Belt/disc sander combination

A

ARKLITE881South

Joined
May 22, 2010
Messages
29
NOT a advertisement for HF, but, i bought a ''less expensive'' belt/disc sander combo, from them the other day. Just used it to make a hatchet handle. It only turns about 1850 rpm, has a 220 grit 4'' belt/disc set up, and i will admit it worked pretty good. Sure i'd like it to go a little faster, but,it does eat wood pretty good. I used hickory for the handle. The sander is, a table/bench top type, pretty portable, not a high dollar machine by any standards, but, for me, a hobbie handle ''maker'' loll. It does work pretty well. You can bog it down pretty fast if you want, but, for just general wood sanding, not too bad. Sale price, under 60.00.
 
your right, it takes a little longer than i expected with the 220. But, then i'm used to the more labor intensive ways, hand saw, hatchet, draw knife, Chisel loll.
 
It's not just time. Finer grits generate more heat - scorch the wood or ruin the temper.
 
Thought about getting one of those, nice to know you're seeing good results. I recently picked up a HF 5-speed drill press for, like, $69 and I've been very happy with it.
 
My HF 1x 30 worked great with coarse and finer grit belts for about three years. Then the switch went. Is that about the lifespan of a HF product? Also, is it worth getting the switch replaced?
 
Square_peg is right on, with my belt sander I use a 60 grit belt and then straight to a 150. Very easy to shape this way using the wheel at the top of the sander.
 
I got the same one about 6 months ago. Mine came with an 60 or 80 grit belt and it doesn't really get hot. I like it fine but it's the same deal, I use it for hobby stuff. I'm not sure it would survive if I was making a living with it.
 
Hate to plug for HF, but I actually use my HF belt sander every day for hours as a part of making my living. It's the 6x48, and I'm amazed it's lasted as long as it has.
 
Ha,ha, spoke too soon, the belt tension release handle fell off, i think it just slipped off of a post inside , no big deal, now to get some 60 grt belts. and, i'll be in business. Well not business, but, be able to knock out some more hatchet handles.
 
I got one of these lightly-used (made in Taiwan I think) for under $50 at a garage sale 15 years ago. Although it is heavy and sturdily built I didn't honestly think it would 'stay together' (remain intact) for very long, but I've been pleasantly surprised. If and when this one gives out I'll be looking for a higher quality version. Sure beat my previous ruse of clamping a belt sander upside down.

wildernessknife&tool: are you sure your's is 6 x 48? That'd be a big fella by my 'resides in the back of the truck' standards.
 
300Six said:
I got one of these lightly-used (made in Taiwan I think) for under $50 at a garage sale 15 years ago.
Click to expand...

The Taiwan stuff is surprisingly good. Much better QC than the Chinese stuff. It's getting harder to find Taiwan stuff now. Just today I was remarking to myself about how much I like the industrial buffer we have at work. I checked the tag and it's Taiwanese.
My hunch is that the current batch of HF stuff is Chinese not Taiwanese. Can some of you check your tags for us?
 
HF 4"x36" belt/disc China. No tag in my HF 8" grinding wheel. I don't remember ever getting anything from HF made in Taiwan. I agree, Taiwan makes much better stuff.
 
Must be living right!! Walked outside to go into the shop, there laid the bolt and washer that fell out of the belt tension handle on the sander. :) So, looked it all over and started taking things apart, oh, boy, i'd never make a living building these sanders, loll. So, finally i poked a small hole in the sanding belt from above, lined up the bolt hole, and the handle, put the Phillips screw driver through the hole, in the sanding belt, tightened it down good and tight. Then, I put a strip of duct tape on the underside of the belt. It sealed the hole pretty well. Put all the nuts, bolts, washers, screws, back on the sander and she runs like NEW!! I did have one small screw and washer left over. I'll look again tomorrow to see if i can find the empty hole. Now to get that 60 grit sanding belt.
 
Square_peg, do you know the names of the companies that sell good reasonably priced equipment from Taiwan?
 
A lot of Grizzly stuff is, or at least was, Taiwanese. You gotta be careful, though. I've seen some stinkers from Grizzly along with the good stuff. And even their good stuff still isn't as nice as US made Baldor or Dayton stuff. Old Baldor grinders are tanks.
 
300Six - Yep, it's the stationary sander, 6x48 belts and a 9" disc, and it's mounted to my bench, not in the truck haha.
 
I just looked at a grizzly 8" grinder on amazon. I can buy 9.89 HF 8" grinders like mine for the price of 1 grizzly. My grizzly heavy drill press is great, but it bought it 20 years ago when they were cheap. It came with a useless chuck which they upgraded free at time time. Looks like for hobby purposes I'll stick with China freight.
 
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