Porter Cable belt sander

[Herbert Wallace]

My Craps-man belt sander crapped out Fri. I was on a trip this weekend, I looked at 3 lowes and a HD for belt sanders. I wanted a Hitachi, But couldn't find one. I finally settled on the 3"x21" Porter cable. Anyone have an opinion on the PC before I take it out of the box? I'll take it back if I made a bad choice.

[Casey Gooding]

It's probably fine. I gave up my others when I got the 2.5"x14" (I think) small belt sander. It's compact and easy to hold. I got it when HD had them on clearance for $79. It was a steal!!!!!!!!!!

[Karl Brogger]

Porter Cable built good belt sanders. If the new ones haven't been bastardized like all their other products apparetly have been it should be good. The one I use for install is a 3x21 and it is unbelievably loud, but works well.


The 504 was an incredible belt sander, but isn't made anymore. I guess people don't like paying $800 for a worm gear driven, cast aluminum beltsander.

[Larry Edgerton]

Porter Cable built good belt sanders. If the new ones haven't been bastardized like all their other products apparetly have been it should be good. The one I use for install is a 3x21 and it is unbelievably loud, but works well.


The 504 was an incredible belt sander, but isn't made anymore. I guess people don't like paying $800 for a worm gear driven, cast aluminum beltsander.

I'll second that. I keep three or four 3x21 pcs around, I like the balance. I have a 3x24 "Whisper Series" or some such that is nice because it is quiet, but it is more of a flat only sander.

I have a 504 too, and once in a while I take it off the shelf in my office and play with it. They are durable, but the high center of gravity would take some getting used to. Still, its fun.....

[Gene Howe]

The PC is a good tool. I have the 4X24 and it's a great sander. The little one I use is a "Sand Cat". Had it for at least 15 yrs, use it almost every day. Never had a problem with it.

[John Callahan]

The 352VS is an excellent sander imho- great for horizontal surfaces because of it's weight ......... let the weight of the sander do the work. The weight and the swinging bag on mine does work against you if you have a lot of vertical work to do. Belts track well. Only question I'd have on the newest version is how to hook dust collection up to it. Older versions like mine have a metal tube between the sander and the bag- newest versions don't. PC's DC hose hooks up to the tube; not sure how thay do it on the new one's. Might be a question to ask PC. All in all if Iwere in the market for a 3x21 belt sander again, the 352VS would be my first choice. Too late now but you might consider a recon version next time. Mine saved me $50, looked as new, factory warranty.