Rick Potter
11-15-2013, 12:46 PM
I picked up a little PC portable belt sander a year or so ago. It's so small, I figured it was probably just a toy, but I might use it once in a while. Hey, it was on sale, so I bought it. Gotta keep up my tool junkie status, besides, I am getting to the point where I don't even get out my 4" one anymore because I can hardly lift it.
It has a 2 1/2" wide belt that is only 14" long total, so it is not good for flattening panels. I don't think the platen is over 4" long. What I have used it for is touching up corners, removing finish on old wood before running it through the drum sander, etc. That was until yesterday, when I was trying to install underlayment for a kitchen counter. It is a serving counter about 13" wide, going over 20' around an interior bay. The cabinets (17 separate units) were all in and square, but the pony (?) wall they attach to also carries one side of the counter. It is NOT straight and square.
I was lucky enough that up until the last of the six pieces of underlayment, it could be handled with shims. The last stretch of wall had one corner 1/8" too high. I tried using a chisel to knock it down, but it didn't work too well. With great trepidation I prepared to make a mess in the kitchen with the belt sander. Hoping to catch some of the dust, I set my $29 Costco shop vac on the counter and the hose fit the sander. It sanded the 8" of 2x4 in a very confined space just fine, only leaving about 1/8" next to the adjoining piece unsanded. This was easily finished with a chisel.
Now here is the best part. The shop vac caught all the dust. I could not find any at all. My old belt sander would have clouded the room. I am impressed.....tiny, but no toy.
Rick Potter
EDIT: OOPS, didn't see Henry Kramers post about this sander. Mine is the same.....371K.
It has a 2 1/2" wide belt that is only 14" long total, so it is not good for flattening panels. I don't think the platen is over 4" long. What I have used it for is touching up corners, removing finish on old wood before running it through the drum sander, etc. That was until yesterday, when I was trying to install underlayment for a kitchen counter. It is a serving counter about 13" wide, going over 20' around an interior bay. The cabinets (17 separate units) were all in and square, but the pony (?) wall they attach to also carries one side of the counter. It is NOT straight and square.
I was lucky enough that up until the last of the six pieces of underlayment, it could be handled with shims. The last stretch of wall had one corner 1/8" too high. I tried using a chisel to knock it down, but it didn't work too well. With great trepidation I prepared to make a mess in the kitchen with the belt sander. Hoping to catch some of the dust, I set my $29 Costco shop vac on the counter and the hose fit the sander. It sanded the 8" of 2x4 in a very confined space just fine, only leaving about 1/8" next to the adjoining piece unsanded. This was easily finished with a chisel.
Now here is the best part. The shop vac caught all the dust. I could not find any at all. My old belt sander would have clouded the room. I am impressed.....tiny, but no toy.
Rick Potter
EDIT: OOPS, didn't see Henry Kramers post about this sander. Mine is the same.....371K.