Hi all -
I'm in the process of planning my shop... that is SWMBO has told me
to stop thinking about the tools I want and just go get them. Whee!

Just for a little background, my dad had a pretty full shop he used to
build all the cabinets in a couple of our houses. I of course, being an
unruly teen didn't pay as much attention as I should have, but I did
learn some...

About the only thing he didn't have was a typical belt/disc/spindle
sander, but then he mostly made cabinets. He had a homebuilt "thing"
that had a disc sander on it and all kinds of other odds and ends that
spun...

Anyway...

I understand why you'd want a spindle sander completely. No issues
there.

I also understand (via Norm) how a 4' wide belt sander could come in
handy.

I'm a little unsure about why you'd choose a 12" disc vs a 8" vertical
belt sander. Seems like you could accomplish the same thing with either
tool, no? Perhaps sharpening various tools is easier on the belt?

And wouldn't the disc have the advantage that as you moved closer to the
center you're slowing down the RPM's if that's what you need for the
task at hand?

This all arises from looking at the ridgid belt/spindle combo and
wondering why I'd want a *short* horizontal belt sander since it seems
like if I was trying to round over the end of a say 2" wide board, the fact
that it was horizontal would make things difficult as it would
constantly be trying to "pull" the wood sideways.

So... with all that in mind, when would you pick a vertical belt sander
instead of a disc or vice versa? And when would you want a horizontal
sander (that isn't "norm-size")?

Thanks!

-philip