good deal?

[Jay Yoder]

Local HD offered to sell me their rental makita 4x24 belt sander for $84 (but probably lower) i asked if it was in good shape and they said reason for offering it (I had asked about renting it) and they told me i could rent or buy. Thing is, it is an as-sold item with no warranty, it also does not have the dust bag. First is this thing seems huge to me, but i would be using it to clean up my workbench top and leveling some edge banding to the top. In the future it could be used for table tops. Is this a good deal and is it too big? Input greatly appreciated!

[Gene Howe]

I'm sure you could find or make a dust bag.
Why not rent it for a day, check it out and then decide. The price is good, though.

[scott spencer]

Jay- I've never used a hand sander that was bigger than the 3" x 21, so I don't know what it'd be like to handle this one. $80+ used for a sander with no bag and no warranty still strikes me as expensive for a belt sander to be used for general use. The larger platen size might be handy occasionally, but there are smaller belt sanders in that price range that are new with warranty.

The Hitachi SB75B (http://www.reconditionedsales.com/Hitachi_SB75B_2-speed_Belt_Sander_%28Reconditioned%29___i334.aspx) from Recon Sales for $61 comes to mind (+ $6.58 s/h). I got one of these last year...refurbished, looked brand new, and performs very nicely.

The DW433K"R" (http://www.amazon.com/Factory-Reconditioned-DW433KR-Heavy-Duty-21-Inch-Variable/dp/B0006FJ3DY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1260021942&sr=8-1) is $99 shipped from Tyler Tool

Food for thought....dunno if these will fit the bill or not.

[JohnT Fitzgerald]

Why not rent it for a day, check it out and then decide.

Good idea. See if they'll apply any rental fee to the purchase price, if you decide to buy it...

[Jay Yoder]

never thought of applying a rental fee, that is a really great idea! Thanks...the biggest issue is the fact that it is as-is, but if it hasn't been used that much (i don't think a belt sander is high on the rental frequency list but who knows) but it is a potential savings of over $200 new...as for the bag, I will probably use shop vac with it most of the time anyhow...I will check on the rental fee...