Spindle sander quandry

[Dave Cav]

I was sanding some inside curves yesterday, and ended up using a sanding sleeve on a rubber arbor in the drill press. It worked ok but wasn't ideal. It started me thinking that an oscillating spindle sander might be a handy thing to have. I haven't needed one much before, but I'm thinking it might be one of those things you don't know you need until you get it. I pretty much crossed the Delta off the list due to very mixed reviews. I have kind of narrowed it down to three: the cheap Harbor Freight: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=95088; it seems to be identical to sanders sold by others and gets reasonably good reviews; it would also be a good way to figure out if it's something I really use; the "expensive" Harbor Freight: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=38160, seems solid and simple enough, lots of cast iron (around 70 pounds), but no reviews that I can find. (Note, I do have a couple of HF 20% off coupons.) Or just go all in and get the Grizzly G1071 and be done with it. I can probably find the room for it, and I could drive to Bellingham and save the shipping cost.

Opinions? Recommendations?

thanks
Dave

[Prashun Patel]

I highly recommend the Ridgid OSS. It's around $200 and because it has a belt sander attachment and a tilting table, it's pretty versatile. I love mine.

FWIW, I used to sand curves on my drill press. Because the quill doesn't go up and down like an OSS, I almost always got burning.

Sanding on the drill press doesn't do good things to the quill, anyway.

[Mike McCann]

I agree with Shawn the Ridgid is a great sander.

[Greg Wittler]

I really want the Grizzly G1071 but will probably get the the Ridgid, because of space, but I would prefer a cast Iron top. If you have the space and the means I would definately put the Grizzly on the list, with all the spindle sizes it has as well as the added height and isn't it a couple hundred less than the Jet equivalent?

[Callan Campbell]

I have the benchtop Jet model. I like it because its sleeves/spindles are a bit taller than many other occ. spindle sanders. Dust collection is good with an adapter to take the machines small dust hose port up to a 4 inch hose for my system and the table tilts, which is handy for beveled/angled work. The drive mechanism is very quiet as well. Having said that, the Ridgid is acknowledged by many people to be a super buy because of its versatility and low price for what you get with it. Have fun picking one out, let us know what you went with, and why.

[Rick Moyer]

I look at that 1071 everytime I go to Muncy. if my checkbook were bigger I would have bought that instead of the little G0538 I did buy. I guess it depends how much you can afford and how much you will use it. The little one is Ok for smaller stuff, but I wish I had the bigger one whenever I make larger curved pieces.
G0538= 1/3 HP,small dust port, laminate top, benchtop model, about $150
G1071= 1 HP, 4" dust port, cast iron top, floor model, about $650
kinda like buying a corded drill or a drill press, what are you going to need it for, how much do you want to spend!

[Bill White]

Ditto on the Ridgid.
Bill

[glenn bradley]

+1 on the Ridgid. Glad I got it because if I had gone straight to a larger/better sander I would have gotten a spindle. Now I know I need an oscillating belt and spindle. I use the belt 98% of the time. I think I got my $200 out of it in the first month. Its all gravy from here on out.

[Stephen Edwards]

I have the less expensive HF OSS that you mentioned, bought it on sale for 90 bucks. I've used it quite a bit and it works fine for my needs. I'd buy it again in a heartbeat.

Agreed, I think it's identical to several others on the market, like the Triton, except for the color scheme. You make a good point when you say that this is a good way to find out if a OSS is something that you'd use often. If you decide to buy a bigger, better one later, you could still keep the HF one set up with a different different grit and/or spindle than the other one. That would be a time saver.

It's a good value for the money. I don't think that you'd regret it.

