Cant find belt sander

[Ryan140]

I was working on my motor in my buddys machine shop a few weeks ago and he let me use his 3/4" belt sander. I liked it so much I tried to buy one. the only problem is I cant find one anywhere. Im looking for an ELECTRIC 3/4" belt sander for under $200. Makita makes a 3/8" and an 1 1/8" but no 3/4". I can find air sanders (snap on, Mac) but my compressor isnt that big plus they are a little too expensive for a tool Im not gonna use everyday. I was wondering if anyone could tell me where I could find one of these sanders.

[H2Onut]

try harbor freight

or northern tool

or maybe EBAY ?

[CompKing]

Either Snap on or Matco had one on the front page of there latest sale flyer.I think it was electric and 3/4".I'll see if I can find it tommorow at work.

[Jay Smith]

Ryan ,
Are you looking for a bench belt sander or a hand held?
I have the biggest bench belt sander Sears offers and I use it daily. I have burned 1 up but I had it for about 5 years I guess nothing lasts forever ! And another BAD thing about Sears sanders they use "queer" sized belts mine is 2"X42" and the standard is 2"X40" so I have to buy thier big buck belts instead of my tool supplier ones available at half the price. Make sure the one you buy is a standard length where ya don't get coned into having to buy that brands belts.
Good Luck,
Merry Christmas........

[Ryan140]

IM looking for a hand held. It make easy work of opening up an exaust adapter or matching a tuner up

[Techno]

Never heard of 3/8" belt sanders. Do you mean a 3" or 4"? The wider the belt the longer the belt usually. The width your talking about I've only heard called a finger sander and isn't portable.

Don't buy sears anything. They over rate thier motors- rated at stall hp, like this is useful. Use amps as a guide for motor comparisions.
If you want to work metal an angle grinder may be better. It can take various discs and sanding pads and stuff. Costs about $20 from harbour freight.

[CompKing]

I think Ryan is looking for a small hand held belt sander.I know Mac and Northern both have a inexpensive ($50)3/8 x13" model and Snap On sells a 18" model but there all air. Grangers sells a large selection of belts so they my have somthing in electric.Mine is a 3/8" air model that is pretty basic with a staight head.I've used a freinds who used to ports motors and his had changable heads that had flat,round and angled tips.He told me they were kind of spendy and I don't remember who made them,Norton I think??:confused: I'll still try and find that info on that electric one I saw at work.

[crazy horse]

When you find one you want make sure you can get belts for it. Some of the cheap ones don't have a very good belt selection. I have two Jet 612 air belt sanders they use 1/2 X 24 belts they come many types and grit including polishing belts. I've used these small sanders for a while in my shop for deburring. The Jet ones are around $200.00 If you get a bigger compressor, Air is the only type to buy , They are also very useful for fiberglass work. It might be hard to find a good electric very cheap. The good eletric ones can be pricey Milwaukee makes about the cheapest good one, They have a 1/2X18 for about 220.00. Dynafile is one of the best electric but there kit is over 500.00 I don't know about any cheap ones, They don't last. You can't get good belt for them, So I don't use them.

[Jeff_G]

Techno, I'm not flaming you but how could you say not buy Sears and then turn around and recommend the cheapest, crappiest line of tools this side of Tibet? Have you really ever used Harbor Freight tools? 99% China made crap!

[crazy horse]

Jeff, Is dead right about Harbor freight. Even there name brand stuff is over runs and seconds. Wouldn't dream of buying anything from them. I have to depend on my tools, Thats not where you want to cut corners.

[B.Leonard]

PURE garbage.

-BL

[Raceman]

Harbor Freight does have some stuff worth buying. Wheels/casters, name brand air tools like Ingersol, Vice Grip (the name brand by Petersen) chineseVises, etc. I've even got 4 of their el cheapo bead blast cabinets so I can use all different abrasives without cleaning em out, and on small stuff they work as good as my Empire that cost over $1300 when I bought it 15 years ago. When they have the sidewalk sales they run the 300. biggest blast cabinet they sell for 149. Their drill presses are pretty good buys when on sale too for non precision work.

As far as the electric tools, I agree, most of it isn't worth haulin' home. Overall, I like the store, you just have to wade through the junk to find the decent stuff.

