Used my new 1274DVS for the first time today, and I have to say, I am impressed with this little machine. Lightweight, easy to handle and control, and it kicks ass. It definitely will remove material quickly. On the first surface I sanded, I thought I had 45 mins worth of sanding in front of me and this thing did the job in 10. Of course, I came from using boodley-ass old tools that you had to practically stand on to get anything done, so this venture into the modern world of woodworking technology has me pretty wide-eyed and gawking, like a hick seeing his first skyscraper.
The controls are simple and easy to understand, and the tracking adjustment knob was simple and effective. I set the position of the belt and it hasn't moved a millimeter. I wound up using the machine for about two hours. I even tried some vertical sanding and it was a little trickier, but not bad. Removing the front handle was accomplished in seconds, as was replacing it. The manual said to remove the handle for front-end flush sanding and it got pretty close to the perpendicular edge at the end of the flat surface I was working on, within 1.5 inches. It worked great on flush sanding on the side. I was able to butt the belt right up to that perpendicular edge. The unit made some noise, but not as bad as I expected or am used to. The dust bag didn't get in the way, as I thought it might, and it actually worked pretty well, leaving just a slight layer of dust on the workpiece that would come away on your fingers. Seemed pretty darn clean to me, at least there wasn't much on the rag I wiped the wood down with.
Oh yeah, I liked the variable speed trigger, too. Easy to hold at a constant speed.
If I come up with anything else worth reporting about this sander, I'll keep you all posted.
Tony