Who's got what for a belt sander

[0wally0]

What are you home builders using for belt sanders?

Looking for opinions on a belt sander for light fab work, small brackets, bungs etc. The 4x36 ones can be had for less than $150 and the 6x48 jump up to about $450. I can't afford to fork out $1200 for a proper belt "grinder" right now.

I'm leaning toward the small cheap one for now until I come across a decent used belt grinder, anyone use one or is it a complete waste of time??

[BadMonkeyMW]

I'd go for the less expensive one to start with. I've got a little cheap 1" stand-up sander, I think it's a Craftsman, and I've used the shit out of it over the years, but never felt the need to go bigger.

Get the 4x36 and see how it works for you and how much you actually use it. No need to drop big money on something you may not get a ton of use from.

[beat]

i really want a big bad ass industrial belt sander, but i bought a craftsman one about 12 years ago and i've really taken it to task and its fine.
i think it was around $110 or $120...i bought it at fathers day(dads & grads) weekend so it was just around 100 clams.

my advice..look for something decent on your local CL first. than sears craftsman next if you have the dough or can catch it on sale.
last resort..harbor freight...
ya never know. i got a HF buffer i've been flogging for 3 years and a buddy bought the same thing and it took a shit in 2 days.
ya pays yer money; ya takes yer chances.

if ya need it now and cheap maybe try HF and you can upgrade later.
or get a craftsman and i bet it'll last longer than youd think.

but if you go w/ craftsman hurry up an do it. that line/brand of tools is really in a weird place right now. the craftsman name will live on, but sears is 6 months to a year from shutting down or bankruptcy.

the name craftsman will carry on, but the warrenty could be strange.

[0wally0]

did a bit more digging into the specs on the two different sizes and looks like the smaller one will be better suited to metal anyway (both are wood sanders)

El cheapo runs about 2000 ft per minute and the bigger one runs at 1350. I'll pick one up here in a couple days, it's on sale right now for $129 (Canadian)

Wonder if the pulleys come off or if they are solid mounted? Could always chuck a different size on and up the speed that way assuming it's not too under powered

[klondikekid64]

Here's a picture of my money maker, I know it is a bit of overkill for what your looking for but they are around, plating/polishing and metal finishing shops use this type of machine, usually around 5hp. so you can put on large polishing wheels and buffs without fear of stalling out. I got mine lightly used for $1500 I have seen older shop polising lathes with belt for as low as $500 After I retire from the plating shop I'll make more money at home repairing and polishing s/s auto trim and polishing aluminum.

[0wally0]

Damn Klondike that's quite a machine, my buddy in the next town over does some blacksmithing/sword making and has a 3x79 belt grinder with a 3hp motor and a belt speed of almost 7000fpm... now that thing can move some material. Think he said it was upwards of $2000

[farmall]

Liquidation auctions, monitor them! I got a nice three phase industrial belt sander for fifty bucks because "three phase" scares off the ignorant.
Three phase buffer/polishers don't usually get fought over at auction either.

Single phase motors are plentiful used or you can buy a VFD and have variable speed control over a three phase motor for reasonable money.

Go large, do it cheap, and learn how to do it cheap before you buy so you can shop wisely. For heavy loads like air compressors you can use an RPC which you can build or buy.

Spend an evening reading this forum:

http://www.practicalmachinist.com/vb/transformers-phase-converters-and-vfd/

If handling heavy machinery looks like a hassle, put it on angle iron bases then pallet jack it or put it on a castered dolly but have feet you can bolt to the floor if needed for stability.

[klondikekid64]

Maybe one of these badboys? Farmall has the right idea, and with a bigger machine you won't grow out of / more vesatile.

[bohica2xo]

I have a 4 x 132 wet belt machine. Cuts well & the parts never get hot.

I run about 6500 feet per minute & get excellent belt life.

I have seen used ones bring as little as 350 bucks at auction Easy units to maintain. Still in production too.

[farmall]

I keep an eye out for cheap small belt/disc combo sanders for utility sharpening.

Also remember if you have a bench grinder that you can adapt angle grinder flap discs to many spindles or even screw them on directly.

[Guest]

I picked up my burrking for 4or 500 used. 1 1/2 x60. Thing kicks ass and I like it way better than the new ones.

[DoomBuggy]

I do a lot of woodwork so my belt sanders are an important part of my shop.

I have a Rigid oscillating sander which gets most of the work. It can do some level of detail work as well as remove some stock when needed.

https://www.ridgid.com/us/en/oscillating-edge-belt-spindle-sander

When doing long pieces of trim I break out the el cheapo Harbor Freight unit. The only thing I will say is dump the disks that come with it, the glue is really cheap and I had one fly off and hit me in the face. Was not a great day and I was REALLY thankful for safety glasses!

http://www.harborfreight.com/6-in-x-9-in-combination-belt-and-disc-sander-61750.html

I also have a few hand held units most of them older then my kids.

I love the idea of a wet sanding unit, just not sure how much I would get out of it.

Best,
-H