Belt and disk sanders

[Some bloak]

Has anyone got any ownership and use experience of the belt and disk sander currently on offer from Rutlands ?. Any good quality wise for the money say compared to the record version or are they all from the same far away factory but with different badges ?.

Any comments gratefully received. I don’t mind spending a bit more if anyone can recommend something else. Many thanks.

 

[RossJonnes]

Awesome

 

[Some bloak]

So do you actually own one of the Rutlands machines ?

 

[That would work]

Looks like the same machine as the Clarke offering. I've seen one of those in the flesh and my verdict was 'walk away'. Do you have a lathe? if you do, make yourself a disc sander on that.

 

[sunnybob]

I have the charnwood combination.
I use the belt sander a lot, in fact I use it A LOT!!!!!
The disc , almost never because the sanding area on the disc is barely a couple inches. You can only use one bottom half, put your wood past the centre point and it pulls the wood up in the air.

If you cant make a belt sander, that seems a cheap way of getting one.

 

[pcb1962]

I have the Record Power version of that machine. As Bob says, the disk is useful if you make dolls house furniture, and jobs like squaring up and trimming the ends of small pieces of moulding but not much else. Personally I don't use the belt a lot so I would much rather have a 12" disk sander than this combination machine.

 

[sunnybob]

I use the belt for rapid wood removal. 60 or even 40 grit will take a lot of wood away fast. then hand sanding for a nice finish.
Nor sure how wide that belt is but you want at least 4" wide. less than that and its usefulness diminishes
I have a 7" disc sander, but again, very rarely use that either.

 

[ajcr27]

I have the Rutlands one and it is comparable with others i have had at ~£125 but obviously being on offer makes it worth it.

 

[Stevebod]

When I was looking I was a little put off by the actual working area of the disc, (as per above, VERY small), so I ended up getting a Record 300mm disc, and for me this was the right choice.

Although due to a recent Record quality issue on another piece of kit I am not sure I would recommend Record products anymore, although I guess whatever you buy at that price point you are at the vagaries of the usual "made in China...largely from cheese" lottery. (and touch wood / cheese the Record disc sander has been OK for occasional use....)

 

[user22161]

Having played with a mate's small disc and belt sander, I went for an oscillating belt and bobbin one instead and find it more versatile. Already had a 4" heavy Makita belt sander which can be inverted on bench.

Mines like this but Sealey version - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Clarke-COEBS1- ... B01N4PZIIY

 

[Some bloak]

Thanks everyone for all the tips and advice. I now know the Rutlands belt and disk sander will not be suitable. For lots of repeat small projects, maybe, but not an all-rounder.

 

[Spectric]

I have the charnwood combination.
I use the belt sander a lot, in fact I use it A LOT!!!!!
The disc , almost never because the sanding area on the disc is barely a couple inches. You can only use one bottom half, put your wood past the centre point and it pulls the wood up in the air.

Hi there

Is this the BD610 and if so how do you rate it? I am playing with belt and bobbin sanders at the moment and both would be useful if I had the space.

 

[Derek Cohen (Perth Oz)]

6" disk and 4" belt? 1/2 hp motor.

It's a toy. I had one many years ago. It lasted about 3 months and burned out.

Regards from Perth

Derek

 

[sunnybob]

I have the charnwood W408.
4" belt and 6" disc. The dis is not worth the effort for me, I have removed it completely to give me full access to the belt.
The belt gets used almost every time I go into the workshop. Its 6 years old and it owes me nothing when counting the hours (days) its been running.

 

[Spectric]

Hi there

Thats a good recomendation for the W408 and that it has given you good service over six years. I agree that a disk sander is not that good for wood, shame they tend to push these combination machines rather than put more emphasis on a decent belt only sander. I was looking at the 6 inch belt version because I do not want to find later that I need that extra width, and have already discounted the Axminster machines on their price,specification. The Record machines seem to be just expensive and so for my needs either the BD48 or the BD610 just want more feedback.

 

[Lons]

I've had an Axminster BDS610 for years and use it on a regular basis though it looks as if it's not available now. SIP sold an almost identical model and there may be others, I had a cheapie small one prior to this which was worse than useless.

 

[Cheesehound]

For what it's worth, I have a Draper 4" belt/8" disc. Almost certainly a Chinese clone, but I've had it for 20 years now and it's been brilliant. And when the latch failed on the switch (after 5 years), I consulted the parts list and ordered a replacement which was sent out for about a tenner. Wouldn't be without it. Wouldn't like to go less than 8" for the disc though, having had a 6" one which was built in to my 1st bandsaw.