[Walt Nicholson]

I had the same quandry not knowing how much I was going to use it. HF had it on sale for $99 and I used the 20% off so for $79 got a spindle sander to try. This one appears identical to the Ryobi unit (same exact specs, dimensions, etc. I unboxed it, put on the largest spindle and tried it out on a piece of 3/4 ply. Was very impressed with the power (could barely slow it down with lots of pressure) and it was fairly quiet and smooth. Dust collection wasn't so great. I figure for under $80 bucks I can try it for a while and if I need something better (just a weekend hobbyist not full time shop) I could sell it on Craigslist for $45 or $50. That way for $30 or so I can see how much I use one and what I like and don't like. Don't know yet if I need a tilt base, etc. That way I can make a better informed decision on one of the spendy ones. Just my 2 cents. :D

[Dave Cav]

Thanks for all the responses. Great information. Right now the Rigid isn't on my short list because I have a pretty good belt/disk sander that takes care of all my straight and convex edges, I don't want to have to stock another belt size, and I don't want to mess around with convertable tools. The little HF seems to get good reviews and with the coupon may be the way to go, but I would really like to hear from folks that have had or used the HF #38160. I think the Grizzly would really be the way to go for the long term, but I'm not ready to put down around $600 right now.

Thanks again.

[Josh Reet]

Thanks for all the responses. Great information. Right now the Rigid isn't on my short list because I have a pretty good belt/disk sander that takes care of all my straight and convex edges, I don't want to have to stock another belt size, and I don't want to mess around with convertable tools. The little HF seems to get good reviews and with the coupon may be the way to go, but I would really like to hear from folks that have had or used the HF #38160. I think the Grizzly would really be the way to go for the long term, but I'm not ready to put down around $600 right now.

Thanks again.

Like you, I already have a decent belt/disc sander and probably won't be buying the ridgid unless I find one for a smoking deal (it is worth noting that you can get 15% back from the ridgid/ryobi friends/family rebate through the end of the month). And like you, I'm not 100% sure that I know how much I'm going to use a spindle sander.

So the cheaper HF for $80 is what I will go for. If I use it to death, I'll get the grizz. But if not, I'm not out a ton of money.

But hey, any excuse to head up to bellingham is a good one. We've got a couple great brew pubs up here.

[Joe Leigh]

Looks like there are only 2 spindle sizes. The Grizzly 9022 is also a nice unit but has only one spindle size, 2"
That's why I think the Jet benchtop is the best combination of features and price.

[Gene Howe]

Seems like I make a lot of templates and use the Rigid oscillating belt sander quite a bit.
Wife and I make a lot of toys, too. There are lots of times we make good use of the tilting table with the spindle as well as the belt sanders.
But, if a tilt table or oscillating belt sander isn't needed, then the HF is a good deal.

[keith ouellette]

I bought the el cheapo spindle at harbor freight and gave it quite a workout by shaping all the parts of my 2 rocking chairs. For $80 I thought it was great. I would have payed even more for it now that I've used it.

[Jim Eller]

Thanks for all the responses. Great information. Right now the Rigid isn't on my short list because I have a pretty good belt/disk sander that takes care of all my straight and convex edges, I don't want to have to stock another belt size, and I don't want to mess around with convertable tools. The little HF seems to get good reviews and with the coupon may be the way to go, but I would really like to hear from folks that have had or used the HF #38160. I think the Grizzly would really be the way to go for the long term, but I'm not ready to put down around $600 right now.

Thanks again.

I too have a pretty good belt/disc sander but I also have the Ridgid and it gets the most use. Having the belt sander in the vertical position make a big difference to me when I'm doing contoured areas. The oscillating is a big factor to me also.

Changing to the oscillating spindle is very easy and another benefit of not having to have an edge sander and a spindle sander taking up the floor space.

As far as being "convertible", there is only one knob and everything stores on-board. The spare belts store in the mobile stand it sets on.

I might add, dust collection works quite well too.

Just another opinion that works for me.

Jim

[Bruce Page]

So what don't you like about the Delta? I've had the Delta BOSS for several years and it has been bullet proof. It's silky smooth with excellent dust collection. My only gripe on the design is the non tilting table. My only gripe on machine quality was the rough cast iron table which I had to smooth out.

Other than the rough table, it's been a great sander.

[Peter Kuhlman]

Same as Bruce. Have the Delta BOSS and used my random orbit sander to smooth the table top a little bit. Otherwise a great unit with lots of spindles. Got mine off Amazon during one of their crazy discount days a couple years ago. Do they still sell it?? Seems that I saw the BOSS was replaced with a lower priced version.