[Balzy]

The Dynafile is the best. Never saw the electric one but we use the air style at work all te time for deburring. They are pricey but they are the best. Now on to Harbor freight. I bought a lot of their cheap air tools. When they are on sale they are so cheap that if they last a year, who cares? Stuff like a air chisel set for $6.99, if it lasts for half a dozen projects and goes to hell, throw it away and grab another one out of the drawer. Last time I baught them I boiught 6 of em. Gave half of em away to friends and still have some in the shop. For stuff you don't need to use a lot the air tools from Habor are fine. You do have to watch the prices on the bigger ticket items though. I was going to buy my 60 gallon vertical compressor from them because they offer free freight. I did some checking and i was able to get right from the Ingrasoll Rand dealer in Milwaukee for $89.00 less than Habor Freight. It also included a starter kit (2 quarts of synthetic oil and a few air filters plus a 2 year extended warranty on the compressor itself) You have to be carefull what you buy from them but some of the stuff is so cheap I really don't care if it lasts forever or not.

Damn almost forgot, Habor freight does have an attachment you put on your angle grinder to convert it to a belt sander. I guess the belts are 1/2" wide. Not sure if they are standard size but they sell the belts cheap also. I bought one because they were cheap and it works fine. kind of a pain to put it on the grinder when you need it but I don't use it that often. Hell at the price of the grinders just buy a spare and leave it set up.

[crazy horse]

I'm not posting this pic to bust anyones rocks but I think you guy might like to see it. This is a harbor freight air chisel. My friend next door to me runs a custom body shop, He buys the best tools for himself but always has junk ones for the guys to use or lend out. Seems like the good ones always grow legs if ya know what I mean. Anyway one of the guys working on a car with the chisel below had it start to act funny then it jumped real hard and then it blew a crack in the side of the case. He keeps this hanging on the wall with a sign that says good tools save lives! So I thought I would walk over get a cup of coffee and take a photo of it for ya.

[Techno]

I did see one of those tools in mcmaster carr Forgot size and stuff but $220 for electric. Never interested in them so never 'memebered them. Checked 2 wood working cats and nothing.

For the sears VS. harbour frieght. Well it's the same garbage. Only for sears tools you pay big money for garbage and at HF you don't. If you read Ryan140s post "for a tool you don't use everyday." If I bought every tool top of the line I would have one tool. I cut cheapness into the picture when it serves.
I bought a forenn Mill and Lathe. If I didn't the 2 combined price wouldn't buy one "good" mill or lathe.

I've heard this falacy before " buy the best tools out there". There are variations on this theme. But it isn't true. I bought an angle grinder for $20 from HF so how long does it have to last me before it's worth it? A good one is about $80 and lasts at work about a year. There it's worth it but for home use it ain't.
Need a paint buffer. Pay $200 for something that will be used maybe 3 times in 3 years, but you've got the best money can buy! Pay $50 for some harbour freight junk and still use it 3 times in 3 years, if it breaks big deal you buy a 2nd and still are ahead. but it aint breakin in 30 uses much less 3. Things gots to be in perspective.
BTW sears tools are someone elses tools marketed to them with a few changes, like the plastic is a different color or there is SEARS on it. Hmm where does they come from? They because it's several companies.

As I think on it my only tools that could be considered " high quality" are the Craftsman wrenchs. I can get them replaced if they break and don't have to find an SK or snap on distributor.

So far none of my 10 or so (cheap) wood working machines or the 2 metal have broke. I have gone through around 3-4 random orbit sanders. There is no way I'm spending $200 for one of the good ones though!(maybe) I keep thinking what else I can get for the other $100!

Slight error on my part. A fine random orbit sander is I think $600 not 200. and it's a fein? Imagine that much for a sander? my table say didn't even cost that much!

[CompKing]

Ryan,
I checked the Graingers book and everything was air and $300-$500.I did find the flyer from Matco for the month.Don't know anything about this and it's 1" wide which might be to wide for what you want?

[Balzy]

but I type like **** and didn't wanna get into all that detail. I agree, if ya ain't gonna use it that much and it's that cheap, buy it, use, and if it breaks after 5 years, buy a brand new one ............

[Ryan140]

Hey thanks Dave I think that is the cheapist I'll find. Its still 250 bucks. Is that like what you have? how big of a compresser do you have.

