The Letterville BullBoard: Tool-Time Series

This is topic Tool-Time Series - Belt Sanders in forum Old Archives at The Letterville BullBoard.

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Posted by Janette Balogh (Member # 192) on :

While at Home Depot, looking over a sea of Belt Sanders, I asked the salesman what he recommended.
Without hesitation he eagerly picked up the Porter Cable and started singing it's praises.
This thing was a beast, and truly looked like the "cadillac" of all Belt sanders. As the guy raved, I stood there thinking about how tired I was gonna be just holding this thing! (hahaha… just call me "Helga")
Anyway, upon hearing the price I almost dropped that baby! I walked in there figuring about … uh say, $50 bux for a belt sander. Imagine my astonishment at $179…… holy cow, I had no idea!

Needless to say, that was the day I turned my attention onto jigsaws and walked away with the Bosche.
Thought I'd leave the belt sander decision for another day.

What's your experience and suggestions here?

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"When Love and Skill Work Together ... Expect a Masterpiece"

Janette Balogh
Sign Studio
in Sunny Florida
jbalogh@earthlink.net

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Posted by Bruce Bowers (Member # 892) on :

hey nettie...

we have a makita 3" belt sander. we have had it for about 6 years now it still is going strong.

we also have a small porter-cable sander. we have had it for about 8 years and it has no signs of giving up yet.

have a great one!

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Bruce Bowers
DrCAS
Signtech

"how great are His signs..."
Daniel 4:3

i am a proud supporter of this website!

Posted by cheryl bianchi on :

Hey Nettie! I love my Makita tools. Actually I just plain love tools. Instead of perfume and dresses for gifts, I would get sanders, drills and hammers!! I always carry them in my car. I love my tools...........! Great idea for a topic.

Cheryl "surf"
signs and lines by Cheryl
Seattle
supersurf@worldnet.att.net

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Posted by Brad Ferguson (Member # 33) on :

quote:
Actually I just plain love tools

Gosh. And she's pretty, and she can cook,too!

The belt sander is one of my favorite tools.
My first job was at a countertop shop in 1973 as a helper. This is where I learned what a belt sander was capable of. They had several Rockwells (now Porter-Cable?), all 4x24's with metal housings, beastly heavy. Upon getting used to those, though, everything else after that didn't seem so bad, weightwise.

I like the Makita belt sanders except for one thing. I bought one once and when I got it home I realized I could not sand right up close to a vertical object. It was a 3x24, and the belt did not line up flush with outer edge of the platen, that flat shoe on the bottom that's between the wheels. It made me think that they took a 4x24 and just modified it to accept the narrower 3" belts, but kept the same housing. I took it back. For that much money I wanted complete happiness. The same size Milwaukee was better designed for flush sanding but twenty dollars more.

Just a thought on belt size. A three inch belt just doesn't do the work like a four inch. You wouldn't think one inch would make all that much difference, but I find that it does. Not only does it remove material more quickly, but it stabilizes the sander better, so there's not as much of a tendency to gouge. It took some getting used to for me to use 3x21's after having learned on 4x24's. But that's all I could afford.

What I have currently is an older 3x24 Craftsman (aluminum housing) that I found at a pawn shop for 35 dollars. I got lucky. All it needed was a switch, and it works great. I wouldn't call it a heavy sander, but a medium-heavy. It's a cruiser, not a battleship. When I need a battleship, I go to the rental place and use their 4x24 Bosch. I have to 'cling and jerk' to pick it up, but IT CAN EAT.
I also have a light belt sander, 3x18. It is a cheapie Wal Mart version, but it is very useful. If you don't need heavy stock removal, you get belt sander speed without gouging, because it's lightweight. You can't push it too hard, though, or the belt just slips.
A nice feature in a belt sander is an access plug or cover to get at the brushes without opening up the whole case.

Good source for belts:
Klingspor. These are industrial grade. They last much longer than many hardware store brands. 29 dollars for a box of 30, assorted grits, or 19.95 for a box of 20.

Tip: Buy one of those chunks of abrasive belt cleaning stuff. Just hold it against the belt with the sander running. It makes a clogged belt last longer.

