I've put off getting a benchtop belt sander for some time but really
cannot rely on my ancient hand belt sander or 1" dremel sander
anymore. I'm leaning towards belt/disc for versitality but may go belt
only if those exceed my budget. Recommendations? Hoping to stay under
$100 if possible but will consider up to $200.

In article ,
says...

I've put off getting a benchtop belt sander for some time but really
cannot rely on my ancient hand belt sander or 1" dremel sander
anymore. I'm leaning towards belt/disc for versitality but may go belt
only if those exceed my budget. Recommendations? Hoping to stay under
$100 if possible but will consider up to $200.

There are several varieties of benchtop belt sander that are intended
for different purposes. Could you say a little bit about what you plan
to do with it?

Casper writes:
I've put off getting a benchtop belt sander for some time but really
cannot rely on my ancient hand belt sander or 1" dremel sander
anymore. I'm leaning towards belt/disc for versitality but may go belt
only if those exceed my budget. Recommendations? Hoping to stay under
$100 if possible but will consider up to $200.

I have an old reliant brand (from Post Tools) 6" belt, 9" disc sander
that sits on a bench (came with a short sheetmetal stand[*]). I haven't
found the belt part of it particularly useful, however. I occasionally
will use it as a grinder substitute when cleaning a badly chipped plane
blade or chisel, but haven't found it particularly useful for wood. Bought
for $179 in 1995.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthre...lt-Disc-Sander

Looks just like this:

http://www.harborfreight.com/6-inch-...nder-6852.html
[*] Repurposed to support a General International bench mortiser after adding
castors to the stand and raising it by 12"

On 11/6/2015 12:35 PM, Casper wrote:
I've put off getting a benchtop belt sander for some time but really
cannot rely on my ancient hand belt sander or 1" dremel sander
anymore. I'm leaning towards belt/disc for versitality but may go belt
only if those exceed my budget. Recommendations? Hoping to stay under
$100 if possible but will consider up to $200.


Specifically what do you want to do with it. What size parts or job?

None that I have seen are impressive, IMHO. I have one with a 6" disk
and 4x42 inch belt. I am not sure exactly where it is.

The small disk sander is good for light work. I have a dedicated 12"
disk sander for heavier type work. The belt tends to bump with every
revolution as the splice passes underneath. I'm sure this is a belt
issue but every belt that I have bought does this. I would hope that
larger belt machines would have a better belt available.

ANYWAY, most likely all of these small type combo machines will be of
very similar quality and meant for light sanding.

Casper wrote:
I've put off getting a benchtop belt sander for some time but really
cannot rely on my ancient hand belt sander or 1" dremel sander
anymore. I'm leaning towards belt/disc for versitality but may go belt
only if those exceed my budget. Recommendations? Hoping to stay under
$100 if possible but will consider up to $200.

It is a good plan to get one with a dust collection fitting. Those
things can make a lot of dust. I have a Delta which I have had for
years and use it all the time. The disk is aluminum and the set screw
will not stay tight, but otherwise it is handy. Belt change is a snap
but it has a peel and stick disk which I dislike.

--
GW Ross

Tact: making a point without making an
enemy.

Casper wrote:
I've put off getting a benchtop belt sander for some time but really
cannot rely on my ancient hand belt sander or 1" dremel sander
anymore. I'm leaning towards belt/disc for versitality but may go belt
only if those exceed my budget. Recommendations? Hoping to stay under
$100 if possible but will consider up to $200.
I was looking at this one. It seems like the best deal in its class
(one from Sears for instance looks the same at a higher price). You can
also get it for 11% off periodically, and it was on sale last December
(Christmas sale) for $179.

http://www.menards.com/main/p-144444...75687468401619

Bill

On 11/6/2015 2:53 PM, Bill wrote:
Casper wrote:
I've put off getting a benchtop belt sander for some time but really
cannot rely on my ancient hand belt sander or 1" dremel sander
anymore. I'm leaning towards belt/disc for versitality but may go belt
only if those exceed my budget. Recommendations? Hoping to stay under
$100 if possible but will consider up to $200.
I was looking at this one. It seems like the best deal in its class
(one from Sears for instance looks the same at a higher price). You can
also get it for 11% off periodically, and it was on sale last December
(Christmas sale) for $179.

http://www.menards.com/main/p-144444...75687468401619


Bill



A little smaller and with more power,

http://www.grizzly.com/products/4-x-...h-6-Disc/G0787

or if you are going to do quite a bit of sanding, bigger might be better.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Comb...-Series/G1014Z

