Is the Belt Sander worth it?

[Tezzer]

Question for those who have used the Belt Sander

Having a small business making furniture with tables featuring promently, im not in a possition financially to get a drum or wide belt sander. I have tried the big 8" Fein (to powerful for the crapy quality of the pad/disc) and it didnt suit.

My question.

Is the Belt sander good/great for table tops?

I have the opportunity to get one 20% cheaper (still a lot of money) but i dont want to get it if it dosnt do what i want. In the past i have never used a belt sander that gives smooth blemish free results.

Hope some one can advise ;D

 

[Tinker]

My belt sander gave out at about the time I purchased my Rotex 150.  I do not now miss the dust, the noise and especially the frequent gouges.  I have no desire to replace that old monster with another like it.
Tinker

 

[Tezzer]

Tinker im talkin about this Baby ;D
http://www.idealtools.com.au/prod3287.htm and its more expensive than the Domi   hardly an old monster ;D ;D

 

[Llap Goch]

Lig

I bought the baby of the pair (BS75e) last year to restore the oak floors in my house and it was brilliant for that task. Its a powerful beast so God knows what the one you are interested in is like.

Performance wise it shifts stuff at a fair old rate and makes a lot of dust doing it. The extraction system is very good, not perfect, but if your vacuum hose does come off you will really notice it. They are quite noisy too. It is essential that you use it with a sanding frame, take extreme care at edges and keep it moving!

There are some nice feature on the sanders, the frame is easy to adjust and the small brushes in the frame do not mark the surface and allow for smooth movement. The frame is very effective and I have yet to suffer the gouges that my old B&D sander was famous for. It has a park feature to keep the belt off your surface until you are ready to sand.

I have used it on two table top joins and again by steady movement, a firm grip and the frame properly adjusted it has done very well and quick lick with the 150/3 finished the job. But its an OK tool for me just doing stuff for myself. If it was stuff I was selling I would be a tad more cautious as the margin for error could be too high. When it sands it really does sand!

I was given the stand and a systainer full of belts FOC when I bought it so it was a good buy. When used in stationary role it is very effective and I shape drawer knobs and the like on it.

As it is such an expensive beast in Oz I would advise you to have a go with one to see whether it will do what you hope it will. Or save the dosh and put it towards the Wunderschnitter (Kapex)!

Pat

 

[The Dude]

T, have you looked at the Festool RS 2 E (If you are interested in table top, and large panel perfection, and versitile as well with flat surface application...i.e. face frame, quick stock removal, etc. Spend the dough and get this sander, you won't regret it.  I do a ton of tables in my personal furniture business, and this sander has more than paid for itself.  IMHO, this is one of the most under-rated Festool products in the US.

Timmy C

 

[Tezzer]

Thanks for your input Pat and Timmy ;D

Its all so confusing when decent money is involved.

Timmy the RS2 http://www.idealtools.com.au/prod2850.htm looks great but its 2.4 stroke worries me.

This looks fantastic with a 7mm stroke (so big the photo is even fuzzy) at a sensible pricehttp://www.idealtools.com.au/prod3596.htm 

This looks even betterhttp://www.idealtools.com.au/prod3771.htm but will it be as good at removal as the belt sander.

So confused my brain hurts :

 

[The Dude]

If stock removal is what you are after, the RAS will kick a little booty.  We have sold several of the RAS to painters who are stripping houses and decking. 
Alright dude, now I am confused.  What type of finish are you after?  Like I said, I use the RS 2 E to get close, and then finish it off with the 150/3.  You are right, the 2.4 stroke is a bit of a concern, but not really when you consider it "in-place-of" belt sander.  It leaves much less of a scratch pattern, and you don't have near the worry of gouging and grooving the workpiece.  Once again, IMHO, a true "flattening device" that is much more user friendly than a belt sander.

Timmy C

 

[Tezzer]

I have a 150/3 for finishing and love it. The belt sander for me is to quickly "flatten" the tops after glue up. I have 9 tops that will be glued up in the next 2 weeks and my little 150/3 told me she dosnt want to do it 8)

 

[VictorL]

I re-sanded my deck recently. I took my Rotex with Platin 40 first and got smooth surface on one plank (15 minutes). Then I took my Bosch 4x24 belt sander with 60 grit belt and completed the rest of the deck within 2 hours (20 planks). Man, belt sand is the beast. Nothing can compare to the belt sander for massive stock removal. However it has some disadvantages. For my opinion BS is great for initial coarse sanding, but for finishing stages better to use something more delicate. Can you bring your tabletop to the Festool? dealer and try to sand it there with different sanders? It will help to resolve your dilemma.  
P.S. I never worked with sanding frame, but it seems with sanding frame you can do some delicate work too

Victor

 

[Dan Clark]

Tezzer,

I can't remember if you have one, but the RO150 is an excellent sander for stock removal.  I have one and love it.

