Bench belt sanders

[Spectric]

Hi all

Incase anyone else is looking at a combo belt/disc sander with a 4 inch belt and 8 inch disc I have the following info: These three machines are all essentially the same except for color and logo's, with around same power. They also all use the same size sanding belt at 100mm by 915mm.

Axminster Axminster Craft AC200BDS Belt & Disc Sander costing £200 and weighs 26Kg with 550 watt induction motor.

SIP SIP 4 costing £171 and weighs 34Kg with 500 Watt induction motor.

Charnwood Belt & Disc Sander, 4" x 8" with Integral Dust Collection costing £240 and weighs 23Kg with 500 Watt induction motor.

When you look at the manuals and parts list they all share a majority of common components and so not easy to sort them out based on spec. So who owns any of these machines and what do you think of it please. It was also sold under the Porter Cable brand in the states and by Machine Mart as a Clarke.

 

[robgul]

. . . . if the machine I have is anything to go by you can add the ALDI Ferrex brand to the roster of badge-engineered very similar machines - IIRC it was about £100 18 months ago

 

[Spectric]

Hi

Makes you wonder if there are rebranded, rebranded machinery out there. Not heard of the Ferrex one but it is certainly the cheapest of the bunch.

 

[Spectric]

Hi all

The Ferrex is different from the ones I first listed, this Ferrex machine is made for Aldi by a Chinese company called Positec, who also produce the Worx brand. Again this design has really been cloned and rebadged by many like the Fox F31-462 from machine mart at £167 , weighing 22Kg but with a 370 watt motor. Rutlands have another version at £169, Scheppach BTS900 at £180, Clarke, Record at £160, Ryobi, Wen and others.

An Excel for £138 Excel 370W 4" Electric Bench Belt & Disc Sander Heavy Duty 240V

A Lumberjack for £140 Lumberjack BD370 4 inch x 36 inch Belt and Disc Sander

This is something different, closer to the ones I listed but not the same and I have not found that many clones, Holzmann BT203-91 at £210 but has a 550 Watt motor and sold via NMA (Agencies) Limited, the group that sells Scheppach.

So tread careful when buying as it is a minefield of clones and you could easily pay more for the same item apart from colour and badge. To conclude the original ones I listed were I think the better machines with 500 watt motors and heavier build, the Ferrex range are 370 Watt items and no doubt capable of doing something but again you will get better by spending more, a lot more and here Jet products stand out along with these BDS 360 Metal Grinder - Belt & Disc Grinding Machine for Metalworking and BDS 690 Belt & Disc Sander | Quality Electrical Sanding Machine but here is yet another clone from the lightweight Ferrex style at £130 BDS 460 Belt & Disc Sander | Quality Bench Electrical Sander | Warco

At this point in time I am leaning towards the SIP machine, something that sits somewhere in the middle.

 

[Spectric]

Well I have ordered a SIP 01946 from Toolden and will post a review once I try it out.

I got it for £177 , but they now list it at £198 SIP 01946 4" x 8" Belt Disc Sander

The price from the SIP went from £171 to £198 and now back down to £178 so must be some marketing ploy to say it has been reduced!

I gather these combination belt & disk sanders are no longer that popular going by the responses so what type and brands of sanders are people using these days?

 

[Inspector]

Keep in mind you pretty much limited the responses to sanders of the type in the first post. 4" belt with 8" discs.

I have a 6" x 48" belt with 12" disc sander. This one actually. 6" x 48" Belt/12" Disc Combo Sander, 1725 RPM at Grizzly.com I like it and wouldn't want to go smaller.

Pete