Leon wrote:
On 11/6/2015 2:53 PM, Bill wrote:
Casper wrote:
I've put off getting a benchtop belt sander for some time but really
cannot rely on my ancient hand belt sander or 1" dremel sander
anymore. I'm leaning towards belt/disc for versitality but may go belt
only if those exceed my budget. Recommendations? Hoping to stay under
$100 if possible but will consider up to $200.
I was looking at this one. It seems like the best deal in its class
(one from Sears for instance looks the same at a higher price). You can
also get it for 11% off periodically, and it was on sale last December
(Christmas sale) for $179.

http://www.menards.com/main/p-144444...75687468401619



Bill



A little smaller and with more power,

http://www.grizzly.com/products/4-x-...h-6-Disc/G0787


or if you are going to do quite a bit of sanding, bigger might be better.

http://www.grizzly.com/products/Comb...-Series/G1014Z




Yes, at closer to $500, the Jet 12" disk sander makes the others look
way-overpriced (I've run my fingers accrossed the cast iron...a
comparably huge table too...). . It's like comparing Bessey clamps to
those from Harbor Freight... That said, I don't need one yet. I'm sure
if I had a Grizzly store nearby, I'd have more machines!

Casper wrote:
I've put off getting a benchtop belt sander for some time but really
cannot rely on my ancient hand belt sander or 1" dremel sander
anymore. I'm leaning towards belt/disc for versitality but may go belt
only if those exceed my budget. Recommendations? Hoping to stay under
$100 if possible but will consider up to $200.

What size do you want and what do you want to use it for? You won't get much
for $100, even $200.

I have a 9"/6" disk/belt combo. I use the disk with some frequency but
rarely the belt. And when I do use the belt, I am generally using the idler
to sand a concave curve.

Some things to consider...

1. Get something with a good, solid table. Preferably cast iron and
attached in such a way that there is NO deflection. Decent miter gauge too.

2. For the disk, slower (1750 rpm) speeds are better . I never use anything
finer than #80 grit on it but I still have to be careful not to burn the
stock (it is 3500 rpm). Grizzly has a 12" disk sander in your price range,
speed is right but table is aluminum. I could live with that and if I had
it to do over I'd spring for the largest disk (no belt) I could afford.
http://www.grizzly.com/products/12-Disc-Sander/G7297

They have other sanders in your price range too, I have always found their
tools to be decent value for the money.
http://www.grizzly.com/search?sq=disk+sander

On 11/6/2015 1:35 PM, Casper wrote:
I've put off getting a benchtop belt sander for some time but really
cannot rely on my ancient hand belt sander or 1" dremel sander
anymore. I'm leaning towards belt/disc for versitality but may go belt
only if those exceed my budget. Recommendations? Hoping to stay under
$100 if possible but will consider up to $200.


At $100 you won't even find much at ToysR'Us

For double that you can get this.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-Os...4424/100061671

Decent for the money, I've found it to be adequate for my needs. It has
dust collection and is easily changed from belt to spindle and back.

On Fri, 06 Nov 2015 18:33:03 -0500, Ed Pawlowski wrote:

At $100 you won't even find much at ToysR'Us

For double that you can get this.
http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-Os...pindle-Sander-
EB4424/100061671

Agreed. I like mine. The spindle is of more use to me than a disk would
be. And if you really need a disk, I like the one that mounts on my
tablesaw. One with a tapered disk.

Casper wrote in
:

I've put off getting a benchtop belt sander for some time but really
cannot rely on my ancient hand belt sander or 1" dremel sander
anymore. I'm leaning towards belt/disc for versitality but may go belt
only if those exceed my budget. Recommendations? Hoping to stay under
$100 if possible but will consider up to $200.

I have a Delta, 4xsomething belt and 6" disk, dates to the
early 90's. This model used to be exceedingly common as it
was sold by Home Depot et al.

I use it extremely rarely. The disk is somewhat more useful
than the belt, since you can fine tune miters and the like,
but you can do that with a block plane just as easily. It
does generate vast amounts of sanding dust which get all
over everything.

*If* you were set on getting a stationary sander, I'd say
bigger is better, especially the disk, and effective dust
collection is essential.

However, my reccomendation would be to kill two birds with
one stone, and replace the ancient hand-held with a newer
model that can be clamped upside down on the workbench in
the rare cases a stationary sander is needed.

John

I've put off getting a benchtop belt sander for some time but really
cannot rely on my ancient hand belt sander or 1" dremel sander
anymore. I'm leaning towards belt/disc for versitality but may go belt
only if those exceed my budget. Recommendations? Hoping to stay under
$100 if possible but will consider up to $200.

To be used mostly on projects that require lots of sanding or edge
treatment. Scroll saw or handcarved pieces. Used on multiple things
like smoothing and rounding edges, small to medium (less then 12"
square) pieces and rounding certain handcarved edges.

