6" x 48" Sander - VARIABLE SPEED?

[Jim Eller]

Looking to replace my 40 year old 6 x 48 belt/disc sander.

I have done numerous seaches looking for a variable speed one but haven't had any luck.

Does anyone make one?

Thanks,
JimE

[John Lanciani]

How about a shopsmith? I cut mine down so that it is about half of the original length and use it only as a belt and disk sander.

[Steve Kohn]

I bought a "basket case" PM30B belt/disc sander. It was from a school industrial arts program that sat outside for at least 6 months. The person I bought it from had planned on restoring it but after some disassembly found he didn't have the time. So I bought it and finished the teardown and restore. What I really liked about it was that it was a 3 phase machine. I bought a VFD off eBay for $100 and wired that in. That gave me the variable speed I wanted. It makes a huge difference in control when sanding wood. No more burn marks on my wood and a lot more control when I use it for metal.

[Jim Finn]

I Have a Harbor Freight 6" x 48" stationary belt sander that I use a lot. It has a 1725 rpm motor and is belt driven so I could slow it down more if I needed to. I do not use the disk sander it has but the belt sander works well enough for me. I usually sand cedar and maple with 60 grit paper and never have any burning.

[Wade Lippman]

Why would you want that?

[Rick Lizek]

Get an edge sander...you won't look back. Look at the
grizzly. Why do think you need variable speed? 40 years experience experience in sanders you can't imagine the types I've used.

[glenn bradley]

Why would you want that?

I also often wish I had a VS on a few of my stationary sanders. It opens up the versatility of a given grit and widens the applicable use of your sander to things beyond those that a varying touch can provide. I couldn't find one in the style of machines I was looking for without going to an outboard solution like 3 phase and a VFD. I guess the VS was only a "nice to have" because I wasn't willing to fool with the VFD ;-)

[Rick Potter]

Like John says....cut down an old Mark 5 Shopsmith. The 6" belt accessory is actually a nice sander. I used one for years. The 12" disc is also a nice one, and you can move the disc in and out rather than trying to move the wood...handy for long pieces. You should be able to do the whole thing for less than $400 if you shop right, and don't forget, you could still do horizontal drilling for dowels.

Rick Potter

[Brian W Smith]

We cheat here.....got several(many),haha.....they run at different speed/belt grits.

But in the spirit of the discussion....And these are all belt's(verts/edge),not discs

#1VFD.....more to do with the motor than the VS.Meaning the VS is a benny,not the primary reason for 3 phase.

#2pulley size...we ran a 2 step pulley on one sander for years.Configured/engineered correctly and you can swap sp in under 10 esconds.

#3as above...get multiple machines,makes runnin different grits a whole lot easier(than changing belts)

Dust collection can be fine tuned with different belt speeds.Minor changes in belt sp don't matter too terribly much in the performance on the grind.Especially compared to...belt quality,sharpness,pressure.But it can in some cases make a rather noticeable improvement in dust pickup.We run custom dusthoods on most of our equipment,so overall hoody designs have been thoroughly tested/improved.The "rooster tail" of dust coming off big sanders can be tuned with speed.Seems to be more on edge sanders than verts?Good luck on your quest.

[Jim Eller]

WHY? The same reasons I have and use variable speed on my hand drills, drill press, palm sanders, rotary sanders, stationary belt sander, miter saw, routers, tracksaw and ........ Not sure about the Shopsmith idea, never had one.

[David Hawkins]

One very practical reason...

Pine dried in dehumidification kilns generally does not receive a "pitch setting" treatment during the drying process. Pitch Setting involves raising the temperature to about 190 degrees F for a day or so. This will "set" the resins in the wood so that sanding belts will clog less and last longer. By slowing down the belt you generate less heat and the unset pitch in dehumidification dried pine will take longer to "bake" onto your sandpaper making it easier to clean.