what are the pros and cons of the different types of mechanical sanders? Which one would I pick if I had to pick one (the most versatile).

 

The only mechanical sander my dad made me use was either my left or right hand. What type mechanical sanders are you referring to? Belt, orbital, vibrating, oscillating tube?

 

I only own 2 sanders. A Bosch 3x21 inline belt sander (versitile in that it's light, and flat on top so that you can turn it upside down and sand small pieces on it) and then a Dewalt 5" orbital sander, which is more of a finishing sander, although you can also get course grit discs for some of the rougher jobs.

Hand sanding still has its place too, and always will.

 

Mr Dove, what will you be doing with a sander? Are you prepping a car for repaint, refinishing a hardwood floor, refinishing furniture/cabinets, or making furniture? These various applications require different sanders for optimum performance. Give us a hint about how it will be put to use and we will be able to better advise you. For instance, I have a 21" X 3" hand-held belt sander, a 6" X 48" belt table sander with 10" disk, a set of various size sanding drums for my drill press, a dual-action oscilating finishing sander, a 5" random orbital sander, a Ryobi detail sander, and numerous sanding blocks for hand sanding.