The 1" Dremel I currently have is ok for small things but not great.
I've thought about replacing the belt with leather and using it to
hone my carving knives. I know carvers that use the HF 1" belt unit.

I tried an oscillating sander on a scroll saw piece and found it too
aggressive. I can see where is it useful for curves but not so much
for straight lines.

To make simple frames for my work I thought an belt/disc sander would
work keep things flatter. Also I could swap out the belt and touch up
my knives when neeeded.

I would love to have a floor unit but I do not have the room. Ergo my
looking into benchtop units. I need a versatile sander that isn't huge
in size or price.

Thanks for all the input so far!

"Casper" wrote:

I've put off getting a benchtop belt sander for some time but
really
cannot rely on my ancient hand belt sander or 1" dremel sander
anymore. I'm leaning towards belt/disc for versitality but may go
belt
only if those exceed my budget. Recommendations? Hoping to stay
under
$100 if possible but will consider up to $200.

To be used mostly on projects that require lots of sanding or edge
treatment. Scroll saw or handcarved pieces. Used on multiple things
like smoothing and rounding edges, small to medium (less then 12"
square) pieces and rounding certain handcarved edges.

The 1" Dremel I currently have is ok for small things but not great.
I've thought about replacing the belt with leather and using it to
hone my carving knives. I know carvers that use the HF 1" belt unit.

I tried an oscillating sander on a scroll saw piece and found it too
aggressive. I can see where is it useful for curves but not so much
for straight lines.

To make simple frames for my work I thought an belt/disc sander
would
work keep things flatter. Also I could swap out the belt and touch
up
my knives when neeeded.

I would love to have a floor unit but I do not have the room. Ergo
my
looking into benchtop units. I need a versatile sander that isn't
huge
in size or price.

Thanks for all the input so far!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have always found these combo disk/belt sanders to be total losers.

OTOH, a spindle sander is most useful.

The combo unit from HD for $199 looks like a winner for the $.

I made a 12" disk sander and got a lot of use out of it. The belt
sander
combo was my personal loser.

Lew

In article m,
says...

"Casper" wrote:

I've put off getting a benchtop belt sander for some time but
really
cannot rely on my ancient hand belt sander or 1" dremel sander
anymore. I'm leaning towards belt/disc for versitality but may go
belt
only if those exceed my budget. Recommendations? Hoping to stay
under
$100 if possible but will consider up to $200.

To be used mostly on projects that require lots of sanding or edge
treatment. Scroll saw or handcarved pieces. Used on multiple things
like smoothing and rounding edges, small to medium (less then 12"
square) pieces and rounding certain handcarved edges.

The 1" Dremel I currently have is ok for small things but not great.
I've thought about replacing the belt with leather and using it to
hone my carving knives. I know carvers that use the HF 1" belt unit.

I tried an oscillating sander on a scroll saw piece and found it too
aggressive. I can see where is it useful for curves but not so much
for straight lines.

To make simple frames for my work I thought an belt/disc sander
would
work keep things flatter. Also I could swap out the belt and touch
up
my knives when neeeded.

I would love to have a floor unit but I do not have the room. Ergo
my
looking into benchtop units. I need a versatile sander that isn't
huge
in size or price.

Thanks for all the input so far!
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I have always found these combo disk/belt sanders to be total losers.

OTOH, a spindle sander is most useful.

The combo unit from HD for $199 looks like a winner for the $.

I made a 12" disk sander and got a lot of use out of it. The belt
sander
combo was my personal loser.

Lew

If you're talking about the Ridgid combo belt/spindle oscillating
sander, it works quite nicely. Might need some fiddling to get the
platen flat--they use some special sticky tape as shims behind it and
sometimes it's not quite shimmed right. As it comes sanding is quite
aggressive, but it can be tamed quite easily--Klingspor has belts up to
600 grit and McMaster has sleeves up to 320.

:

-------------------------------------------------------------------------- I have always found these combo disk/belt sanders to be totallosers. OTOH, a spindle sander is most useful. The combo unit from HD for $199 looks like a winner for the $. I made a 12" disk sander and got a lot of use out of it. The belt sander combo was my personal loser. Lew----------------------------------------------------------------"J. Clarke" wrote: If you're talking about the Ridgid combo belt/spindle oscillating sander, it works quite nicely. Might need some fiddling to get the platen flat--they use some special sticky tape as shims behind itand sometimes it's not quite shimmed right. As it comes sanding isquite aggressive, but it can be tamed quite easily--Klingspor has belts upto 600 grit and McMaster has sleeves up to 320.-------------------------------------------------------------That's the one.Lew

Casper wrote:
I've put off getting a benchtop belt sander for some time but really
cannot rely on my ancient hand belt sander or 1" dremel sander
anymore. I'm leaning towards belt/disc for versitality but may go belt
only if those exceed my budget. Recommendations? Hoping to stay under
$100 if possible but will consider up to $200.