I don't have one, but Jerry Work speaks highly of the RS 2 E.  Jerry is the "Godfather" of Festool sanders .  He is a furniture maker in Grants Pass, Oregon, USA.  Check out his portfolio at:http://www.jerrywork.com/.  His "Getting the Most from Festool Sanders" 33-page manual (http://www.festoolusa.com/Web_files/Getting_the_most_from_Festool_sanders.pdf) is an excellent resource for sander selection.  From his manual:

The other pure rotary sander, the RS 2 E (pictured below) is another story. It is a big, powerful work horse that is in my hands virtually every day.
...

That big flat sanding pad (the right most media pictured above) simply cannot be beat for smoothing out large surfaces. It is not an overly aggressive  sander compared to the RAS 115 we discussed earlier or the RO 150 we will be discussing shortly, but you can use it all day long with no tingling of the hands. Since it produces a really flat surface, there is no worry about dips or gouges showing up after the final finish is applied.

I hope this helps.

Regards,

Dan.

 

[womackdesign]

I have the Festool  BS105 kit and it is a fantastic sander. I have used it to sand  both solid and veneer panels. Since you can't buy this in the US market you should try a belt sander with a sanding frame. I think Bosch makes one.  I am really impressed the controll you can get with the sanding frame. Chad

 

[Tezzer]

I have the Festool  BS105 kit and it is a fantastic sander. I have used it to sand  both solid and veneer panels. Since you can't buy this in the US market you should try a belt sander with a sanding frame.

Chad im an Aussie ;D and thats the one (bs105) im looking at ;D

Thanks Dan, im going to have a good read of the Jerry sander article ;D

 

[VictorL]

Question to the Festool USA who knows. Just wondering. The lack of Festool?s belt sander in the US because of UL approval or because of weak demand? I want one.  :

 

[Dan Clark]

Thanks Dan, im going to have a good read of the Jerry sander article ;D

I should have mentiioned that the 33 page file is 2Mb in size.  Download might be a bit long depending on your internet access speed.

Regards,

Dan.

 

[Tezzer]

Vic the reviews here are superb. And just like Chad pointed out its so good it will sand pre veneered board.

I wasnt aware it wasnt available in the States, so i hope i havnt wasted everyones time :-[

 

[Bob Childress]

I wasnt aware it wasnt available in the States, so i hope i havnt wasted everyones time :-[

Well, as usual you have, but what's new?  ;D ;D

 

[Tezzer]

Well, as usual you have, but what's new?  ;D ;D

Come down here and have a drink in a pub and tell me that   ;D

 

[Dan Clark]

Question to the Festool USA who knows. Just wondering. The lack of Festool?s belt sander in the US because of UL approval or because of weak demand? I want one.  :

Victor,

One of the dealers should chime in on this one, but I suspect it is demand.   There several good competitor belt sanders on the market at a much lower cost, some with excellent dust collection.  (Compare that the tools like the TS55/75 and Domino, which have virtually NO effective competitors.)

Nine months ago, I purchased this Makita 3X21" sander:http://www.amazon.com/Makita-9903-3...4-4329755?ie=UTF8&s=hi&qid=1184077047&sr=8-2.  I got it for $179 including shipping and tax, and after a $25 discount.   

It's a great sander and with a small Fein adaptor has almost perfect dust collection when hooked to my CT22.   You can sand within 1/8" of a side wall and within about 3/4" of a front wall.   Belt adjustment is fast and precise.  It's powerful best that can easily gouge out material if you're not careful.  That said...

I don't believe it has a frame which makes it difficult to use it for flattening unless you are experienced and careful. 

One major issue is safety - belt sanders are fairly dangerous, IMO.   While trimming down some wall studs with a 36 grit belt (think small boulders), I accidentally touched the sander to my left middle finger while it was spinning down.   It shredded the finger tip from the first knuckle to the tip of the finger taking part of the finger nail and all of the side of the finger from the first knuckle forward.   It took two months to heal, still hurts occasionally (8 months later) and I've got a nasty keloid scar on the finger as reminder.   If you buy one, be VERY careful with it.

Regards,

Dan.

 

[Tezzer]

While trimming down some wall studs with a 36 grit belt (think small boulders), I accidentally touched the sander to my left middle finger while it was spinning down.  It shredded the finger tip from the first knuckle to the tip of the finger taking part of the finger nail and all of the side of the finger from the first knuckle forward. 

Now Dan that was a very silly thing to do wasnt it :

 

[VictorL]

Thanks Dan,
I have  Bosch 4x24 and I like its power. I bought vacuum adapter recently to connect its 19 mm port to the Festo?s  35 mm vacuum hose.  I need sanding frame.  It cost $100+  on Amazon.  If Festool will sell their belt sander here I?ll definitely buy Festo, if not I have to stick with Bosch. Bosch is Good company, but Festool spoiled us with EXCELLENT products. I just want to know if we?ll see Festool?s belt sander or not.  Should I buy Bosch?s sanding frame or I have to wait for Festool?s sander.
You can buy more belt sanders in Europe than in US, but almost every manufacturer produces sells them. Indeed belt sanders are very aggressive, but?.  if  you can use sanding frame it will resolve many of exising problems.
I?m sorry for your finger. My beast chewed 12 gauge power cord with 60 grit belt in fractions of second last year.

Victor