[Stephen Edwards]

The smaller HF model has 6 spindle sizes. Someone mentioned that they had DC problems with theirs. The DC works fine with mine, if I remember to turn it on!

[Josh Reet]

It gets hard to convince myself of what I said previously when everyone talks so highly about the ridgid. Particularly considering that it comes in at $150 after rebate and a movers coupon (if you have one).

But still, it's easy to talk yourself into more and more toys. Sometimes you've gotta draw the line.

[Dave Cav]

Well, that was quick. I had to go out and run some errands (OK, it was an excuse to go by H.F.), and Harbor Freight had the spindle sander on sale for $99. That, plus one of my 20% off coupons got it for $79.99, plus I got two packages of additional sleeves. I got it home and set it up, and it seems to work fine, just about as well as the Jet we have at school. Six spindles, and they change easily. Now I'll see how much I use it and how well it holds up.

[Stephen Edwards]

Well, that was quick. I had to go out and run some errands (OK, it was an excuse to go by H.F.), and Harbor Freight had the spindle sander on sale for $99. That, plus one of my 20% off coupons got it for $79.99, plus I got two packages of additional sleeves. I got it home and set it up, and it seems to work fine, just about as well as the Jet we have at school. Six spindles, and they change easily. Now I'll see how much I use it and how well it holds up.

Please let us know what you think of it after you've used it for a while.

[jim gossage]

Dave,
Go with the Grizzly if you can afford it - its a total beast. See my prior review of Grizzly vs Jet.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=110690

[Josh Reet]

Just as a note for anyone thinking of buying the HF spindle sander, the most recent Wood magazine issue (dec/jan I think) HF ad has a coupon for the sander for $80. Same price as $99 - 20%, but it frees your 20% coupon up for something else if you want. And the sander isn't always on sale for $99.

[Dave Cav]

Dave,
Go with the Grizzly if you can afford it - its a total beast. See my prior review of Grizzly vs Jet.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=110690

Thanks, Jim; the Grizzly is on my short list if it turns out I use the little one a lot. I still don't know how much I'll use it in my shop. We have one at school (Jet) and I rarely if ever use it, although the students use it all the time- but seldom for anything productive. They just like to sand grooves in things.

[james bell]

great thread. Like Dave, I needed to sand some inside curves and purchased some spindles and microplanes for my drill press. they worked but i wasn't entirely pleased with the results.

i have the ryobi belt/disk sander and have been looking at the ridgid oscillating sander - especially since my mother-in-law gave me a $150 gift certificate for Home Depot. However, reading this thread, I may have to look at the HF and compare. The Grizzly sounds great, but $80 is a deal if it works well. For this price, if the sander becomes something I can't do with, then upgrading is a possibility.

Thanks for all the great information. Merry Christmas

[Dave Loebach]

I had a Ryobi model. They can be bought from time to time for $100 or less and are excellent. For that price it is a steal. I now have a Powermatic, which is now sold as the Jet model. The Ryobi did just as good a job and was much better at dust collection. The Powermatic is a beast to move around. Once you have an oss you wonder why in the world you waited so long, particularly when you can get one for $100-200.

[Jeffrey Makiel]

I recently bought the Jet benchtop model when Jet/Powermatic were offering 20% off. I suspect this sale will come around again.

The features that attracted me are tilting cast iron top, capable of holding up to a 3" spindle (others max at 2") and all metal construction.

I spent a lot of time making a custom stand for it though. The Jet is quite tall for a benchtop machine such that when on a benchtop, the table is too high. It's also quite heavy to be considered as 'portable'. In retrospect, I would consider the Grizzly floor model again.

There are a lot of choices and it seems that folks have been satisfied their selection including the Ridgid and Delta Boss.

Have fun picking one out! :)

-Jeff :)

[george wilson]

I have had a Ryobi whose belt broke soon down at my former job. They sent a replacement belt. Apparently the belts break frequently. It was a chore to replace the belt. The unit has no guts,and I will not buy any more Ryobi tools.

[Ryan Cassidy]

I ended up with the G5029 from Grizzly. I could say enough good things about it. Good dust collection. Nice solid Table, Big 12 disk. Big improvement over my previous sander. Highly recommended.