Brad in Arkansas

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signbrad@cswnet.com

Posted by VICTORGEORGIOU (Member # 474) on :

Nettie, when we started ten years ago, we bought home quality power tools at the local Sears store. We found out quickly what every professional power tool user already knows - you get what you pay for. As the first round of tools burned out, we gritted our teeth, spent the bucks, and bought the best that we could afford. Everything here is Porter Cable or Makita or Bosche. They run quieter,have more power which usually translates to working faster and they rarely break. When they do break, one call to the local tool supply house gets a repair part on the way and you are back in business.

If weight is an issue, then go ahead and buy the lighter tool. It will do the job, you will just be replacing it from time to time.

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Victor Georgiou
Bob Loves Signs
Danville, CA
email blssigns@verio.com

Posted by Bruce Bowers (Member # 892) on :

brad,

i believe rockwell became delta power tools. we have a delta table saw. i like it.

have a great one!

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Bruce Bowers
DrCAS
Signtech

"how great are His signs..."
Daniel 4:3

i am a proud supporter of this website!

Posted by Darryl Gomes (Member # 98) on :

I have one of those Makita 3" belt sanders.. I noticed the same thing about not sanding fluch up to the edge.. I put a 4" belt on it and have used it like that ever since.. Been running a 4" belt for 3 years now and the sander is showing no signs of excessive wear from the bigger belt... I love those Makita tools too!

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Darryl Gomes...aka Lakeside
Kincardine Ontario Canada
www.primeline.net/lakeside

Posted by David Fisher (Member # 107) on :

Gday Nettie,
I used to sing the praises of Makita till I bought a couple of their cordless drills.
I still think they make some good gear but if I buy anything now it is Hitachi.
The ease of use is generally on par but Hitachi seem to put a little more thought into some things, such as 2 rails on the compound mitre saw, a better dust extractor on the sander and a lot of other little things you only experience from using a lot of different brands.
But like everyone else has said, you get what you pay for.
Now, I wonder if I could fit that big block onto my router...
Enjoy,
David

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D.A. & P.M. Fisher Signwriting
Brisbane Australia
da_pmf@yahoo.com

Posted by Rick Sacks (Member # 379) on :

Of our 4x24 sanders, we have a Sears, that I'd love to see someone operate on soft wood without gouging the material when reversing directions. The balance on it is horrible. It does not come close to the Makita, and I'm sure there is better than that available today.

How about planners? I recently used one of those ryobi portable 12" planners and loved it! I want to sell my 16" 8hp 3 blade 220v, and get one of the DeWalt portables.

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"The codfish lays ten thousand eggs,
the homely hen lays one
the codfish never cackles to tell you
what she's done
And so we shun the codfish while
the lowly hen we prize
Which only goes to show you
that it pays to advertise!"
*^*^*^*^*^*^*^*^ Ogden Nash

The Sign Shop
Mendocino, CA.

Posted by Dave Sherby (Member # 698) on :

Nettie, I've been a wood worker longer than a sign painter. Remember my T shirt at Mazeppa? "Caution: Man with Tool" I'm a Tim Allen kinda guy when it comes to tools.

If you are looking for a belt sander for sanding MDO edges, any cheapy is ok as long as the belt tracks good. The lighter the better. BUT, if you are looking to sand smooth panels of say redwood or cedar, a quality belt sander is a must. I had a Sears 4 x 21 (now in the posession of Dana). It was light weight and gouged panels terribly. I now have a Porter Cable Whisper Series. Very quiet and yes fairly heavy....for a reason. The weight of the sander is exactly what the downforce should be for proper sanding, so all you do is guide the sander. Every panel I've sanded with this sander looked like it came out of a wide belt sanding machine.

The other critical aspect of belt sanders is the footprint. The cheap ones will not have a good square, flat footprint. When I set my Sears down, it sanded in a C shape. The platen did not make uniform contact with the surface you're sanding. My Porter cable is a perfect square.

In tools, you truly get what you pay for. I burned up 3 Sears drills running lags into 4 x 4 posts over a period of 3 years. I bought a Bosch and its still going strong after 8 years. At 3 times the cost of the Sears, which is the more economical drill?

Most hardware store tools are light weight homeowner tools. The best brands for quality work and longevity are Bosch, Porter Cable, & Delta. Makita and Ryobi make some decent stuff, but some of their tools are closer to hobby quality.

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Dave Sherby
"Sandman"
SherWood Sign & Graphic Design
Crystal Falls, MI 49920
906-875-6201
ICQ: 21604027
sherwood@up.net

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