Harbor Freight Belt Sander?

[Jacob Reverb]

Has anyone here bought this HFT belt/disc sander?

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=6852

I've been needing one for a while, but I haven't been able to justify the high price tag most of them carry.

First I was looking long and hard at this Jet:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000063INV

Then I found this Grizzly for almost half the price:

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Combination-Sander-6-x-48-Belt-9-Disc-Z-Series/G1014Z

And now today I found this Harbor Freight for almost half the price of the Grizzly! Now we're getting into acceptable prices!

But is the quality acceptable?

I'll be using the machine for some woodworking, but really want it more for chisel, plane iron and carving tool sharpening, and some metalworking, so I'll be welding up some jigs for sharpening and grinding on it.

Thanks in advance for any information.

[David Christopher]

the grizzly and HF look alot alike..my dad has the grizzly and its been running strong for about 10 years......I think at the price you cant go wrong with either one

[Curt Harms]

I have the Grizzly 1014 and have used it to flatten the back of some Harbor Freight wood chisels-no, not for fine work, for beater work. It worked okay, seemed to leave the metal cooler than a grinding stone. Leonard Lee in his sharpening book speaks of using the 1" wide sander/grinder (http://www.leevalley.com/wood/page.aspx?c=2&p=44884&cat=1,43072) for sharpening and it's quite a bit cheaper than the HF sander. I just noticed that the motor isn't included with the Lee Valley machine; do you have a spare laying around? HF also sells a 1" belt sander but it runs at 3450 RPM which might be fast for sharpening metal. The HF or Grizz 6" sander would likely be more useful for woodworking.

[Brian Kent]

I had the exact same question a few years ago and went with the Grizzly you are talking about. I have no complaints at all. I switched to a higher quality belt and it got even better. I agonized over HF vs Grizzly and decided peace of mind was worth the Grizzly price. Very similar machines but I went for the quality controls of Grizzly.

[george wilson]

I advise getting the grizzly. If the Chinese motor burns out,at least you can get a spare part from them. Chinese motors are poorly insulated,and can arc across the bearings,ruining them. I've had this happen. Go for customer service.

The HF and Grizzly sanders look like they have aluminum tables. I'm not fond of them,because grits can get stuck in the soft metal to scar your wood. Also,the tilting quadrant looks like sheetmetal. You will get what you pay for. The choice may involve how much use you plan to give the sander.

When you buy new belts,be sure to get butt jointed,and not lap jointed belts,to avoid the bump every time the splice goes by. Also,the lap joints seem to fall apart if stored in a heated and air conditioned shop for several months. I found that out myself.

The butt jointed belts are held together with a very thin mylar strip that holds on like magic,and no bump. They are all I use.

[Brian Kent]

George my grizzly table appears to be cast iron and the tilting part that carries the belt is also cast iron, not sheet metal.

The stock belts from Grizzly had a bump in every seam. That was a few years ago and I do not know if they have switched suppliers.

[Kev Godwin]

Jacob,
Check out your local Sears stores to see if you can get a good deal on one of their discontinued models they are currently clearing out. My local Sears has the same sized one you are looking at. My local Sears was asking $149 for one new in the box yesterday. Just another option....;)
Kev

[george wilson]

Maybe the picture just looked the color of aluminum,Brian.

[Jacob Reverb]

Thanks for all the replies and good information. For $200 that HF sander really intrigues me; wish there was someone here who could report on it...

[Bill White]

Ya pays your money and ya takes your chances. :p
That being said, my HF dust collector has been good since I replaced the bags.
Bill

[James Gillespie, Jr.]

I was looking at these a while back as well. Checked out the one from HF, the display unit. The disc had a large crack starting from the center hub and spiraled out. Disc looked to be aluminum or low quality and thin iron. I passed. Also checked out the unit at Sears. The display unit was also broken. The structure that holds the belt unit and allows it to pivot are plastic and had sheared in two. I passed. Decided to not buy anything until I can afford to get a quality machine that will last me a long time. I'm impressed with the Rikon unit but it is out of my price range at the moment. YMMV.

[Mike Cruz]

Jacob, I cannot reply directly to that sander, but I will say that I USED to buy from HF and do no longer. I have their 7" jointer (purchased 10 years ago...FINALLY put together 2 months ago...stayed in the box the whole time...long story). It is a piece of junk. It vibrates...badly. It took my brother (a master Mercedes Benz tech and shop foreman) over 8 hours to put it together...shaking his head and saying choice words I won't repeat. There is no dust port. There is just a "chute" in the front. I attached my DC to it via a homemade dust port (see my thread about it...5 days ago or so) and as many shavings still exit the machine on the OTHER side of the machine as go into the DC. POS if you asked me. I would never buy their machinery again.

On another note, I purchased (again, about 10 years ago) a bunch of bar clamps ("F" clamps?) from HF because the deal was "too good to pass up" and the stationary part of the clamp was not parrallel to the mobile part (with screw handle) on more than 1/2 of them. So much for the "deal".

I marked it up to a lesson learned about their products. I NEVER buy from them anymore because I simply am not happy with what I get.

I recommend the Grizzly...I have never regretted buying from them, nor have I not liked one of their tools that I have used (at my old job).

[Angie Orfanedes]

Well, I have that HF sander - think I have had it for two years or so. No problems. I do buy the extended warranty on HF stuff, but so far I haven't had to use it on anything.