The pad is an easy replacement and works beautifully. What they don't tell you is that it that the pad ALSO replaces the regular 333 sander. I couldn't find any info on this so I just took a chance. The 333 and 333VS ARE interchangeable. I really like shopping Amazon. So here's your plug. Lane Hall Porter-Cable 13909 Replacement Pad (for Model 333VS-5 or 8-Hole Hook & Loop)
I'm not sure how to rate these pads. The sander works well, as do the pads WHEN NEW. But, they deteriorate fairly quickly and throw pieces of rubber about as they begin coming apart. Wear eye protection.
The PC sander is a very worthy tool, but one note of caution: Don't order too many extra pads! The foam within the replacement pads have a - limited storage - life... a brand new (but aged) unused pad will fall apart or disintegrate. Grabbing for the last of several stored in the back of the cabinet (3 years) it immediately fell apart when installed. I was astonished! Especially since these are not cheap items. Apparently the R&D department at Porter Cable hasn't done their homework.
I'm now on my third pad. Granted I use the sander frequently and it is over 6 years old. Bottom line the sander has exceeded my expectations and keeps on going (bit noisier now than new) but the velcro stops working on the pad requiring replacement. Good that PC offers a replacement. Hopefully they continue to do so as I noticed they updated the design of the 5" H&L random orbit.
this is probably the best modification you can put on your sander. it allows you to place 5 or 8 hole hook and loop disks on your sander, eliminating the need to find a specific hole pattern. it will replace your old 5 or 8 hole back up pad, and takes three screws and about 5 minutes. it's that simple! my hat's off to the people at Porter-Cable!
The bad news is that this part wears out with use. The good news is that this product restores the Porter-Cable sander to it's original paper gripping capacity. I bought two so I'd have a spare on hand.
Don
I was very happy that Amazon had this part available. My sander is quite oold, but this pad allowed me to continue using this fine sander. It is easy to install, and is just like the factory original. It sure beats throwing away a perfectly good sander just because the pad was defective.
Almost, it's about a fraction of an mm off. Why does PC do that with different pads on various 5" models? Doesn't make any sense, they all should be interchangeable. This is like Milwaukee batteries.
In any case, enlarging the holes just a little will make it fit nicely on the 343. I notice the backing is a plastic plate on the replacement where the original was aluminum. Seems like if the pads needed to be replaced every few months, it doesn't matter. So couple of pad replacements is about the original cost of the PC unit. And for the cost of the pad alone you could buy the Harbor Freight 5" ROS on sale and throw it away every year or so. Maybe I'll just have couple of HFs around as spares - cheap enough.
When my original pad on the PC worn out I used hot glue as an emergency while the replacement was in transit. Hot glue seems to work ok, glue comes off nicely too when changing papers. Excellent sander, not so good pad.
This pad, along with things like replacment head for a shaver, are becoming impossible to buy EXCEPT via the internet. This transaction was seamless, and the replacement
pad of course replaced the worn-out pad with no problem (once I found the star screwdriver to remove the old one.)
Great sander, but the cost of replacement pads vs the initial cost of tool is expensive. Same problematic issue with all of the the Porter-cable random orbit sanders pads overtime the pad disinergrates leaving a working tool unusable. - Porter Cable - Random Orbit Sander - Sander - Random-obit Sander'
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