12" Disc sander

[Rick Wize]

I have a need for a new toy for my shop (as we all do!) and am curious as to the groups opinions on 12" Disc sanders. I would like to upgrade my HF 10", somewhat "flimsy" disc sander to a 12" more heavy duty model. After alot of research, I continue to find very good responses (mostly on Amazon) in regards to the Jet 12" model 708433 JDS-12B.

But the model is $349 and more than I would like to pay. I have seen the shop fox similar model at my local woodworking store for $169. I have searched for comparisons on line between the Jet and Shop Fox (or a review of the shop fox) and have been unsuccesfull. I would like to use the sander for angle sanding on segmented wood turnings after building an appropriate sled for angle sanding. The Shop Fox looks fairly sturdy and I believe would handle the sled I am looking to build. One area I see lots of comments about is the disc runout on some of the less expnsive machines (i.e Grizzly) and I am concerned that if I am looking for pretty tight tolerances (on angles) the Shop fox might not be the best investment and I should just pay the $349 for the Jet. Anyone have any comments or first hand experience?

THX

[Robert McGowen]

I purchased the Jet 12" about 6 months ago just for doing segmented turning work. (off of Amazon also.) After having this one, I am not sure what I did without one before! A solid machine that does what it is supposed to do. Mine came with one 60 grit disc already mounted, so make sure you have a different grit ready if you need it. Also, make sure that you have a dust collector hooked up to it or it will get real dusty real fast. :)

As a side note, the one I received from Amazon had been dropped at some point during shipping and both of the cast iron feet on one side had snapped clean off. One 5 minute phone call later, I had a replacement on the way and a UPS return label printed off. The replacement actually got here before I could get the return back to Amazon. :)

[Ryan Lipski]

I picked up the Delta 12" while it was on sale at Rockler a couple weeks back. Well worth it. Little to vibration and works great.

http://www.rockler.com/product.cfm?page=5537

[Tim Marks]

As a side note, the one I received from Amazon had been dropped at some point during shipping and both of the cast iron feet on one side had snapped clean off.
Very common problem; you see the Jet sander with one or two missing feet being sold on ebay frequently for very cheap (probably vendor returns due to shipping damage).

[JayStPeter]

There was a Wood magazine review a couple years ago. I got the Jet after reading it. I don't think the SF was around at the time. Some of the sanders had Aluminum tables with strange sized miter slots. Some had wimpy stamped steel trunnions that hold the table angle and others were very easy to stall. I haven't seen the SF, but if it's the same as the Grizzly it might be afflicted with the odd sized miter slot. This simply means you can't use a different miter gauge than the one you get with it (some of which were plastic). When you are using it to make an angle exact, a wimpy miter gauge is a bummer. The miter gauge that came on the Jet is similar in quality to the one that came on my Unisaw. I have used multiple miter gauges at once to tweak various angles in the past. I occasionally use mine for metal work, so the cast iron table instead of the Al is a must. It's pretty sweet to be able to tweak a less than straight hacksaw cut.

Jay

[Todd Kinsfather]

The Jet 12" discs sander and sibling benchtop Jet Orbital spindle sander are one of the better designed and executed offerings in the Jet line. If you want a tilting table disc sander that isn't flimsy then it is a great choice. Other options that may be good are the Powermatic and General brand but I don't own them.

[Gene Waugh]

I also bought the Delta a few weeks ago when Rockler had them on sale. The Jet has a nicer table (bigger, miter slot perpindicular to the disc), but at $130 for the Delta, it was no contest!

Gene