Question on Makita 9227c

[Yetch]

I am curious about pad sizes that can be used with the 9227. It is advertised as 7" disk. But it seems that most of the pads available are 6" or less. Can this machine accommodate smaller pads, and how would that be accomplished.
Thanks, Mike

[Michael Stoops]

Re: Question on Makita 9227c

Depending on the backing plate you choose, you can use pads ranging from 4" to 8". On a rotary buffer the larger the pad the more cut you'll get, everything else being equal. This is because a rotary spins the pad in a perfect circle and the larger the pad diameter the farther the outer edge has to travel for each revolution, meaning it's moving faster. And speed = power with a rotary.

You should pair up our pads and backing plates for rotary use like this:

• 4" pads (W4003 wool; W7204, W8204 & W9204 Soft Buff foam) use the W63 backing plate
• 6" pads (W7006, W8006 & W9006 Soft Buff foam pads) use the W64 backing plate
• 7" pads (W7207, W8207 & W9207 Soft Buff 2.0 foam pads) use the W68 backing plate
• 8" pads (W4000 wool; W7000, W8000 & W9000 Soft Buff foam pads) use the W65 backing plate

If you're using both a rotary and DA buffer then you can consolidate your pad choices by using the W68 rotary backing plate and W68DA DA buffer backing plate as both are designed for use with the W7207, W8207 & W9207 Soft Buff 2.0 foam pads.


Incidentally, smaller pads offer more cut on a DA buffer since they concentrate all the energy into a smaller contact patch.