Belt sander ?

[Al Willits]

Beasty just asked me what I wanted for X-mas, advising her a drum sander would make me very happy, she repaeted her question again...
I'm figuring a drum sander ain't gonna be under our tree this year, so I was thinking of a belt sander.

I looked at the little Porter Cable 2.5"x14" and thought it was cute....but maybe just not enough for the basic hobbyist.

Not looking to redo hardwood floors or start a business with it, just something to sand with every now and then, something reasonable in price and weight, maybe a Dewalt, Bosch, PC or??

Just wondering, something like a 3"x18" do for most of what a hobbyist might need?
And any particular brand to look at or stay away from?
Thinking reconditioned even.

As usual the search feature just confused me.:)

tia

Al

[frank shic]

tell "beasty" that drum sanders are significantly discounted on craigslist and ebay and that you'll be able to produce much FINER quality work with one instead of a belt sander.

[Jim Becker]

I can count on one hand how many times I've used my 3'x21" Bosch belt sander (a very nice tool...) in the last, oh...five years...and three of those times were upside-down in the bench vise, not hand-held. They really are not used as often these days by woodworkers, frankly.

[Danny Thompson]

How about that Ridgid oscillating spindle/belt sander? My "lady" bought one for me last year.

[Bill White]

Gotta second the Ridgid. Got one last year, and it is a real plus for my shop. I can now offer all the drums I used to use in the drill press. Any takers?
Bill

[Bruce Page]

I can count on one hand how many times I've used my 3'x21" Bosch belt sander (a very nice tool...) in the last, oh...five years...and three of those times were upside-down in the bench vise, not hand-held. They really are not used as often these days by woodworkers, frankly.

The last time I used mine was putting a radius on some porch posts for my daughter - about 6 years ago. I know some people can flatten boards pretty good with them, though I'm not one of them.

[Bill Wyko]

Check out the Rikon for around 250 bucks. I like it because the disc on the side is lower than the belt sander. I've had one for around 2 years now and never a problem yet.

[Al Willits]

Well, I have the Ridgid belt sander and it works fine, bit hard to hold and use on pannels though....:)

Sorry guys, should have said portable hand held belt sander.
As much as I have eyes on a drum sander, it ain't gonna happen anytime soon, so a hand held version seemed like a good stopgap, at least till Beasty is convinced I need one or I get enough OT in to pad my stash fund, that'd be quite the padding for me...

Almost hate to ask but, Jim, what are people using instead of one of these sanders???

Al....who is NOT on a first name basis with his Festool dealer....:)

[aaron hero]

I bought a Ryobi 3X21 varable speed belt sander at one of those mobile tool sales for $40, I have to say it is a very well built sander, I have used it a lot in the last two years and it still looks and performs as new. It is one of the few tools built by Ryobi that is of good quality. I recently bought a Porter Cable 2.5 X 14" belt sander and it is really a handy tool. Super quality, light weight, powerfull. I can run it in one hand very easily.
I will use it a lot for the curved loudspeakers I build. The best $100 I spent this year.
On the other hand I have a Harbor Freight 9" disc 6" X 48" belt sander that I bought five years ago and would recomend it to anyone who doesnt mind having an HF machine in their shop. It is very well built and has performed perfectly for 5 years of HEAVY use. It looks just like it's Delta and Grizzly counterparts for less than half the price, I paid $169 for mine.

http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/displayitem.taf?Itemnumber=6852 Aaron

[glenn bradley]

I'm with Jim. Got one (because I asked) for Christmas about 3 years ago. I also would have a hard time getting off one hand while counting the times I've used it. In your defense, when I needed it, it was the perfect tool for the job. Glad I went with a $70 B&D 'Dragster' instead of paying $100 more. It has been a remarkably nice little tool with none of the usual B&D issues.

P.s. Use the money you save for wood.

[Michael Lutz]

I have a PC 3x21 belt sander. I don't use it often, but for my use the 2" one would work just fine. I have mainly used it to sand trim to scribe lines. For that use the 3x21 is way too heavy.

What do you want to do with it?

Mike

[Joe Mioux]

I can count on one hand how many times I've used my 3'x21" Bosch belt sander (a very nice tool...) in the last, oh...five years...and three of those times were upside-down in the bench vise, not hand-held. They really are not used as often these days by woodworkers, frankly.

Ditto


The last time I used mine was putting a radius on some porch posts for my daughter - about 6 years ago. I know some people can flatten boards pretty good with them, though I'm not one of them.


double Ditto!

[Al Willits]

""""""
""What do you want to do with it?
"""""""
Heavist I can think of would be to sand spots of wear on the hardwood floors we have, there's a few small spots that when we refinish them need to be sanded, nothing major though, maybe a couple sq foot total.

Basic stuff though would be doors for cabinets, bit of forming, rounding corners, not really sure what else, but there's gotta be more they can be used for....

If the little PC unit would work for all that, its on sale for under a $100, but I see reconditioned larger units for not much more, really trying to advoid the buying a too small unit though, did that with the 14" Delta bandsaw and for me that was a costly mistake.

