Belt sander

My Elu 3 X 21 belt sander bit the dust, (heh-heh) Recommendations for a replacement? My gratitude will be undying. (dust collection will be a significant feature)

Max

Reply to
Max
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I like my Ridgid R2720 quite a bit:

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collection?

The built in ... is ... marginal, at best. I was guessing that's par for the course.

I usually rig it up to my Shop Vac to reach acceptable levels.

Reply to
Neil Brooks

I got one of these about a year ago.

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replaced a POS 3x21 craftsman wich I dumped because it had no dust collection.

There is nothing about it that I did not like, There are a few things that I think are particularly Good:

  • the integrated dust collection appears to get > 90%. That exceeded my expectations Oddly attaching a shop vac did not seem to improve on that much.

  • Supposedly the quietest of the breed. It's certainly much quieter than my crapsman.

  • I like the extra length of a 3x24. It's easier to *not* dig in and make a mess

*Subjective, but I find the balance and ergonomics to be quite good.

  • Belt tracking is perfect.

  • A long and plyable cord. I wish vendors would either put long cords or really short cords on a tool.

-Steve

Reply to
StephenM

Seriousely,

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will keep up with a belt sander or do fine polishing.

I quit using a belt sander about 25 years ago.

Reply to
Leon

Totally agree on the 3 x 24 Makita. We work those HARD around here, narry a hiccup. We do replace the graphite pads quite often as these sanders are used every day. We also jury-rigged the attachment for dust collection. Works reasonably well.

Now what Leon mentions about using the Rotex 150 FEQ is totally valid. For flat work there is no need for a belt-sander in 99% of the cases and the dust collection is second to none. We do use belt sanders on edges.

Reply to
Robatoy

Interesting. I'll certainly give it a close look Thanks,

Max

Reply to
Max

But....But.... I have *many* 3 X 21 belts. {:-(

Max

Reply to
Max

"Robatoy" wrote

Pshaw!! 2 votes for the Makita. Where can I trade some 3 X 21 belts for the 3 X 24?

Max

Reply to
Max

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> It will keep up with a belt sander or do fine polishing.

Dammit!! Will you guys quit with the Festool stuff? Some one here is going to think I'm rich; buying all the fancy tools. Now to find somewhere where I can get my hands on a Rotex. Sigh.

Max

Reply to
Max

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>>> It will keep up with a belt sander or do fine polishing.

I looked up the price of the Rotex 125. $380. When I told "someone here" how much it was she asked, "Does it come with a Bracero?"

Max

Reply to
Max

... Overall, I'll concur w/ the Makita but it's a case of there's nothing any better rather than it being perfect...

- Will agree dust collection is good for a BS; I find the bag is in the way more often than I would care for (altho don't know there's any real way to avoid it in Makita's defense; certainly the PC way up in the air is far worse)

- Agree w/ the 3x24 form factor -- problem is that unless Makita has changed the actual production, the 3x24 is a 4x24 body w/ 3" platen/rollers so there's an extra inch of bulk that an ideal unit would not have; they would build a 3" unit from ground up (mine is several years old; while I don't think they have, it is possible they have fixed this since)

- The long cord is nice, but--there is something about the way this one is attached and that pliability that I find the d-d tail is _always_ underfoot; I can't count the times it's gotten chewed up so far. My old B&D w/ a stiffer cord never seemed to cause such grief...

- Balance/ergonomics compared to most of what else is out there is reasonable as noted; it still doesn't balance very well and the switch/lock is very cumbersome for my hands, anyway. The lock in particular is in such a deep recess and position that I have to poke it w/ the forefinger of the other hand most of the time to engage it.

_IF_ they were to build it in a 24" length, I'd be very tempted to try the 3-wheel B&D -- it's the closest thing now to my old favorite B&D of a forgotten model # that's been out of production for 20+ years now--I've worn out two/three and there are, unfortunately, no more new parts (gears) available and I suspect it would be prohibitively expensive to get them custom-made as the prime culprit is the drive gear that is machined into the end or the motor rotor. It had the feature of the motor being between the rollers and direct gear drive so it had low COG and no external drive housing as virtually everything these days does. That's what the 3-wheel design brings back, but I, like somebody else noted, won't give up the length of the 24" belt for the motor placement. Given its age, it lacked dust collection but that could have been remedied and used to be one was proud of making sawdust... :)

All in all, it (the Makita) ain't perfect but I don't think there's a better choice at the moment, unfortunately.