[CompKing]

Mine is a 3/8" belt that I got from Mac.Don't remember what I payed I got it about 10 years ago .I have a 5HP 60 gal and it never shuts off when I'm using it but have used it with a 2 HP 10 gal just have to wait alot:( Which one was $250??If you want cheep I saw one at northern for $50 but ya get what ya pay for I'm sure.If your not going to use it much get the cheep one and spend the money on a better compresor you'll use that more.Wait , it's not my money get the biggest most expensive so I can borrow it:D :D :D

Look at the one Tecno found below it looks like it would do what you want and has the angle head atachment as a option too.

[Techno]

I looked it up.1/2"x18" milwaukee $212

http://www.mcmaster.com/
type 2493 into the search box. Thats the page number.
page 2511 for some belts.

another pet peeve of mine is a tiny little sander that costs over $400 Imagine the size of the bench sander that matches that price!

[MattGreen]

This may come off as a personal attack(s), although I don't mean it as such. I take major issue with the attitude of "use it for a while, toss it, and buy a new one." What a waste of resources ! Talk about a throw-away society ! You guys bitch about jobs being cut due to cheaper production in Taiwan etc., well who do you think is promoting this !? Why not buy a Porter-Cable/Milwaukee/ etc tool, that's built like a real tool should be, and still have it 20 years from now ? Do any of you guys have kids ? Wouldn't it be great to pass tools down to your sons/daughters, and teach them to use and respect them ? As opposed to: if it breaks, toss it and buy a new one. This sounds like the Bayliner philosophy.

Would you like some real world examples: (all these are tools I own personally or use(d) at work).
-Mid 70's Makita cordless drills (2): daily commercial use for finish carpenter, fallen off buildings many times: still going hard, 3rd battery
-late 70's Makita miter saw (one of the originals): still deadly accurate (admittedly, features have come a long way since this one was made. I now use it for aluminium.
- 2 Porter-Cable right-angle random orbit sanders: used for continuous daily use for sanding fiberglass: 8+ years old, still going strong (blow the dust out at the end of the day)
- 2 Makita 1" narrow belt sanders: again 8+ years grinding glass, still going strong.....
- Milwaukee Hole-Hawg drill: nearly indestructible
(OK, the Makitas are Japanese, but you get the idea)

I realize not everybody needs a professional caliber tool, so why not by a medium-capability tool from one of the good maufacturers, feel good about buying a good tool, have it for decades, and pass it on ? Good tools are a pleasure to use, ****ty ones let you down.
Comments from both sides are welcome.

Matt Green
apprentice BOMB mechanic;
boatbuilder and woodworker

[Techno]

I think you misunderstand the idea. It isn't to buy the cheap junk tools, it's to buy a cheap junk tool when it's use is going to be extremely low. Or a cheaper tool to allow either being able to buy it or allowing several tools to be bought.
As to the "quality" issue. There is usually no way of knowing what the quality is no matter who makes it. Does it have ball bearings, what size is the shafts or other parts that take the abuse and so on. How many people even know what makes a heavy duty vs cheap tool? Your extreme longevity on your drills- they last about a year and a half at work. Should I spend $80 to get a $300 drill repaired? or spend $80 for a cheap drill and not repair it?
You've concentrated on hand tools. I've seen tools advertised by Fein http://www.feinus.com/ Go get one of thier random orbits if you can afford it $680 but what about stationary machines? My tawaniese table saw has cast iron wings Deltas is stamped sheet metal. Stamped just about everthing versus a cast heavy wieght back breaker.
What about metal machines? Do I spend 3 grand for one tool or less than half for 2?
How about the tools that are just becoming hobby tools Surfaceing sanders? Spend low or spend several grand? Just how high a quality do you go?
Or simply do you buy 3 tools that will be passed down to your grand kids or do you buy a shop full of tools that you get to use?

If I had kids I wouldn't want nor care about passing my tools on to them. First let 'em get thier own, I'm still using mine. Second, why would they want this old junk. The advances in tools is amazing.

Now those porter cable sanders. How do you like them and how fine a finish do they produce? Are they easy to handle? My abusive use of RO sanders means I need to spend the bucks since I already am replacing the medium duty ones.

[MattGreen]

Techno:
You misunderstood me also. My main point was that the ATTITUDE was poor about ANYTHING, tools especially, being purchased of a purely disposable nature when much better options exhist. Conserving resources by not needlessly wasting them is a good idea, wouldn't you agree ?

