Oscillating spindle sanders

[Curt Doles]

Hello,

I'm looking at picking up the Ridgid or Delta spindle sander. The Ridgid looks more appealing because of the tabled belt sander option.

Any suggestions out there?

Thanks,
Curt

[Kev Godwin]

Curt, I don't own the Ridgid unit you dicussed but use one fairly often when I'm working in my friend's shop when we're producing crafts for sale. I've been pleased with the performance and will likely get the same one for my shop when the need comes.

[Lance Norris]

The Delta receives bad reviews at Amazon because of plastic drive parts that dont hold up. I dont know if Delta has resolved this issue or not. People seem happy with the Ridgid and the Jet gets very good comments. Do you have a drill press? I do all my spindle sanding on it and ocassionally even drill some holes with it.

[Steve Campbell]

Curt I have had the Ridgid sander now for about quite a number of years now. I like it very well. I don't use the belt sander very much because I have three other belt sanders, but the spindle sander works out for me. The jet is very nice looking but it should for the price they get for it.
Unless you use it all day every day I think you will be happy with it.

Steve

[Peter Quinn]

I have the rigid and think its a great tool for the money. I have clamped it to a plywood auxilary table and sanded 10' arched window casings with that little guy! The belt sander works well too, changover is quick, dust collection is decent for an OSS.

I use the sandpaper sleeves from the delta because they are the same size and the braintrust at the borgs in my region decided they dont need to carry supplies for that tool!

Its not a big iron OSS in terms of performance but it does a nice job for what it is.

[Danny Thompson]

Ridgid: Got it. Love it.

I use the belt more than the spindles mostly to shorten tenons, dowels, etc., or to edge sand.

[Steve Mellott]

I use the Ridgid in a home workshop and have been very happy with it. If you have access to one of the Woodworking Shows, Ridgid sells rebuilt OSSs for $130. I think you can only buy the refurbished units at the woodworking shows.

[Cary Falk]

I have the Ridgid and love it also.

[Jim Becker]

I have the Delta BOSS OSS and it's been a good performer...I only wish for a tilting table like the Jet and others; otherwise, I'm happy. I also prefer the cast iron table on the Delta. But there are a great many folks who have been quite pleased with the Ridgid machine. Both are good choices.

[Lori Kleinberg]

Another Rigid owner and very happy with my purchase. I have a small hobby shop, and this tool more then meets my needs.

[Rick Thom]

I recommend the Ridgid. Look back a week or so for responses to this same question.

[Don Bullock]

I bought a Rigid in December and have used it as both a spindle and belt sander. I was very pleased with the results from both and switching was very easy. The table of the rigid does tilt down in the front which I found to be a useful feature. For me one of the selling points is that the sander has storage for all the different components in the machine. I don't have to remember where I put the belt when I need to use it instead of a spindle. My only frustration so far has been adjusting the belt sander the first time. Once I got it all figured out it was very easy to do. As with most tools these days the directions were less than adequate (but I must admit they provide them in a wide range of languages -- perhaps they're better in languages other than English).

[Rick Levine]

Another vote for the Jet table top model. I've had mine for more than 5 years and it has performed flawlessly. I even bought the 3" drum for it and with the tilting table and the mobile cart I built for it, it is quite versatile.

[John Newell]

Another positive vote for the Rigid. The whole arrangement, from storage to the various components used to set up various spindle sizes, is very effective and clever, and the sander itself does a great job.

[Jules Dominguez]

One more vote for the Ridgid. Note that it's not what you'd call commercial heavy duty construction, but it's sturdy enough for a general purpose home woodworking shop. It's well designed and user-friendly.
It's the only one I've owned, so I can't compare it to other models. I previously did my drum-sanding on the drill press.

[William Addison]

I'd recommend you try to take alook at the General 15220 M1. I think it's the most robust of the small spindle sanders and I'm very happy with mine.

[Andy Pratt]

Just got a ridgid, great tool for a great price, properly aligned right out of the box. Seems like the kind of tool that would cover all your bases for spindle/belt sanding unless you were doing a lot of production.

Andy

[Art Mulder]

I have the Delta BOSS OSS and it's been a good performer...I only wish for a tilting table like the Jet and others; otherwise, I'm happy. I also prefer the cast iron table on the Delta.

Jim, I recently helped out at a kids woodworking area at the Toronto woodshow.

We had a whole bunch of the Delta BOSS units. I also like the table, but it would be nice if it tilted. The sanding action was very good.

But the biggest problem with the Delta is that it does not have a spindle lock. This completely baffled us. I had to jam a screwdriver into the fan blades (under the sanding spindle) to try and brace the thing when I undo the nut on top for changing sanding sleeves. I once bent the fan blades trying to get a nut loose. It's a very poorly thought out design.

...art

[Jim Becker]

Art, I just hold onto the abrasive covered rubber sleeve while I loosen or tighten the nut...the rubber has enough grip on the shaft when I do that to allow things to work fine...especially if I squeeze a little. You should not need to use a lot of effort as the nut only needs to be tight enough to slightly compress the rubber drum so it grips the shaft. If it's really tight...it's way over tight.

[Don Dorn]

One more for the Ridgid - love mine and I've had it for about three years.

[Curt Doles]

Thanks for all the comments, I bought the Ridgid and used both the spindle and belt sanding options on a clock I'm building. It's a really nice tool.

I overlooked the fact that the belt sander oscilates as well. The first time I fired it up with the belt sander attached, I was pleasantly surprised.

And a lifetime warranty.

I understand the comments now about it not being "big iron".
It's that "right tool for the right job thing".

Thanks again!

Curt

[Don Bullock]

Great Carl. I'm glad that you like it. The oscillating belt is a great feature. You're right in saying that's it's not big iron, but that makes it really easy to move around the shop. Unlike most tools the Rigid sander is light enough to pick up and store on a shelf when it's not being used.