Entry level belt sander

V

Vpetrell

Joined
Jul 14, 2015
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What is a quality entry level belt sander? It will be my first that I am getting and will be used in my apartment workshop on the balcony or outside depending on how much a mess it makes.

I know HF has some, but I don't like their quality enough to get a power tool from them. I would look to keep under 100 of possible.

I've been browsing craigslist but am not sure what qualifies as a good piece of equipment

Any advise is appreciated!

VP
 
I'm fairly new to the game, too, and went with a 1x42 Kalamazoo belt sander that I bought from Enco for less than $250. It was shipped fully assembled and ready to run, and it's been great so far. Yes, belt selection is somewhat limited, and the narrow belt width may limit what I can do at times. But I chose this grinder because it has a reasonable belt speed of 1725 rpm. Most of the simple low-priced grinders out there use much higher speeds, and that's not good for knifemaking. The lower speed gives you lots more control and less risk of burning your steel or taking off more material than you want, whether it's still or handle material. This is especially important when doing your final detail shaping.

http://www.use-enco.com/1/1/34901-1sm-kalamazoo-belt-disc-combination-sanders.html

1sm21.jpg


I removed the yellow box over the top pulley, which allows me to grind curves pretty easily (that pulley is maybe 4" diameter). I may eventually switch to an even smaller pulley, and I'm trying to figure out how to modify the bottom pulley so I can use 2x42 belts. I also removed the tool rest, which gives me access to the whole belt.
 
BTW the whole Kalamazoo unit is fairly compact and lightweight. I mounted mine permanently to a workbench, but you could easily store it in a closet and use it when needed. It even comes mounted on a roughly 12x18" piece of plywood, so you could simply use C-clamps to temporarily attach the whole thing to a tabletop.
 
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