hi everyone, have been thinking of purchasing a larger "stair machine", saw an 10" RYOBI obital polisher, but, how would I keep the pads on this machine, does not have the velcro backing and I can't seem to find a backing that would be sutible. Bill Y.
You could try that, and you'd have to order the appropriate size pads with the elastic on them so it would fit on it tightly. You can order them at Argoco.com. You could also glue something hard and flat onto the bottom of it, followed by some velcro, then you could put 10" flat pads under it.
Another idea is to get a drill with a handle. I've seen at Sears they sell drill bits that basically have a pad driver attached to them. I got two of them in the 6" size. I glued velcro to one of them and use my elastic pads on the other. Then you can put velcro on it and use flat pads, or get elastic pads. At excellent-supply.com Rick sells an 8" pad driver for a drill, but I don't know if it can be adapted for use as a pad driver or not as I don't have one.
I wouldn't use a 10" orital on stairs. I use a 11" . Most of them are made of metal,and they have bigger motors than the puny plastic 10's. They can be found on e-bay pretty cheap. I have had mine for 6 yrs now(used)and its like a Timex,just keeps on tickin,very versitile tool,and makes me $$$.
I've tried various size stair tools, and find that I prefer the 6" size that I send out to those who purchase the Drysdale's/Challenger "Start Your Own Business". First of all, it's light & maneuverable. Also, on most flights of stairs, the soil is concentrated in a limited area of each stair, where most people tend to step when ascending/descending the flight of stairs. Usually, very little time needs to be spent on the lightly used portion of the stair tread. With a smaller head, you are also able to dig the edge in more effectively in the area where most of the soil is concentrated. Kind of like what is called "heeling" with a full-size floor machine
when you are trying to work spots/stains out of the carpet.
I like the Challenger stair tool machine, which is an a orbital pad machine. The pad is to big though, so we take a sabre saw and cut the pad all the way around using the metal ring on the top of the pad as a quide. This makes the pad about 8 or 9 inches in diameter, which works much better for stairs and upholstery, also gives the machine a little more "umph" with the smaller pad diameter, though its got all the power you need anyway. At $295 it's not a bad deal. We use the 14 inch pads challenger sells for the machine at $5.00 each, only need 5 or so. We generally use 2 pads for a set of stairs. You can use any size pad.
