Bosch 1297DK 1/4 Sheet Palm Sander Kit  Product Reviews

"The paper punch is not a gimmick! It does aid in getting dust into the included hard-sided dust bag. As with any sander, it's going to leave some behind and in the air. At a full 2 amps, it's got plenty of power for sanding with a 1/4 sheet. The handle design is comfortable in my hand. The paper clamping system is really nice, nicest I've ever seen in fact. I wish all my sheet sanders had it! Or not, because then I wouldn't have bought the Bosch! If you're going to spend more, why? Theis sander can use ANY paper, not just what they make available in velcro-backed 8-hole 5" discs. I've even used auto-body paper in it when rehabbing old hand planes and cast iron table tops. Sheet sanders are just plain more versatile."

"I've owned and used Bosch tools for decades, and consider them to be top of the line for price/performance, with the emphasis on performance. However, the 1297DK Sheet Sander has shaken my faith. As others have noted, the SheetLoc front gripper simply ceases to do its job after just a few hours of sanding work. At first, the rubber gripping surface would dislodge, requiring a good deal of pulling and stretching to get it back into place on the metal holder. Perhaps that abuse of the rubber -although necessary- broke down its integrity in some way. But in any case, after a few more hours of sanding, stopping to reinstall the rubber, sanding, stopping... etc., the front gripper began losing its grip on the sandpaper. The failure is progressive, and now the sandpaper comes loose from the front gripper within just a few seconds of use. I suppose I'll have to go to stick-on paper, but that's very irritating since I paid for the SheetLoc system. I never thought I'd say that Bosch has misengineered a tool, but that's the case with the 1297DK. The concept is good, but the engineering is a failure. Bosch needs to redo the front gripper, or take the tool off the market. FC "

"I do a LOT of sanding, of all kinds of surfaces, by hand and with various machines. And I've struggled with various brands and configurations of sanders over the years. Surprisingly, there have been "cheapie" base-level sanders that worked pretty well, and high-end sanders from well-known companies that were just awful. Nearly two years ago I bought the Bosch 1297D (now DK) quarter-sheet sander -- nirvana! Smooth action, not too noisy, good dust handling, and the best paper-lock device imaginable. I don't have a lot of spare money to spend on hook-and-loop paper -- it's fine for random-orbit disks but not for rectangular-format sheets. The Bosch 1297 makes it economical AND EASY to use top-quality 9x12 sheets, sliced into quarters. Just as with other sanders you'd curse their designer every time you swapped paper, with the Bosch 1297 you'll praise the designer and thank the fates. It's just a pleasure to change paper -- ever thought you'd hear that? Quibbles: I wish the foam rubber padding was a little denser. If you work on corners and rough edges a lot, you can wear it out, and a replacement isn't available (I can't find one, anyhow). But you can repair it if necessary. Five big stars -- and it's a bargain besides. Less than $55 on Amazon with free shipping and no tax. And it comes with a really good tool bag! You can even buy a reconditioned unit from Bosch for under $40. Trust me, it'll be the best finishing sander you've ever used. "

"I have had three of these sanders. When they are new out of the box, they work great. However after several hours of use the front gripper looses it strength and will not hold the sheets of sandpaper in place. This problem is acute with fine grit papers and I frequently have the front edge of the paper come loose and start flopping around less than a minute after inserting a new sheet. The front edge will come loose even if you're not sanding anything - just running the tools causes it to get loose and flop around. When this happened on my first sander I thought it might have been a manufacturing defect. However this has happened with all three of these that I have owned and it appears to be a design flaw. The rear gripper is great. It's too bad that the whole tool is rendered useless by a poorly designed front gripper. I suppose I could try stick on paper; but then what's the point of the 'SheetLoc??"