Belt sander recommendations, anyone ?? ??

[Bob Wingard]

My 35+ year old Craftsman 4X24 belt sander is finally giving up the ghost .. .. .. anyone have a strong preference/recommendations for or against any particular brand/model ?? ?? ?? I think I want to replace it with another 4X24, but if there is a good reason to do so, I could just as easily get by with a 3X21. I just happen to have a few dozen belts left over and would hate to have to get rid of them.

thanx-in-advance .. .. ..

[Jim Becker]

In the very, very rare occasion that I use a belt sander, I have a 3"x21" Bosch that works well. Easy to handle. But with the Rotex and a drum sander, the belt sander largely takes up space in the tool cabinet...those other tools are much easier to use.

[Jim Hager]

Sorta hard to beat the Porter Cable 3x21 belt sander that I have. I've looked at some of the others out there but I don't find anything I like better. I have never used the variable speed feature on mine however and doubt that it was worth the extra cost.

[Richard Wolf]

Unless you are doing alot of flat work,(table tops) I think the 3x21 is a better choice. Much easier to handle and alot lighter. You can still do flat work but I do alot of shaping with it.

Richard

[Ron Jones near Indy]

Porter Cable--'nuff said

[Don Frambach]

I have a Porter Cable 4x24 sander that has worked great on large flat surfaces. It's pretty heavy so I wouldn't want to sand vertical surfaces for very long. I've hooked up my Fein vacuum to its dust port which works real well. I have nothing to compare to except a POS Skill 3x18 that died a long time ago.

[Cecil Arnold]

I replaced a craftsman 3x?? with a Mikita, it's light has good dust collection and gets the job done.

[Mike Cutler]

I have a PC 3x21. It does what it is supposed to do.So I've got no complaints.
There was a post a few days back on a similar issue to this that may be worth a look. The thread starter was in a similar situation.

[egon reske]

I'm very happy with my Makita 3 x 21. Also works well when turned over and set on a bench for doing some types of work. Wore out one bottom plate/pad so far.

Egon

[Jeff Sudmeier]

Depending on the work you do, a 3x21 is a great machine! I have flattened larger tops with it as well as smaller shaping tasks. The 4x24's just get to heavy to use a weird angles and such... If you primarily want it for larger tables, go with the 4x24 :)

[Steve Cox]

I have a 3x21 Bosch that is pretty good. Light, compact, and good dust collection. One nice feature of it is that you can clamp it your face vise upside down for shaping small parts. I don't use it a lot for table tops and for that application you might want a 4 x 24 but otherwise this one works just fine.

[Wes Bischel]

I have the Bosch 3x21 as well. It works well and as mentioned is light enough for more "detailed" work. The one feature I hate - with a passion - is the high pitch scream it makes.

Wes

[Jim Schmoll]

Guess I must be the only one with a PC 3-(24) 30 plus years old with the same drive belt. I only would say to get a VS model.

Jim from Idyllwild CA

[jack duren]

if your use to a 4x24, no point in down sizing. as far as VS. no actual value.

Bosch and PC are pretty much the same....jack

[David Klug]

I know the feeling Bob. My C-man gave out so I picked up a PC, but like someone mentioned it is a heavy dude. I would have prefered a 3x21

DK

[Dev Emch]

I have to agree with Richard and Jim. I use a porter cable 3x21 and enjoy its lighter weight. The bigger you get, the heavier it becomes.

[Joseph N. Myers]

I have both the PC 3x21 and 4x24, and the 3x21 gets used most of the time.

On DC, PC sells an 11' hose for $21 to $24 that fits all their units with a dust collection port, i.e., belt sanders, 1/4 palm sander, circular saws, biscuit joiners, etc. Connects to a normal shop vac. Works well. (See picture).

On belts, I use the "box of belts" from Kingspor, www.woodworkingshop.com (http://www.woodworkingshop.com/), 800-228-0000. For $29, can get 36 belts for the 3"x21" or 30 belts for the 4"x24". Grits go from 36 to 320 and work great.

Of course, to get this "great" (on this and any sandpaper), one should use one of those "abrasive cleaning sticks" which cleans up the sandpaper and extends the life of the sandpaper 3 to 5 times (5 times for cheap sandpaper).

Regards, Joe

[John Callahan]

Another vote for PC........ I have both the 3x21 (352VS) and 4x24 (362VS). The 352 gets the most use. Ditto the comments about the dust collection hose and Klingspor belts. I'd consider changing to a graphite platen- belts will run cooler.