Now for the specifics (no particular order):
- The Porter-Cable sanders (6", PSA) have held up very well. Like I said, a pair at my old job had over 8 years of use on glass and gelcoat, used daily, but they are carefully blown out at the end of the day (Very picky boss). I have a 5 year old one myself and have used it a ton, dropped it off the boat many times, still going strong. There are easier RO's to control however.The pads can get torn at the edges if you aren't careful.These do tend to dig at first contact, and they are agressive. You sound like you've got lots of experience with them, so go for it. I've used the FEIN as well, and it definitely is the MERCEDES of RO's - smooth, controllable. The best feature is the excellent provision for dust collection; that's the reason they are actually fairly popular in the big-boat refinishing business.

-Of course DELTA makes tablesaws with cast-iron wings ! What do you think a Unisaw is ! I will agree that on a price basis, you do get more saw with the Taiwanese than a NA product, but you also will have more problems and little "tune-up" projects on your new tool. They can be made to work well, I agree, but how can you argue with the life you'd get out of a Unisaw/General 350/Powermatic 66 though ? These last over 50 years in commercial service and parts are still available for all of them ! And they are proudly made in Miss/Quebec/Tenn.

-What about portable tool constuction ? Look at the parts diagram in each box - it will show what kind of bearings the tool has. Look at the size of shafts, collets, provision for cooling, etc. Talk to repair shops that have these apart all the time..... Lots of ways !

- It's a shame you don't care about the legacy good tools can be. I don't have kids either, but I can appreciate this. Some of my most used and best quality tools (both hand and power)were passed down to me by my grandfather, a finish carpenter. He also taught me to use them when I was a kid. I'm proud to use them to do good work. Is this making any sense ?


Matt Green

[Travis Fulton]

i have one from snap-on and my partner has one from harber and uses it all the time (probally 2-3 yrs) and hasent had any trouble , knock on wood, for the $ it is probally a decent unit just make sure the air is dry and oil regulary as w/ all air tools,:D

[Ryan140]

I dont want to start a pissing contest but.... The tools that you describe as "buy the best have it 20 years from now" isnt always true. I work construction and I have seen plenty of the "good brands" as you describe it, break after not much use. For example, we used to use 1/2" milwaukee d handle drills to drill out houses. It got to the point where every other new drill the company bought would only last 2 weeks in the field before the switch would break or the connection for the cord would come undone in the drill. My boss bought 2 14.4 Miketa drills back to back and neither one lasted longer than a week. I saw a 12v Dewalt burn up in less than 1 hour of normal use. Ive had helpers buy the biggest peice of crap no name cordless drills and have them out last the name brands. Some of my family members are mechanics and they say the same thing is true for tools in their trade. My uncle said a few years ago 2 or 3 guys that work for him bought new snap on air impacts off the dealer. He said one guy traded his in because it kept jamming up. The others had to borrow other peoples guns to break a bolt loose bolts cause theirs wasnt strong enough. All I am saying is just because it has a name brand on the side of it doesnt mean that it is good or that it will last 10 minutes after you take it out of the box, and just because it doenst have a big name on the side of it that it is junk. When I said that I was looking to buy a cheaper band saw I said it because I can not justify spending 250-400 dollars on a tool that I am going to use once or twice a year. It would be different if I were using it everyday or I needed that tool to make a living. But as it is I want the tool to do some work for nothing more than a hobby.

[Techno]

A unisaw costs what $1200? I'm talking about the $400 table saw. The one I have isn't breaking or wearing out. They are well made. My mistake the model I have has a sheet steel body. The larger ones do have cast cabinets though. But these taiwan tools have a bad rep for no reason that I can see.
With so many companies going overseas for cheap labor it's pretty hard to tell where they are made now. Japanese cars built in the US. Kodak stuff made in Mexico. Soon we'll be building those Taiwan saws to be shipped over there for paint just to be shipped back here!

For old tools I have my dads old, old, old shop smith. If anyone has seen one this one doesn't look much like it. I use it as a power source now. I made a 14" dia x 4" drum sander with 36 grit paper, run at high speed will take flesh off no problem. Ate up (shaped) maple. Even heard it laughing, that might have been me though.
Drives the buffing wheels and if needed flipped up for a drill press. Sometime used as a lathe. Neat multi tool thing.

