1" belt sander

[Pete Staehling]

I have had my eye out for a vintage Delta Rockwell or possibly a Mead for a long time, but have had no luck. I have been living with a cheapie Harbor Freight and really wish i had my old Rockwell.
Anyway I have been thinking of giving up and buying something new. Anyone have experience with the one from Grainger? https://www.grainger.com/product/DAYTON-Belt-Grinder-2RYN6 "Belt Grinder, 1/2HP, 120/240, 5.0/2.5A, 1x42Item # 2RYN6 Mfr. Model # 2RYN6 Catalog Page # 2360 UNSPSC # 27112708"

[Matt Day]

I have a Mead. Curious what you use it for? Mine hasn’t got any use yet but it’s a keeper just for the coolness factor.

[John K Jordan]

I have had my eye out for a vintage Delta Rockwell or possibly a Mead for a long time, but have had no luck. I have been living with a cheapie Harbor Freight and really wish i had my old Rockwell.
Anyway I have been thinking of giving up and buying something new. Anyone have experience with the one from Grainger? https://www.grainger.com/product/DAYTON-Belt-Grinder-2RYN6 "Belt Grinder, 1/2HP, 120/240, 5.0/2.5A, 1x42Item # 2RYN6 Mfr. Model # 2RYN6 Catalog Page # 2360 UNSPSC # 27112708"

Sorry, no experience with that one, but I have several - a couple of small cheap Deltas and a Rikon.
https://www.rikontools.com/product/50-144
I use this one for metals and use their 6" belt, 10" disk sander for wood.

Rikon offers several 1" belt sanders and I haven't tried the others. I really like this one. I got it from Woodcraft, grabbed it when on sale.

JKJ

[Chuck Saunders]

I have a Kalamazoo, the 1x42 is great for sharpening drill bits as well as small shaping and deburring
Chuck

[Pete Staehling]

I have a Mead. Curious what you use it for? Mine hasn’t got any use yet but it’s a keeper just for the coolness factor.
A variety of small sharpening, shaping, and grinding tasks. Also it sees use with a leather belt and buffing compound

[Matt Day]

All good ideas. Thanks guys.

[Art Mann]

I bought one from Grizzly and I regret the purchase. It is the model H8192. The tool was cheaply made and the assembly instructions were written by someone who never touched the tool. It is not possible to assemble using the instructions they provide. Some of the parts are flimsy plastic where they should have been metal. The castings are crude and fit together poorly. I bought it on sale but do not recommend it at any price.

[Pete Staehling]

I bought one from Grizzly and I regret the purchase. It is the model H8192. The tool was cheaply made and the assembly instructions were written by someone who never touched the tool. It is not possible to assemble using the instructions they provide. Some of the parts are flimsy plastic where they should have been metal. The castings are crude and fit together poorly. I bought it on sale but do not recommend it at any price.
Good to know. I was also considering that one.

[Rod Sheridan]

I have this one.

https://www.vieltools.com/produit/ponceuse-rectifieuse-viel-s-5-m-542

Lee Valley sell it without a motor.................Works very well and has some attachments that can be purchased separately.........Rod.

[Jeff Heath]

I had a 1X42 Mead, and outgrew it's usefulness almost immediately. As Matt said, cool sander, but a 1" wide 42" long belt is short for sanding in any kind of use at all. The belts heat up quickly, and load up quickly, requiring frequent replacement, unless you're just sharpening pencils and popsicle sticks. I quickly discovered that I needed something better for grinding bevels, sharpening molding plane irons, shaping knives, and just general high speed grinding, and upgraded to a 2"X72". A little more expensive up front, but an excellent size for all uses, and something you should consider. The belts are last me probably 10 times longer, and that cost ads up fast. I bought a Oregon Blademaker version off the internet. American company with a cheap entry point around $500 2 years ago when I purchased it. I have since upgraded the belt grinder with many accessories, but it's a good starting point. I love mine. I outfitted it with a 2 hp 3 phase motor and VFD for infinite speed changes, and it's awesome.

Just some food for thought.

