another sanding machine question...

[markus shaffer]

Since I have sanding woes on my mind, I thought I'd ask for opinions on oscillating spindle sanders. Having only used only small sanding drums on a drill press, the idea of an oscillating spindle sander seems a vast improvement. As with everything out there, the price range is pretty amazing. Those benchtop Clayton sanders are really expensive ($650-$750, whereas the 6" Jet can be had for about $320. The Delta BOSS is even less expensive. There has been more than one time I really wish I had something besides those small drums on my drill press. Once again, any opinions would be appreciated.

-markus

[Eric Apple - Central IN]

Since I have sanding woes on my mind, I thought I'd ask for opinions on oscillating spindle sanders. Having only used only small sanding drums on a drill press, the idea of an oscillating spindle sander seems a vast improvement. As with everything out there, the price range is pretty amazing. Those benchtop Clayton sanders are really expensive ($650-$750, whereas the 6" Jet can be had for about $320. The Delta BOSS is even less expensive. There has been more than one time I really wish I had something besides those small drums on my drill press. Once again, any opinions would be appreciated.

-markus

I have the Rigid spindle/edge sander. It works very well. I use the edge/belt much more then the spindle. The spindle excels only on inside curves. The belt works great on outside curves and flat edges. If this thing ever dies and isn't fixed under the warranty, I will probably look for an oscillating edge sander rather then spindle sander. YMMV... It totally depends upon what your are needing to sand.

[Steven Wilson]

I had the Ridgid OSS Belt/Disk unit and was not impressed with it's build quality or sanding quality. I never did find one that was square to the table (of course some bondo took care of that). Anyhow, I eventually sold it and bought a Grizzly 1071 OSS for around $500. It's a great floor standing OSS with a large cast iron table, decent motor, and has larger sanding sleves that the small benchtop units. It's a fantasic sander and has a permanent place in my shop

[Jim Becker]

Markus, I have the BOSS and have been very pleased with it. But if I were buying today, I'd probably opt for the Jet due to the tilting table--a number of times I could have used that feature. Both have cast iron tables, too.

[Lynn Sonier]

I picked up a sanding station at Harbor Freight for about $70. It has a 5 inch disc and a 4 x 40 belt. It works well.

[Kevin Gerstenecker]

Believe it or don't, the Ryobi Bench Top Spindle Sander just received a good review in Wood Magazine. If you aren't going to push it too hard, it should work OK for a $100.00 machine. I don't have the Ryobi Spindle Sander, but I wanted to pass along the information. Maybe not a bad investment for $100.00?