I saw this unit at Lowes this morning, on sale for $159 (instead of
$179, I think)
It is 4"x8". In comparison, the 6"x9" unit from Menards is 7.5 Amps,
instead of 5.
But to it's credit, the Porter Cable at Lowes had more metal parts AND
*2* tables/fences.


PORTER-CABLE 5-Amp Benchtop Sander


ORTER-CABLE 5-Amp Benchtop Sander

"Casper" wrote in message
...

I've put off getting a benchtop belt sander for some time but really
cannot rely on my ancient hand belt sander or 1" dremel sander
anymore. I'm leaning towards belt/disc for versitality but may go belt
only if those exceed my budget. Recommendations? Hoping to stay under
$100 if possible but will consider up to $200.

This recommendation will likely be unlike anything else you'll read here,
but I'd suggest that you look around on eBay and try to find a good used
Bosch 1274DVS 3x21 belt sander. Here's an extremely old Rockler link that
talks about it:
http://www.rockler.com/how-to/boschs...ionary-sander/

It's no longer offered new but you can occasionally find a good used one on
eBay, as I did. The thing that makes it really useful is that in addition to
its normal use as a hand-held sander it's designed to be mounted temporarily
on a bench either belt-up or belt-vertical. It takes me no more than a
couple minutes to mount mine on my bench in either orientation, and it gives
me most of the utility of a stationary sander. If you can find a full kit on
eBay you'll get most of the attachments you need to set it up this way, and
other attachments can also be found on eBay without too much difficulty.

Tom

This recommendation will likely be unlike anything else you'll read here,
but I'd suggest that you look around on eBay and try to find a good used
Bosch 1274DVS 3x21 belt sander. Here's an extremely old Rockler link that
talks about it:
http://www.rockler.com/how-to/boschs...ionary-sander/

I didn't find the sander on eBay but I did find this...
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bosch-Stand-...AMXQigBSMuC 2

It's no longer offered new but you can occasionally find a good used one on
eBay, as I did. The thing that makes it really useful is that in addition to
its normal use as a hand-held sander it's designed to be mounted temporarily
on a bench either belt-up or belt-vertical. It takes me no more than a
couple minutes to mount mine on my bench in either orientation, and it gives
me most of the utility of a stationary sander. If you can find a full kit on
eBay you'll get most of the attachments you need to set it up this way, and
other attachments can also be found on eBay without too much difficulty.
Tom

What about this one?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bosch-1273DV...AOSwo6lWPla m

On Sun, 08 Nov 2015 12:22:11 -0500
Casper wrote:

What about this one?

i do not know about belt sanders but my bosch jigsaw is pretty nice

what ever you get it will be interesting to know your experience with it
i have been thinking about getting a belt sander

On Sunday, November 8, 2015 at 11:22:24 AM UTC-6, Casper wrote:

What about this one?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bosch-1273DV...AOSwo6lWPla m

$215 for a used sander is too much.... probably no warranty, either.

Just so happens, my (purchased 5-20-77 for $80.15 - I still have the reciept) Craftsman 4" belt sander started making worn bearing-type noises, tonight. I'm hoping it's just bad brushes and hope I can find replacements. This sander has really been a workhorse, over the years. All parts are no longer available.

Another item to write Santa about.

Sonny

On Saturday, November 14, 2015 at 10:02:13 PM UTC-6, Sonny wrote:
On Sunday, November 8, 2015 at 11:22:24 AM UTC-6, Casper wrote:

What about this one?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bosch-1273DV...AOSwo6lWPla m

$215 for a used sander is too much.... probably no warranty, either.


For the above, add $57 for 2 yrs warranty on top of the $50 shipping.

A new Porter Cable with 3 yrs warranty is $239, free shipping.
http://bestreviews.com/5-best-belt-sanders

Sonny

Sonny wrote:
On Saturday, November 14, 2015 at 10:02:13 PM UTC-6, Sonny wrote:
On Sunday, November 8, 2015 at 11:22:24 AM UTC-6, Casper wrote:

What about this one?
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bosch-1273DV...AOSwo6lWPla m

$215 for a used sander is too much.... probably no warranty, either.


For the above, add $57 for 2 yrs warranty on top of the $50 shipping.

A new Porter Cable with 3 yrs warranty is $239, free shipping.
http://bestreviews.com/5-best-belt-sanders

Sonny

I have a PC bought 10 years ago. It is built like a tank. I think it
was designed for racing.

--
GW Ross

Do you realize that if it weren't for
Edison we'd be watching TV by candlelight?