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Reply to
dpb

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>>>>> It will keep up with a belt sander or do fine polishing.

Leon's the neighborhood pusher. DAMHIKT

I bought the 5" Rotex 125 after seeing his make quick work of a couple of _large_ kitchens' face frames after installation (we usually leave the final FF sanding until after installation as most paint contractor's helpers can't match the sanding we can do).

Pretty damned amazing, and even more amazing is it is virtually dust free free with the CT22E dust extractor. You can easily use the setup in a finished house without little regard for dust protection if need be.

On that note ... I just Section 179'ed about $2500 worth of Festool today as I was finishing up my 2009 taxes before eFiling. Really made it worthwhile seeing those Festool figures lower the tax liability with each entry. :)

It hurts up front, but damn ...

Reply to
Swingman

dpb wrote: ...

Sorry, the first B&D above should be DeWalt--had the old B&D on mind and didn't catch the wrong initial reference...

If OP did have a very large supply of of 21" belts was reluctant to give up on, it surely might make this more attractive as the 3-wheel design gives a longer footprint for the belt length. How it actually compares, specifically, in that regard by measurement I don't know...

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Reply to
dpb

"Swingman" wrote

I can write off computers, cameras, vehicle mileage, and quite a bit of misc. but my schedule C would need some explaining if I tried to write off any of the woodworking machines. I do insurance inspections and appraisals. The woodworking is just an expensive hobby. {:-(

Max

Reply to
Max

I have a Makita 4x24 belt sander. Its a good sander I guess. Powerful. LONG cord. OK dust collection I guess. Belt tracks well. But of all the tools I've bought over the years, the belt sander fits into the "I wish I would not have bought it" category. Just not all that ueful for me. I have hand planes that can smooth a surface far quicker and easier.

Reply to
russellseaton1

I have the Bosch 1276DVS 4 X 24 belt sander. It gets very little use but when I need it, it's irreplaceable. I'm looking for a 3X21. I find that size to be ideal when I need to take off a little end grain on a corner of a box, etc. that didn't end up perfectly flat. I have a 16" planer that can smooth a surface pretty good. My problem with hand planes is sharpening them. I don't have the patience. I have a great respect for those who can do wonders with "old fashioned" tools but I'm not a big fan of "neander" methods. My philosophy is "get it 'right' but get it done".

Max

Reply to
Max

"Leon" wrote in news:1qidnc5AKeokRFjWnZ2dnUVZ snipped-for-privacy@giganews.com:

I wasn't trying to help push the addiction... but the first thing I did when I saw this thread was type in "Festool Belt Sander". Apparently, they did make one but not for the American market.

Puckdropper

Reply to
Puckdropper

LOL. The first thing *I* did was search for a Festool *belt* sander. If I

*could* buy one I'm convinced I *would* buy one. Some folks are uncomfortable using a belt sander but I find them very useful. No one in El Paso sells Festool and I would like to get my hands on a Rotex before I commit. I'm just not sure it would be aggressive enough.

Max

Reply to
Max

On Wed, 14 Apr 2010 14:24:27 -0600, the infamous "Max" scrawled the following:

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>>> It will keep up with a belt sander or do fine polishing.

I was Feined in the mail yesterday. They want me to buy their HEPA-filtered vacs for lead abatement remos. I refuse to do anything which stinks of bullshit: bureaucracy, politics, lead, asbestos, mercury, AGWK, etc.

Reply to
Larry Jaques

On Wed, 14 Apr 2010 16:48:49 -0500, the infamous dpb scrawled the following:

I drape my cords over my shoulder, sometimes wrapping them around my arm, so they never get munched. It's embarassing to saw through your cord and blow a client's circuits, not to mention a real hassle in the interim, until you get the cord repaired and then replaced.

I hate easy trigger locks. They've sabotaged me more than once.

Reply to
Larry Jaques

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