipping.

Sanding Pad

This sander has a 5 inch hook and loop pad that will hold any 5 inch hook and loop pad with 8 dust collection holes. This style and size is pretty common and it’s easy to find replacement parts. This type of sanding pad requires a little more care so that you don’t damage the hook and loop surface during use. When the hook get flattened or bent they don’t hold discs anymore. It’s also good to keep the pad clean from dust, which can also prevent good attachment to discs. The hook and loop pad will be a part that you should expect to wear out and need to be replaced. How often will depend on how much use you put your sander through.

Dust Collection

The dust collection on this sander is pretty typical for what we see from smaller orbit sanders with dust bags. The dust bag itself works ok, and many people find it insufficient. The dust bag is also small and fills up pretty quickly. It will collect dust, but your sander will also produce a pretty decent cloud of dust during use. This can be problematic if you are sanding indoors.

The best option is to use a dust collection system, which works much better than a dust bag. The dust port on this sander has a diameter of 1-1/4 inch and will likely require an adapter to connect to a dust system or a shop vac. The port is just a basic round opening without any connection or slotting system to hold bags and adapters in place.

Build Quality

The build quality on this sander is pretty good for it’s price and there really isn’t anything that feels like a major weak point. There is a lot of plastic on this one. It feels well constructed though and the plastic helps keep the weight down, which is good for a sander. The hook and loop pad will wear out over time, which is common with these types of sanders, so expect to have to replace that every once in a while.

Included Accessories

This sander doesn’t come with a lot of accessories. You get the sander, the dust bag, batteries/charger (if included in a kit) and maybe some sample sanding discs. There aren’t any included dust port adapters or anything else. The bare tool version we looked at included:

• Dust Bag

Other Available Accessories

There are some other accessories and replacement parts available for this sander worth pointing out.

Setup & Assembly

This is an easy tool to setup and start using. It doesn’t require any special calibration or configuration. It’s about as close to plug and play as you can get for a power tool.

Warranty

Ryobi offers a 3 year warranty on defective parts or workmanship. This is good enough to help you out if you have quality control issues with your tool out of the box.