Which Belt Sander?

UKworkshop.co.uk

Help Support UKworkshop.co.uk:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
A

Anonymous

Guest
Hi everybody,

can anybody advise me of which belt sander to buy? I want to be able to smooth large surfaces comprised of jointed boards, so could be looking at taking as much as 0.5 - 1mm off a large surface. Obviously I want something that will withstand heavy use and belt availability is a must, but price will play a part in any decision

thanks in advance
 
Hi elvch01,

Which belt sander, that's a good question, the one that I have was bought in Aldi's for £20 and it works a treat :D , not top quality at that price of course, but it works well enough, I wish now that I had bought another at the same time, for a spare when this one packs up :cry: . Go for one that uses at least a 75mm wide belt, for better stability and one that uses belts that are at least 533mm long. I know screwfix have one for around £24 I think and the belts they also supply. But like all things,at the and of the day the choice is yours and how deep your pocket it, but I hope that this will help you a bit.
 
I've got a really old Black and Decker industrail (Now DeWALT) beltsander. Does the job really well and works like a horse....

If I had the money and needed a new one i'd go for a Bosch (Blue)
 
Hi Chris

I'm too much of a novice to offer profound advice with respect to such heavy duty machinery :) ! Nevertheless, when it comes to smoothing large panels of wood with a belt sander I understand that the use of a sanding frame is strongly advised by many experienced woodworkers. So it's probably a good idea to make sure that you get one with whatever belt sander you eventually go for.

Yours

Gill
 
Thanks Gill, I'd not thought of that :oops: (novice too) - it cuts down the choice a bit & the prices of some of the sanders that have frames makes me wince a bit, but its preferable to ruining several hours work.
 
Just been informed that my 4" DeWalt belt sander has arrived, but I am working abroad this wek, so I'll have to wait a couple of days before playing with it. I'll post a review when I get round to it.

GillD - people listen to your advice on belt sanders as well as bandsaw blades :idea: I got a sander with a frame
 
Hi Chris

Gosh, someone else taking note of my opinions? I missed my vocation - I should have been an agony aunt :)! Seriously, I hope your new Yellow Peril meets your needs. I'm looking forwards to reading your review eventually. They've got a pretty good reputation from what I can make out, but my knowledge is limited to our Makita, which I use very infrequently.

The Makita is fitted with coarse grade paper and I tried it on a nasty piece of wildgrain yew this morning - hardly made an impression :(. It's very good for sanding artex off ceilings though (DAMHIKT).

Yours

Gill
 
Back
Top