hand-held belt sanders

[Loren Woirhaye]

In over a decade of woodworking I've never used a hand-held
belt sander.  Never owned one either.  I've always
considered them to be messy, noisy, and inaccurate -
but maybe I'm just ignorant and I don't know the value
of the tool in skilled hands.

If I couldn't fit a panel in my planer, I worked it by hand.

Recently I picked up a vintage Porter-Cable "locomotive"
sander, a real beast.  Weighs something like 17 lbs. and
it's all metal.

What would you guys use such a tool for?

 

[pteubel]

What would you guys use such a tool for?

Some folks use them for racing.   

Belt Sander Racing

 

[Michael Kellough]

Is this the one you bought?

 

[Loren Woirhaye]

Yes.  That's the one. 

I'm not interested in racing it. 

 

[Steve Jones]

Belt sanders!

I remember those, it's what we used to use before Festool invented Rotex's

I sold mine (to raise money for the slope) but if I still had them I'd probably keep one on the shelf to show folks what we had to put up with before discovering Festool.

Seriously, I haven't found a situation yet where I'd prefer the old belt sanders to the Rotex (and I have the small one) that thing eats wood as fast as any belt sander and I flip the mode switch and I'm finishing (usually without bothering to change the paper). My belt sanders sat on the shelf for a year before I decided to have a shop clearout and get rid of the pile of stuff that Festools have replaced on my shop.

Festools are not as expensive as they seem, I sold
2 belt sanders and 2 palm sanders (replaced by the Rotex),
3 routers (Bosch, two Porter cables), replaced by the OF1400,
Portable shop dust control and 12 gallon shop-vac (replaced by Ct22)

This didn't happen all at once, but over the course of the last year or so, my investment in festool has much been cheaper than expected.

 

[Eli]

Festool does make two belt sanders, I have the 'smaller' one, and with the fence (I call it the zamboni and of course no one in Aus. has a clue what I'm talking about) it is a truly superior flattening tool. Other than that, other belt sanders are very handy for smoothing the curve on butcher block tops, it's easier to keep the edge more square than any other type of sander. IMO

 

[ken257]

I used to have two 3X21 belt sanders but I sold them both and got the Rotex 150FEQ. It has taken their place and is a far superior tool. That said I recently bought another belt sander. This time I am looking at it from a different angle. What I really had a need for is a stationary belt sander especially for some of the fancy joinery I am doing with Incras router fence. The problem is that I don't have the room. I would also like something portable. There are also times when a belt sander is handy for example sanding to a scribe line. So I made a compromise and got a Makita 9404 4X24" sander. The extra width is a real help when using it as a stationary sander and this one can be clamped down to a table either sideways or with the belt topside. It actually is made so you can do this. This sander has worked out great for me and it is even light enough to still use as a handheld, not much heavier then a 3X21. Variable speed and a dust port that works well complete this fine sander and increase it's usefullness in the shop as a stationary unit. It also fits nicely in a sys 3.

 

[Frank_M]

I too had sold my 3x21 Bosch belt sander before buying the Rotex based on comments from Rotex users saying that Rotex is as effective as a belt sander.  However, I found out that was not really the case.  I then bought another belt sander, this time 4x24 Bosch.  I don't think Rotex's removal rate is more than 30% of this belt sander.  There are two things very important for me in a belt sander.  Dust collection and ability to add a sanding frame.  The Bosch has both and no adaptors are needed to connect the Festool vac hose to the tool.  Dust collection is not certainly like Rotex but is decent. 

The one you show I beleive is considered a very well built, older style machine, but I don't think it has dust collection or ability to accept a sanding frame.