[Jeff_G]

There are good cheap tools and bad cheap tools. All of my wrenches and screwdrivers are Snap On. Why? because I can't afford to have them break in the middle of a job. Same with power tools. (No not all Snap ON)
I used to buy those $10.00 impact drivers. Finally figured they really didn't work and always broke. Bought a Snap-On 12 years ago and still works. In the previous 10 years probably bought 5 or 6 cheap ones. Economically I would have been further ahead buying the better tool and less time and frustration over not getting a fastener apart. The cheap tool COST me money.
You get what you pay for.
I do shop Harbor Freight, for tarps, air connectors, chipping brushes, disposable things. To me tools are not disposable, my job and the quality of job depends on them.

Techno my problem was your statement about the Sears tools, which I have very few troubles with, and then you send him to Harbor Freight where the cheapest pieces of crap reside.

Unless it is a one time job, and not critical. Buy the best you can afford. Not always the most expensive, but the best for your dollar.

[Raceman]

One problem is that now many of the name brands are crap, and imported crap at that. I've got a Black and Decker drill from the 60's/70's that they referred to as a Hold Gun and Screw Gun, depending on the chuck. It's 3/8's chuck, all metal and all ball bearing. If it weren't for the cord being old age cracked it'd be good as new, except for looking well used which it is. Now, unfortunately B & D's an economy line, with DeWalt I assume being their premier line. Problem is, even the DeWalt stuff doesn't seem to measure up to the old B & D quality. I've got a
B&D/Dewalt saw (both names on the handle) that my dad bought in the 40's and I'd venture to say that it's better than anything either of them build now and it's still in excellent shape too, although never used.

I think this cheapen it up disease has spread through most tool lines and it's hard to tell the difference anymore.

As far as the belt sander that Matco sells, I saw one in a body shop that's doin' one of my project cars today, and was going to come home and post about it. It was just like the one in CompKing's picture above and the guy said it had been trouble free and used hard for about a year. He thought he paid about $200. but couldn't remember for sure.

[NPK2003]

Buy the right tool, for the right job, only if the cost of sending out the job and / or the chance of doing similiar up-comming jobs is a a good gamble. I think it is especially important for me to have lots of "stuff" to carry with me on roadies, like D'Rumble, BTTW, and Minn. Hot Boat trips. Example below:

At the Rumble, my Euro/2.5 EFI wouldn't rev up but ran great to load on trailor day before. I'm getting down to checking electrical basics with my "Hey Chein!" ammeter kit when Billy Gohr looks into my Yukon XL and rolls his eyes! Ya, I saw it Bill! Maybe it was nothing bettter than a cheap, yellow, plastic continuity tester and voltmeter, but it did tell me where to concentrate the next efforts. I dropped the boat at Bill's and it took him, GOD, a few days to find the troubles. A better meter would not have fixed me quicker in this case.

Jay Smith mills heads to exact cc's ordered. I sell new and used CNC mills and could easily set-up to do heads. but WHY!????!??? Even a cheap mill needs installation, maybe a phase converter if CNC, a decent fixture, tool holders and cutting inserts, and most of all, an operator who cleans the datum points of the fixture before loading the casting. Garabage in, garabage out and let's not even talk about porosity issues that the averagage boater will just see and accuse you of ruining his perfectly good head!

Last, and not least! I too buy stuff from Harbor Freight and Northern Tools when it's crazy not to. MR. BALZY!!....Sir!
Seems you did get Free Delivery from Ingersol-Rand including tailgate lift delivery onto the garage floor. :p :D

Heck; Raceman, MattGreen, Jeff_G, Techno, Comp, Travis and Ryan140, and I seem to say go wi th the most cost effective method, AT THAT TIME, AND AT THAT MOMENT, with all things considered. I bought my flywheel wrench from Merc Dealer, BL. Two weeks later we sell Snap-On Tools $400,000.00 of turning centers and down the road I find I could buy the same wrench for about 40% less direct.

See BL, that is a tool a felt I needed to buy the best of because I would use it a lot. So I agree with all of ya. If anyone wants to really buy some garabage cheap, contact my e-mail address, as I know plenty on vermon who fit the description.

E'NuFF AL'Ready.

Nick K:o

[Ryan140]

Santa Claus brought me the milwaulkee sander that techno posted a link to. How does he know?