Porter Cable vs Ridgid Spindle sander

[Jerry Bittner]

Trying to make up my mind which sander to buy. The Ridgid combination spindle/belt sander seems like a good piece of equipment and was given a good rating by one of the sites I visited. Others I know prefer the BOSS.

What's the opinions out there?

[Chris Cobb]

I have the ridgid spindle sander - I like it. don't have much else to compare it against. I do like that I can put a belt on it if needed (easy change). I don't use it every day, so I don't know how well it would hold up against heavy use.

[Art Mann]

The Ridgid has been reviewed here many times. You will be hard pressed to find anyone who has said bad things about it. I have never heard anyone say anything bad about the BOSS either, but it lacks the very useful belt sander feature.

[scott spencer]

The Ridgid sander is new to me, and I've never tried the PC. Does the PC convert between belt and spindle like the Ridgid does?

[Dick Sylvan]

The Ridgid sander is new to me, and I've never tried the PC. Does the PC convert between belt and spindle like the Ridgid does?

I'm pretty sure only the Ridgid has the belt.

[William Addison]

You might also want to look at the G.I 15-220MI. I looked at all of them before I bought one and I still think it's the most robust of any of the small spindle sanders by a long way.

[Lori Kleinberg]

Happy Rigid spindle sander owner (never used any other)

[Peter Quinn]

Have the rigid, nice tool, good price. Got it for installs, use it in the shop! Boy I love that belt sander option. Do you have a drill press or shaper? Both make good spindel sanders. Wish the rigid had a little bit wider spindel but still great tool for cheap.

[Travis Gauger]

Another vote for the Ridgid. I have had it now for about 4 months have no complaints. For the price, you can't go wrong.

[Todd Hyman]

The Ridgid sander is new to me, and I've never tried the PC. Does the PC convert between belt and spindle like the Ridgid does?

No the PC does not convert to a belt sander.

[Peter Quadarella]

The belt is very very handy. Unless you already have a belt or disc sander for straight edge sanding, I'd say go with the Ridgid.

[NICK BARBOZA]

is the BOSS a PC or is it Delta? im getting confused....

[Glen Blanchard]

is the BOSS a PC or is it Delta? im getting confused....

I always thought it was a Delta. It was when I bought mine.

[Don Bullock]

I used the spindle and belt on my Rigid sander on the first project I used it on. The change, once I figured it all out, was quick and easy. I couldn't have done the same project with the PC.

[brad kellner]

i dont have a spindle sander yet, but i have bought a ton of ridgid tools and have been extreamly pleased with their quality. plus another thing to consider when making your purchase is the lifetime garuntee from ridgid. i dont know the warranty with delta/potercable but i do know ridgid has a great warranty that they back up 100 percent. so definetly figure in the piece of mind you will get from ridgid's warranty before buying.

[Steven Wilson]

The Ridgid has been reviewed here many times. You will be hard pressed to find anyone who has said bad things about it. Then you haven't looked too hard Art. I use to have one and at first it seemed to be a decent machine, then I noticed that the belt wouldn't sand square and that it has a very slight twist. I checked this against a few others at the Borg (thinking that mine was defective) and they all had the same problem. I quickly got rid of that machine and picked up the large Grizzly OSS which is a very good machine and much more useful than the Ridgid.

[Peter Quinn]

Should mention the rigid is not gonna do the work of a cast iron 4" OSS or a big table belt sander. Not that industrial or precise. Wouldnt try to fit inset doors on this thing or something. Just a nice solid little tool for rough fairing curves and scribing small parts. Real cute too.

[Art Mann]

Then you haven't looked too hard Art. I use to have one and at first it seemed to be a decent machine, then I noticed that the belt wouldn't sand square and that it has a very slight twist. I checked this against a few others at the Borg (thinking that mine was defective) and they all had the same problem. I quickly got rid of that machine and picked up the large Grizzly OSS which is a very good machine and much more useful than the Ridgid.

I said he would be hard pressed, I didn't say it would be impossible. All tool companies produce a bad one every now and then. I'm sorry yours turned out that way. My belt sander attachment doesn't have a twist and it sands square. Apparently, that has been the experience of a large majority of owners. You are taking your chances with any manufacturer, including Grizzly. I once bought a Shop Fox vise from Grizzly that was an absolute piece of junk that was broken when I received it, but others seem to like that model a lot. If the OP is as unlucky as you, then most likely it will be easy to run down to HD and return it. It is not so easy with Grizzly unless you live close to the warehouse showroom.

Peter makes a good point about the applicability of this unit. I would not purchase one for high volume heavy use work.

[Gary Muto]

I have the Ridgid and like it. The table has an tilt feature that's nice.
It's not heavy duty, but it comes with a lifetime guarantee.

[jason mowery]

I was really wanting a spindle sander for quite a while, but with all the projects around the house needing attention, and only so much money, I created a workable alternative for about $8. Provided you have a drill press, you can buy a rubber drum sanding gizmo at a good hardware store that you can chuck right into your drill press. Buy the corresponding sized sandpaper sleeves, and build a box out of plywood scraps that sits over the table of your drill press, with wooded cleats inside it to keep it from sliding to far down. Use a hole saw just larger than the diameter of your sanding drum, and lower and lock your drill press with the sanding drum into the whole in your homemade "sanding station" at the height that works for whatever you need sanded. No, it doesn't oscillate, but I've found it removes material plenty fast on pine, oak, walnut, and cherry. Just a thought...

[Gordon Harner]

Have you considered the pc 121 which is a portable sander? I built a table for mine for stationary use. The maximum sleeve size is 2" tho. I like the portability since I have a small shop. I also have sleeves up to 4" for my drill press and a belt/disc sander. I like the options since I don't have to break down a machine setup in mid project. The 121 is a strong tool.