I bought a sander at a great price. It came with a piece of sandpaper, so I bought a 1/4 sheet pack of Black and Decker sandpaper at the same time. The replacement paper was smaller (shorter) than the one in the box and didn't crease, I sent it back. Realizing I needed longer paper, I used the original sheet as a template and cut out a piece of heavy-duty sandpaper from the remaining belt on a belt sander. It worked great. I have sanded small 1x2 and 2x4 parts and the machine did a great job. I didn't poke holes in the paper to collect the dust, so I don't know how this feature works, but I sanded the outside and let the dust out. The foam backing pad has become thinner with use. It is held in place by four screws and the two front screws have started to protrude from the bottom of the pad and wear away the sandpaper. After rubbing holes in the paper, the trailing end of the paper broke out of the rear clip. This happened with every sheet of sandpaper I cut myself. I just ordered a replacement pad and will see how it performs when it arrives. The grinder is so much better than hand grinders that I really like the price. It's noisy. Hands practically do not vibrate during use.