Belt/Disc Sander

[HoBow]

Thanks everyone!  Not sure I know what I want though     I may end up getting a cheaper one to start of with and if it lasts good, if not, I'll end up getting the grizzly.

[Jesse]

I build my bows with a cheap $70  4" from harbor freight.Can be a pain though.  After seeing what can be done with one I would get a big industrial edge sander that does not oscillate.  You can do everything with one of those. 

[Hillbilly]

Correction-I was using mine Saturday and noticed that it's a Hitachi, not a Ryobi. Good little sander for the money.

[Lombard]

Hillbilly, I have been eyeballing the Hitachi, it seems to be better built than others in the same class. The display model at the store had safety shrouds, did you remove them on yours to expose the entire belt?

[Tsalagi]

Hitachi makes outstanding tools.

[HoBow]

I think I've decided on the 1/3 hp 4"X36" Grizzly w/ a 6" disk sander....any thoughts?  It is only $130 delivered.  Will I regret not waiting for the 3/4 hp 6"X48" w/ a 9" disk?  It is significantly more at $419 delivered.  The Ryobi cost about the same with 1/2 hp.....

[El Destructo]

Jef...what is the Main reason for this Sander? The reason I ask....There is nothing wrong with Grizzly Equipment...but what you have to look for is the Diameter of the Idler Pulley...if you are going to be building Knives and such....other than that...a 1/3 Horse is light but will be just fine for Woodwork and such....JMO

[jonathan creason]

Just stopped by the pawn shop near my office and they had a 6" Craftsman for $99.  I thought long and hard about it, but I just don't know if I've got enough room for that thing.

[jonathan creason]

Ok, a question for you mechanical types.  I've got a Craftsman belt/disk combo, 2" slack belt and 6" disk with a 1 h.p. motor.  I rarely (meaning pretty much never) use the disk sander, it's just too small.  I'd love to have one of those inflatable drum sanders for shaping, but can't afford a new toy, I mean tool.  How difficult would it be to take the disk off this sander and install a drum on the spindle?

[Tsalagi]

The hard part will be finding the right size drum-to-spindle fit. You need to measure your Craftsman spindle and find out if that drum spindle will fit. And how is it attached? Set screw and woodruff key? Might not hold a drum as it lays longer on the spindle and the spindle might be too short. For that matter, the drum might be too long to fit on the spindle anyway. But the most important thing you need to pay attention to is RPMs. The rated RPM of the drum cannot be lower than the rated RPM the disc turns at. Otherwise, you can have a serious problem that could result in a trip to the hospital. I know of a guy who "succeeded" in attaching a circular saw blade to a router. It cost him a hand. You can tweek RPMs with a different motor and/or different pulleys, but once you start getting into shadetree mechanicking power tools, you often end up paying more to do that than the cost of buying a used or new one.

[jonathan creason]

Thanks for the info Tsalagi.  Sounds like it's more trouble (and danger) than it's worth. 

Eh well, I've made it this long without one.