Still trying to figure what you guys are using instead of one of these things????

Al

[Richard M. Wolfe]

I don't use a belt sander as much as I used to since getting a drum sander but they still see a good bit of use in what I do. I would second Aaron's motion on the 3.21 Ryobi. Although I have issues on durability (I've worn two out), it's very well designed. Interestingly, Ryobi made a 4x24 that was one of the the worst designs I've seen.

For versatility I would recommend getting one designed like the Ryobi or the Bosch I now have with the flat top. Build a holder for it out of scraps so it can be flipped on its back and it's very handy and quick to use for sanding small parts, etc.

I think you mentioned sanding floors. Whatever you sand make sure there's no old finish on it or you'll break the bank in sanding belts by gumming them up in seconds with stuff that may not come off even by soaking in cleaner and using a wire brush.

[Al Willits]

""""""""
I don't use a belt sander as much as I used to since getting a drum sander but they still see a good bit of use in what I do
"""""""""

Thanks, I realize a drum sander is what I should have, unfortunately I have other hobbies and not enough disposable income to just buy whatever I need, so the higher end stuff has to wait.
Buying the new fishing boat has made things tight for a few months, also.

So...gotta make due.

Bosch has a reconditioned variable speed unit (1274DVS-46) 3x21 for $129 that weighs about 7 pounds, and looks like it would mount upside down fairly easy, this might be the one.
Or, maybe a 3x18 :confused: :)

Thanks for the info on floors, I'd have gone though wayyyy more sandpaper if you hadn't mentioned removing the finish first.

Al

[Randal Stevenson]

I have a Craftsman (pawn shop special around the house projects), my father has a Craftsman, and I called around to a couple of friends.

Generally they all have the same opinions, while some of the belt sanders are a little nicer then others, the big thing they said was availability of belts. Here, for a portable one, 3x21 is the easiest to find. 4x36 for a standing unit and for a thin belt 1x42.

[David Weaver]

Well, I have the Ridgid belt sander and it works fine, bit hard to hold and use on pannels though....:)

Sorry guys, should have said portable hand held belt sander.
As much as I have eyes on a drum sander, it ain't gonna happen anytime soon, so a hand held version seemed like a good stopgap, at least till Beasty is convinced I need one or I get enough OT in to pad my stash fund, that'd be quite the padding for me...

Almost hate to ask but, Jim, what are people using instead of one of these sanders???

Al....who is NOT on a first name basis with his Festool dealer....:)

I'm not jim, but I also have a 4x24 PC belt sander that has spent its running lifetime upside down.

Unless you're doing serious panel leveling, a ROS with an aggressive orbit size is easier to use than a belt sander and harder to screw up the workpiece with (and capable of fine work). The moment I got a variable speed 6-inch PC ROS, the chance of the large belt sander being used on anything other than floors just totally evaporated.

The big PC belt sander is a locomotive, which is nice on floors, but not so nice for delicate work.

This part is beside the point, but I find that leveling that is above and beyond the scope of the ROS with big grit is faster and more precisely done with hand planes. The surface left behind is more pleasing, too.

[Al Willits]

""""""
Unless you're doing serious panel leveling, a ROS with an aggressive orbit size is easier to use than a belt sander and harder to screw up the workpiece with (and capable of fine work). The moment I got a variable speed 6-inch PC ROS, the chance of the large belt sander being used on anything other than floors just totally evaporated.
""""""""""

I find that interesting, in auto body work, a straight line sander will make much flatter pieces that a DA, also much easier.

Different strokes I guess.

I do notice nobodies offering to sell them belt sanders they never use anymore...:D

I also was not looking for a BIG sander, one of the smaller version is what I'm looking at.
That's why I looked at the little PC compact one first.
I also have a 5" RAS that works just fine, up to a point.

Al

[Neil Lamens]

Depends on your building style, I've gone through 2 and on my 3rd PC 3x21......great tool. Depends on the build you're doing. Right now I'm in a period where it isn't prominent.

A Belt Sander has its place in a Wood Shop.

[Jim Summers]

Check out the Rikon for around 250 bucks. I like it because the disc on the side is lower than the belt sander. I've had one for around 2 years now and never a problem yet.


Hi Bill,

What all can you do with it? I am just a home / hobbyist type and have always thought this would be a useful tool, but thought I would check and see what all can be done with it. Also a little space challenged. I currently have the standard hand sanders, random orbital, belt sander.

Thanks

[Steve Jenkins]

I have a 4x24 Makita that I have had for 15 years and use a lot. I use it for sanding the rails and stiles of doors to get the joints dead flush, edgebanding on panels to get them flush, solid stock to remove minor planer marks, and believe it or not I sand veneers with it to remove veneer tape and flush up edgebanding. Just a matter of LOTS of practice. I wouldn't be without it.
I find it is much more effective for flattening a surface than an orbital sander.
I like the heavy weight. No need to push down so it's easier to keep balanced. Just let it do the work.