spindle sander

[Matt Mackinnon]

I currently have one of those inexpensive Ridgid spindle/edge sander. It sort of works, but I find that it gives off a bad smell if you use it for too long.

I am aspiring to have my own part time business from my workshop. Recently I was asked by a neighbour to make an interesting serving tray, and came up with a design that required me to use the spindle sander to smooth the edges. Well, one tray turned into two that turned into a whole bunch.

Being up in Canada, we don't get all the choices that you get down in the USA. All the grizzly ones I could bring up, but it seems from the specs that the less expensive versions don't look much better than the Ridgid I have. The Jet looks to be pretty close to the General. We have a Busy Bee that is close to a General too.

What is considered a production grade Oscillating spindle sander? Does anyone out there have the General International 15-220M1 and would you say it's of high build quality that you'd consider it capable for 5-6 hours of constant use?

Thanks.

Matt.

[larry senen]

i think you're referring to the table top model # 15-220. but no ,i have the floor model and it is overkill for most jobs.

[Scott Davis]

can more experienced posters say what they use it for? I did the same thing as the OP. Mine was drawing shavings, but in cleaning up a panel my hands and fingers hurt after about 10 minutes. I got out the 80 grit on an ROS and went through the grits to 250 and it seemed a lot easier. What was I missing?

[Chris Fournier]

King Canada has some decent machinery. Check them out.

[Matt Mackinnon]

I did look at the King (Model KC-OVS-F2) but it's a floor standing unit with 9" spindles and well over the budget that I have. I don't know if I need a 3/4hp motor and 9" of spindle height for the jobs i see myself doing. And the cost of the King isn't much different right now from General. If I could wait until January then I could get some of the manufacturer specials at the local wood shows... but sadly I need now, and not 6 months from now.

If I am spending $500 on a spindle sander, I want to make sure I am getting a much better unit than a $200 plastic one I buy from Home depot.

[Rod Sheridan]

Hi Matt, do you have a shaper?

You can put a sanding spindle on them.............rod

[Jeff Duncan]

Hi Matt, do you have a shaper?

You can put a sanding spindle on them.............rod

ONLY if you have the ability to drop the speed way down! Most spindle shapers don't run that slow without adding a VFD or similar to slow the speed down. Plus they won't oscillate so your going to burn through sandpaper really, really quickly!

I use a State spindle sander which is a great machine. It's an industrial version but runs on single phase. It's so smooth and quiet you can barely hear it run! These are machines that with a little care can last for generations. Max is another company that makes a good machine. There are probably others as well. Unfortunately they seem to sell on the used market for a fair amount of coin, which maybe says something in itself. I think I paid a little under $400 for mine with all the spindles, but I've seen asking prices for machines that only have a couple spindles much higher lately:(

As far as what I use it for.....well curves of course;) I've found it to be on of those machines you use a lot more than you think you will.
good luck,
JeffD

[glenn bradley]

I went from the Ridgid to the Grizzly G0529 and have been very happy with it. Of course I also wanted the larger disc.

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I did build storage into the base as I could not see that much real estate going to waste.

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[Roy Harding]

I'm also in Canada and tend to go to Busy Bee for Craftex machines. I have the older version (before they came out with the CX line of machines) of this (http://www.busybeetools.com/products/OSCILLATING-SPINDLE-SANDER-BENCH-TOP-CSA.html) . For what it's worth, I make my living out of my one man shop, so I expect my machines to be reliable. Although I do a lot of flat work, and the sander doesn't get daily use - I do recall using it continuously for a couple of days for a specific job - I didn't have any problems with it.

I dimly recall that there is some relationship between Grizzly and Busy Bee/Craftex, and that they are essentially similar quality machines - but I don't have any personal experience with Grizzly. Both my bandsaws, my spindle sander, my dual drum sander, my edge sander, my downdraft table, my dust collector/cyclone, and other assorted odds and sods (two suspended air cleaners) around the shop are all Craftex (one of the bandsaws is the newer "CX" line). I've been operating all of them for 6 to 7 days a week, for the past five years, with no problems. Granted, I'm a one man shop and do not subject my tools to abuse that may be prevalent in a larger shop - but given that, there's no need to hesitate regarding Craftex brand, in my opinion.

Edited to add: having thought about it - I did have to replace the power switch on my edge sander, and one threaded post on the dual drum sander - so they haven't been maintenance free - but well within what I find to be acceptable.

[Bill White]

I guess that I don't understand the "smell" issue with the Ridgid. Motor is hot, bearings, rubber? My Ridgid has been goin' strong for 10+ years with no issues.

[Matt Mackinnon]

I guess that I don't understand the "smell" issue with the Ridgid. Motor is hot, bearings, rubber? My Ridgid has been goin' strong for 10+ years with no issues.

I took the Ridgid sander into my local repair center and he looked it over and said the motor is cooked. But sadly he also informed me that he can't get the parts to fix it as they are showing all on backorder.

I broke down and picked up the General International unit. It was slightly more expensive than the busybee CX unit, but having been burnt once by craftex product that didn't work as advertised, I thought for the extra $30 it was worth for my piece of mind. Now sadly, they didn't have any of the different grit sleeves in stock so I am stuck waiting for them to come in. I am a bit disapointed that they don't have a 1" spindle for the unit. It jumps from a 5/8" to a 1 1/2". I will just have to see if I can find some 1" spindle rubber and drill out to make it have the 5/8 hole through the middle and make my own.

[glenn bradley]

I took the Ridgid sander into my local repair center and he looked it over and said the motor is cooked. But sadly he also informed me that he can't get the parts to fix it as they are showing all on backorder.

In the U.S. they offer a Lifetime Service Agreement. If they can't fix it, they replace it. Not so up north? I know, I know, if you get it fixed you can't get new one. Just a thought, I have 3/4" table "covers" that elevate the work to get good use out of the whole vertical height of the spindle. When doing smaller work, I toss a couple on and sand for a while, remove one and continue, etc.

[larry senen]

i get my sleeves from grizzly

[Matt Mackinnon]

In the U.S. they offer a Lifetime Service Agreement. If they can't fix it, they replace it. Not so up north? I know, I know, if you get it fixed you can't get new one. Just a thought, I have 3/4" table "covers" that elevate the work to get good use out of the whole vertical height of the spindle. When doing smaller work, I toss a couple on and sand for a while, remove one and continue, etc.

The wording is very well written. Oh, they can fix it, but the parts are just not available right now. I had a similar problem with a Ridgid set of batteries for my drill. It ended up me waiting for 9 weeks for the replacement batteries to finally make it. That is why I have 2 drills now. I am sure that they will fix the problem, but it does me little good while I wait. I am in the process of making 45 serving trays, and I know it takes a big hit to the profit side of the equation to spend $550 (after taxes) on a new spindle sander, but once bought, you have it for the next 10-20 years.

I hooked up the General and it does make a bit more noise running than I expected, but I have not has a chance to let the motor/gears bed in.