BELT SANDER -- for occasional home use: brand, price, where-buy-it?

[David Combs]

For occasional home use, for eg sanding-down ceilings before painting, ditto for walls after wallpaper removed, for painting, etc.

What brand and model would you suggest?

AND -- where to buy it -- home depot, vs net, vs local hdwr store?

(Yes, I realize, from reading posts here, that home depot has models specially-made (cheap construction?) for itself. So, if true, take that into consideration, too.)

Thanks!

David

[Art Begun]

Overkill for the projects you mentioned. A beltsander would be too heavy to hold up to the ceiling and would go thru the sheetrock in seconds.

[SQLit]

I bought the Roybi 3" recently. I had back surgery a year ago and picking/holding objects at a distance creates pain for me. I used it for sanding glass doors for some cabinets I made. Worked fine for me and I occasionally use it for sticky doors.

If you want to sand walls I would look into a orbital sander. Lots out there and a lot less trouble to hold when doing flat work. IMO

[mark Ransley]

A belt sander on a ceiling, thats good for a laugh. Besides being a dumb impracticle idea If it slipped you would loose your face. Not to mention all the dust you will eat. Look into a 10$ professional super duper, Old fasioned Pole sander.

[Edwin Pawlowski]

I'd not use a belt. Too unweildly for that use. Look at random orbial sanders from Porter Cable and DeWalt. Easy to change paper, good for woodwork also.

They run about $60. Buy where convenient for you, Home Depot,

or Ed

[klm]

If you are looking further ahead where you will be buying and using more power tools do consider going pneumatic all the way.

For a start get at least a 3 hp air compressor and an orbital sander. The hand tool is light, self cleaning and you don't have to worry about the motor stalling or burning out. Other air tools like a drill, ratchet wrench attachment, a paint sprayer, that ceiling texturer, etc. will find their way into your DIY jobs.

[Joe Bobst]

Get a random orbital sander like the Porter-Cable 97355 (5") or 97366 (6"). Buy the whole kit that includes vac hose and adapters. Get some of the Abranet mesh discs and you can sand your ceilings dust free.

is a good place to check out models and prices and has the abrasive coated mesh discs. Bosch and DeWalt also have ROS's, but PC has been into professional sanding tools nearly forever. There are some reports that a good ROS will do a high percentage of your sanding needs, so that the belt sander sits in the shelf a lot. I haven't had my ROS long enough to vote one way or the other at this point. HTH

Joe

[Emile Menier]

try some manual labor and a sanding pole. stop being so damn lazy.

[David Combs]

Thanks so much!

(I sure know nothing about DIY stuff -- apparantly, belt is NOT the thing for ceilings!)

Re pole sander, is for my wife, and she wants to do *lots* of work on the house walls and ceilings -- so a power-something is a lot better for her than pole thingie, probably.

Thanks! I go to amazon and look around.

David

[Emile Menier]

sounds like a personal problem but a finish sander would work with 220 sandpaper.

try looking around at H.D. in the drywall area.

[Art Begun]

We just had a pro paint job. They use the drywall sander on poles and rough up the walls before repainting. Came out terrific. No power, just plenty of leverage with the use of poles.

[davefr]

A belt sander for wallpaper removal and sanding ceilings?? That's a new one. You've been watching too much Bob Villa.

Let me know how you're doing after belt sanding your ceiling for a few hours!!

If you still need a belt sander get a Bosch or PC. Home Crapo only carries "homeowner quality" brands. Try Woodworkers supply or Rockler.

[Childfree Scott]

Do NOT use a belt sander for drywall!!! It will eat through it so far you won't know what happenned! Even a regular orbital sander (1/3 sheet) is almost too much for drywall. For occasional drywall use, a whimpy Harbor Freight or Black and Decker or whatever cheapo model Wal-Mart sells should be OK. If you want to sand wood, a regular 1/3 sheet sander should be OK. If you are going to use it a lot, just go to Sears and get a good one. I'm not sure what I would recommend a belt sander for. You can easily ruin a hardwood floor with one.

[John Barry]

In fact, _any_ power-sander may roughen up paper on wall-board noticeably. Better chance of avoiding that with pole-sander & fine-grit.

HTH, John

[David Combs]

Thanks all for the advice!

Which I took -- and got a pole-sander (HD) (and she agreed) and it worked out just fine.

Thanks again.

(*Entire* job now finished!)

David