[Tom M King]

I've had a Kalamazoo in the golf club room for 15 years, and have no complaints with it. It's easy to change belts, and the Baldor motor has never stuttered.
It's never been used for anything woodworking related though.
https://www.kalamazooind.com/products/belt-sanders/1sm-1-x-42-inch-industrial-belt-sander/

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=47&v=PDeA9NnQsuk

[Scott Winners]

I too have a Kalamazoo. I got the 1x42, model 1SM I think. I read a ton of reviews, and then put off the purchase because I didn't want to spend that much. Then I needed a belt sander, again, and I read the reviews, again, and I was about to put off the purchase, again.

I happened to be at my local Harbor Freight equivalent and looking at something else when another customer asked if he could plug in the cheap one and turn it on. The manager let him, so the other guy plugged it in and hit the switch. I ordered the Kalamazoo with my phone from my truck in that store's parking lot.

I have absolutely no regrets. The Kalamazoo, for me, was the buy once cry once answer.

[Tom M King]

I bought mine used, off of a golf internet forums. It had been used in a pro shop, for I don't know how many years, and after my 15, or more, years of use, it still runs like a new one.

Mark on the inside of the belts what they are. I bought one of each from Lee Valley, to try, and it's been long enough ago that I now don't remember which is which.

[Orlando Gonzalez]

I have the same one as Rod has the Viel S-5-M with the motor that I got from Viel years ago. It has the accessories for sharpening woodworking tools and you can make your own as well. I was looking at the Kalamazoo 1x42, which is a great tool, but I didn't see any accessories that would be used for sharpening woodworking tools.

You can find the Viel here https://www.elitetools.ca/en/brand/viel-tools/ Theya re a Canadian firm. Her's their shipping poliocy https://www.elitetools.ca/en/shipping-policy/

[Pete Staehling]

Thanks for the suggestions and comments. Good food for thought.

The Jet and similar are a much higher quality version with a similar form factor as my current cheapie. I generally like Jet products. OTOH I am not crazy about the small platen on it and similar machines and don't really want a disk sander feature on my belt sander/grinder. The disk isn't a big deal breaker, but isn't a plus. I have generally just not found that form factor ideal.

The Dayton is probably close to as much as i want to spend on a 1x42 belt sander unless it is pretty special. I might sink more in time and money into restoring one like my old Rockwell in part because of a (stupid?) sentimental attachment to the design.

The 1x42 models will do most if not all of what I want it to do at this time, but i have lusted after a 2x72 at times. So if I were to start thinking of spending much more i'd be looking at those. The thing is that I would have to give up more bench space to accommodate it and bench space is kind of tight.

All of this is why I have not pulled the trigger on a nice solution yet. There just isn't one answer that seems to be the right one. If a nice Rockwell that needed a little love were to show up I'd buy it in a heartbeat though. I think I'll probably continue to mull it over while watching craigslist for said Rockwell.

[John K Jordan]

All of this is why I have not pulled the trigger on a nice solution yet. There just isn't one answer that seems to be the right one.

Ha, been there! I hate to admit it but I have on occasion solved the dilemma by buying more than one of some tool. [head hung in shame]

JKJ

[Rick Potter]

Where do you live, Pete. I have a Rockwell that I bought 20 years ago, and never did. It has the usual problem, though. Two of the wheels have chunks of the tires broken out. There are ways to fix it, but I doubt I will ever get to it.

It runs fine, and I have tried using it without fixing the wheels, but that didn't work.

[Pete Staehling]

Where do you live, Pete. I have a Rockwell that I bought 20 years ago, and never did. It has the usual problem, though. Two of the wheels have chunks of the tires broken out. There are ways to fix it, but I doubt I will ever get to it.

It runs fine, and I have tried using it without fixing the wheels, but that didn't work.
I am in Tallahassee
I think there is a guy who sell wheels. I made a wooden one for my Harbor Freight cheapie that works okay.

[Gene Takae]

I have an old Delta 1x30 and sometimes wish it had variable speed. Rikon now makes them with variable speed.

[Pete Staehling]

I have an old Delta 1x30 and sometimes wish it had variable speed. Rikon now makes them with variable speed.
I can see that being a nice feature and something that could be added if you really wanted to.

[Ted Phillips]

You might consider getting a 2" wide machine. This way, you can run either 1" or 2" wide belts depending on the task.

TedP