Disc/Belt or Combined sander

[mbartlett99]

Its time to take some of the drudgery out and get hold of a stationary sanding machine; I was wondering what folks found most useful in practice.

1. 300mm disc sander; jet, record or SIP seem reassonable options

2. Combined disc/belt sander. There are the small 150mm units but I'm quite tempted by the Jet unit http://www.axminster.co.uk/jet-jsg-96-c ... der-510390

Too many options really. What do people actually find most useful, its not for a specific use as such.

Too complicate matters I'm also toying with a drum sander but thats a different question altogether.

 

[sunnybob]

I use a belt sander a LOT!
i bought a 4" belt and 6" disc but wish I had got a 6" wide belt.
The disc sander, not so much useage.

 

[MattRoberts]

I had a belt & disc sander, and found I rarely used the disc as it was so small, and I wished the belt was vertical.

So when it was time to upgrade, I got the triton belt & spindle sander. It's a massive improvement in my book

 

[paulm]

Like the other guys, I've had a combined 4" belt and 6" disc sander for years, the disc was too small for anything useful and I never really used it. The belt arrangement was adjustable between the horizontal and vertical so it's left permanently vertical and gets a lot of use.

 

[NazNomad]

I have a 6'' disc / 4'' belt sander which was kindly donated to me by the late, great chippygeoff.

I rarely have a day when I don't use both the disc and the belt, several times a day.

I suppose it all depends on the kind of stuff you make?

 

[eribaMotters]

You will always need more than one sander. You need to prioritise the greatest need.
I have a 14" disc sander that I made 20+ yrs ago using a petrol pump motor. Great for mitres, fine tuning to length, toys etc.
I use a Makita 4" hand held belt sander for cleaning up frames and a palm sander for decorating jobs.
A Jet 16/32 drum sander was bought a few years ago and has had little use, but is great for light passes for that smooth as slik finish after the planer/thicknesser. Be warned though as abrasives can be EXPENSIVE.

Colin

 

[RogerS]

As ever it depends. Depends on what you want to sand. I first bought a small belt and disc sander. The only use I have for it is roughing out stuff. I guess the disc sander might be useful for sanding end grain...but when I tried it I spent forever getting it square. Perhaps it was too cheap.

I tried a very large disc sander..a Fox IRC. It went back as the disc was so out of square.

But I digress. Drum sanders are brilliant. Great for thicknessing down tricky grained wood. For running small cabinet doors through etc. But if you never make them ten that's not much use. As I was moving house I sold it and regret the decision.

I also have an Axminster linisher. Now that's a really handy bit of kit. But again, more suited to larger items.

Horses for courses.

 

[NazNomad]

... It went back as the disc was so out of square.

Almost by default, one might argue? :-D

 

[Claymore]

Have any of you managed to get decent dust extraction on one of the combined belt/disc sanders? mine sends it all over the place 8-(

 

[Sheptonphil]

I use the Record 6” belt/10” disc combo unit http://www.yandles.co.uk/record-power-b ... 240v/p8204

A good sold machine, used most every time I’m in the workshop. The only change I made was to add Velcro to the disc to make sanding disc replacement easier. It’s a bit noisier than I anticipated, down to the brush motor I guess.

The disc is used a lot for squaring end grain stock, pen turning blanks etc, and shaping external profiles.

If I had the room, I would have liked the 12” disc and a separate 6” belt, but I haven’t, and as with lots of things in life compromise is required. This is a decent machine and can handle anything that fits on the belt without slowing it down, so plenty of power. The belt bed can be lifted to give a vertical belt if required.

I have my dc1100 dust extractor plumbed in to this sander 63mm port, and whilst it’s not perfect, it is 90%+ efficient.

Phil

 

[Hemsby]

I have had my Warco BDS 690 Belt & Disc Sander for over 18 months now and although the price is now £264 I would not hesitate in buying it. It is still advertised as having a 550 watt motor but as in my original post it arrived with a 1hp Induction Motor

It is used regularly and for quite long periods. I did mention in the original post warco-bds-690-belt-disc-sander-t96251.html about 2 thin brackets, I never did replace them and they have not been an issue. The only other small issue is while changing the belt a short screw that holds the plastic dust extractor has to be removed.

Through choice I disposed of the supplied stand and replaced it with a cupboard and modified the dust outlets to fit my extractor, added a Velcro pad to the disc.

 

[NazNomad]

Have any of you managed to get decent dust extraction on one of the combined belt/disc sanders? mine sends it all over the place 8-(

An old Vax domestic hoover shoved up the dust port (ooer missus) seems to catch most of the dust from mine.