Take a peek on ebay for a used or rebuilt sander. You should be able to pick one up for much less than new. I just did a search for "random sander" and found 24 matches. A vacuum attachment is a big plus, too - it will keep your basement (and rest of house) free of dust (assuming you attach a shop-vac).

Ross

: I've been lurking around the board and archives for a couple of weeks while
: preparing for and starting my first boat (arctic tern). I've been able to
: find answers to most of my questions so far, but now need help with this
: one.
: Most people seem to be using random orbital sanders, so, in prep for a Home
: Depot excursion later this week, I added one to my shopping list. This was
: challenged by my wife on the grounds that we already have a palm sander.
: On the spot, I couldn't come up with a better justification than something
: along the lines of "but all of the other kids have one". I've
: used up a lot of the available supply of tolerance and indulgence in
: getting the kit itself and taking over the basement. Any help on this?