Belt sander recommendations?

[18 stoner]

Looking for a sander that will cope with finishing good sized boards.

 

Presumably a belt sander would be best?

 

Can anyone point me in the right direction upto say £100, possibly a bit more if it was the dogs?

[tommer9]

Ryobi if you have that sort of budget. Pretty clunky, but industrially built. I have abused mine for 6 years and it keeps coming back for more. A large linisher would be ideal, or one of the makita 12" wide sanders!!!

[WoodED]

Buy Makita 9403 Belt Sander from Axminster, fast delivery for the UK.

i have one of these in 110v.. a good heavy duty machine

[Ian Leach]

Heavy duty I would go for makita, I have a Bosch one at the moment that I use for me boards, I have given it a lot of stick so far and it's still going well there only about £80. It also depends if it's going to be a one off sand as well.

[Woodworks]

4" Ryobi. Had one for years and it has stood up to everything including sanding down several floors.

[Rob D]

I've been using these for detail sanding DeWalt D28117 110V 1100W 4½" Variable Speed Mini Grinder - Power Tools, Grinders & Chasers, Angle - 4½" (115mm)

 

But the above get hot with sustained hard sanding.

 

 

And these for mass sanding (also the makita equivalent) Dewalt DWP849X 240V 1250W 6" & 9" (150 & 180mm) Premium Variable Speed Polisher - Power Tools, Sanders / Polishers, Sander / Polishers

 

 

Main thing with these is that you have variable speed control - helps stop burning the wood. They're fast, cheap sanding discs, can get things to mirror smoothness.

 

 

[harvey b davison]

Makita !

[EddieJ]

Buy Makita 9403 Belt Sander from Axminster, fast delivery for the UK.

i have one of these in 110v.. a good heavy duty machine

 

Same as above. Mine gets used on an almost daily basis and blows the Ryobi into the weeds. The Makita is in a different league.

 

I bought the Ryobi 610mm x 100mm size belt sander before the Makita, and thought that the Ryobi is was okay, then I worked along side someone who had a Makita 9403, and couldn't believe just how much better and faster it was. When sanding the components of a bog stock modular two bay oak frame, I save approx 4hrs of sanding time when compared to using the Ryobi.

 

If the spec details are correct, the Ryobi has a belt speed of 240-400m/min and the Makita has a belt speed of 500m/min.

 

Which ever make or model that you decide upon, buy decent belts and a stick of belt cleaner. The belt cleaner is worth every penny. Buy Abrasive Belt & Disc Cleaners from Axminster, fast delivery for the UK

Edited July 11, 2012 by EddieJ

[Ironbark]

Another vote for the Makita 9403. I've got one and my wife's uncle who makes staircases has about 6.

[18 stoner]

All I can say is.....WOW!

 

Thanks for the advice, and as a result I got the Makita. Collected it today and had a play tonight on some walnut. Brill!

 

Thanks for all your input, it cost me more than I intended but I'm a very happy bunny:thumbup: