Starting belt Sander/Grinder.

Zaph, I understand where you're coming from, and frankly, it sounds to me like you and I have VERY different qualities of HF 4x36's. Mine can't get to holy shit speed at all, and tracking is a MESS. Also, it chatters wildly, so you literally cannot flat grind without weird divots and gouges. I'm pretty sure it's defective, but after replacing my 1x30 3 times and getting nowhere, it honestly wasn't worth the gas to drive out again. You've got a serious logical issue (sample flaw) if you make the mistake of assuming that all HF 4x36's are created equal. QC is wildly different across the same model. You get what you pay for definitely holds true here.

As for blaming the tool, you can say that all you want, but crappy design and defective products are what they are. That's like telling someone who purchased a cheap saw which has wobbly teeth, that, because they can't cut straight, it's their fault. Or like telling someone who's bought a new car that stalls out periodically that the stalling is their fault as a driver. Seriously?

Frankly, halfway decent tracking is pretty darn important for a decent plunge line. When I was first starting out, I heard pretty frequently that people were surprised by what I could do with my limited equipment, but that they would love to see what I could accomplish with a real grinder. Moving from a 1x30 to a 2x42 made a huge difference in the quality of the products I could turn out. It's not like my skill level changed magically overnight. So, you tell me. Why should I believe that I'm somehow at fault for the shoddy QC in many HF products, particularly their sanders. Sure, you can MAKE DO on a grinder, and if you modify it so you aren't actually using the 4x36 stock, I have to say that the quality of your product has a lot more to do with your skill at modifying the grinder than the quality of the sander.

As for the brand, yeah, if you get a decent brand, fine. I'm sure it works great. However, the original mention of the 4x36, to which I was responding, was regarding the Harbor Freight, which seemed like a rather more relevant thing to respond to than the FAR more expensive other brands you now seem to be referring to, especially considering the OP's initial questions were about things in the HF price range.
 
lol he said he was using a "PerformaX 6 amp" 4x36 sander :D

(edit: woops.. sorry, I guess you knew that already, didn't read your whole post,, ma bad. :o

However, that can be bought for about $120 in case the OP is curious :)

-Paul
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(some of my knives etc. www.youtube.com/Lsubslimed)
 
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One of my issues is, im scared i get a machine that just wont have enough power to grind the metal. Also, im hoping for something with like that work platform, so i can make jigs for doing the bevel, instead of doing it freehand, and then slowly progressing to freehand as i get better.
 
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