Belt-disc sander replacement recommend
Jimma
| Posted in Power Tools and Machinery on
Time for the old Craftsman 6-inch belt/9-inch disc sanding station to be replaced and I’m looking at 6-inch/12-inch options. The usual suspects are in my sights. I’d appreciate any recommendations based on moderate to heavy shop experience. Cost is not a primary factor, quality is. –Jim
Replies
Jim, no tips here, but a question -- what're you going to do with the old sander? I just picked up a Crftmn 6/9 at an auction, and am hoping to find an extra table somewhere, so I can have a table mounted on each function all the time. If there's any chance you're going to junk the sander, I'm all ears.
forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Awww -- too bad, but nice try. I hand down my used-up tools to my two adult boys who don't have room for them (heh-heh). But that's how I grew my own collection over the years. Now that I have a dedicated shop with ample room, I just keep replacing the tools I got 20 or more years ago with better quality and give the hand-me-downs to Scott and Brian who have small families and can't afford even Craftsman quality much of the time.
However, I hope you'll be OK with your used 6/9 sander. I've never liked it much because the tables were never square to the sanding surfaces (without fixing them) and the tracking was unreliable. I finally fixed that problem by putting small pieces of right-angle aluminum on the sides of the belt unit after sanding through the plastic dust collection port a few times (kept fixing it with PVC patches). Also, raising the belt table to vertical position was never convenient and they didn't furnish -- as I guess you know -- a table for use with the belt portion. Seems to me they went to an awful lot of trouble to make a compromise machine. Oh, well. Don't spend a lot on yours, it ain't worth it. Thanks for asking. Jim
"Thanks for asking. " You are too kind! LOL.
The tracking has been fine on mine -- I just put my first new belt on it this morning, fooled around with the tracking a bit, and it stayed put while sanding some oak.
I haven't figured out how to raise the belt to vertical yet. I see a bolt that should do it, right behind the disc, hard to fit a wrench to because it's a tight squeeze. I undid the bolt a tad this morning, but the unit didn't want to move. At the moment, I was most interested in sanding in a horizontal position, so I didn't pursue the matter. Ran out to get some good belts instead.
Picked this one up at an estate auction for $90, including a huge stack of discs and RO paper, plus a nicely built mobile base, so it's pretty OK. It will certainly do until a better one is needed and afforded. forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
FG,
Went to the sears parts site to see what a new table would cost. What comes back is parts for this machine are no longer available from the manufacturer. I used part number 22595. That it their current number for the 6 inch belt, 9 inch disk sander.
Don
Hi, FG, sorry it took a while to answer your question about raising the belt table. Yes, you do have to squeeze your pinkies with an open end wrench between the back of the disc and the belt unit to release it. It's not nearly as bad going the other way (down), but you'd better watch out your pet skunk isn't in the way when that heavy piece of cast iron comes slamming down. Really great design, no?
Jim, your input is appreciated. I wonder if I didn't have the bolt out far enough, or if it takes way more force than I was expecting to move the monster. There's not a whole lot of room for that bolt to be brought out.
FWIW, I've seen 2 other positive posts about the Grizzly sanders.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Jamie
If you need a table for your sander and don't particularly need a mitre groove, let me know. Tell you how us po boy's remedy that one. Good news, IMO it's better than the table manufacturers put with the sanders. They can build great sanders an then put a 4th grade engineered table on it.
Do you have a metal stop at the bottom of the belt. If so this will work. If you feel the mitre is important, dis-regard.
Evening maam,
sarge..jt
Hi Sarge. I would think I could get by without a MG. If I needed to have an angle, I could clamp a block to the table, right? I'm so resourceful! So, whatcha got?forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Jamie
Got work in short while. Will get back to-nite. Do you have that metal stop at the bottom?? Important.. If you have one of those camera's that can get a quick picture, it would be helpful if you posted a pic of the belt section. Don't go out of the way. Would save some exchange of post as this is hard to explain without seeing.
Have a great day..Latter
sarge..jt
Jim, I have the Jet 6-inch/9-inch belt/disc sander. I know you're looking for the 12-inch disc, but FWIW I've been very happy with the Jet. Set up was a snap, it runs well, offers plenty of power for what I need (I've use the disc to hog off large amounts of material when making oval forms, with no bogging). Dust collection is adequte, although I don't think any dust collection system for any kind of sander is ever more than just adequate, IMHO. The tables, disc, etc. were very flat and accurate.
David
Look, I made a hat -- Where there never was a hat!
Jim:
I recently put up a similar post, since my belt/disc sander fried the motor. One of the responses to my post suggested looking at an edge sander. This never occurred to me, but I started looking at what was available. I still have a 9" disc connected to another machine with a 1" belt. Grizzly makes a pretty cool edge sanding machine with a 6" x 80" belt, that lets you sand horizontally or vertically. May not work for you, but an interesting thought.
Michael
I hadn't thought of that. I'll check it out. Thanks for the idea. I don't know if it would fit where my present 6/9 is, though. How easy is it to use a piece vertically (edge up)?
Jim:
Check out the Grizzly web site. Looking at the pictures is much clearer than my trying to write an explanation. In short, imagine turning your combo sander on its side, so the belt surface is 90 degrees to the floor. Your table is now parallel to the floor. Rest your piece on the table. The pictures make it look pretty stable. I think that is the route I am going to take. The biggest down side is the space it will consume in the shop. The upside for me is that my lovely wife has agreed to let me expand the shop by approximately 150-200sf.
Michael
Michael -- Thanks for the suggestion. I did check it out, but I'm pretty sure the 6/12 is the one for me, the one with the 1725 rpm direct drive disc. Do you know if General, Sunhill or others offer a 6/12 unit and anyone who might be a user? I can't seem to get their info on line. Jim
Jim:
The only other machines I checked out were the Delta and Jet, both at about $700.00. I am pretty sure General makes a combo sander, but I do not have any info on it.
Good Luck
Michael
Jim
Here's Generals and General Internationals site plus Sunhills: I just recieved a Sunhill jointer. Great.. The GI TS, jointer and mortiser are also excellent machinery. Did a lot of research as wasn't too familar with GI. You can check and see on the sanders...
http://www.general.ca http://www.sunhillmachinery.com
Good luck with your decision..
sarge..jt
Thanks, Sarge, I checked out General International's sander and will call them Monday. Sunhill doesn't seem to offer one (at least they don't show one on the website), so I emailed them. Jim
Jim,
Do you live near the Canadian border? I've checked into both of GI's sanders. The belt drive can be had for about 400 and the direct drive about 500 in us dollars.
Don
Me? Live near Canada? Heh-heh. About as far as you can get in the 48. I live near Orlando, FL. HOWEVER, I don't mind paying the going rate for shipping if the tool is good quality because it's going to last me and my boys a long time, hopefully. Do you live near the Canadian border? Do you know anyone who's had experience with these sanders? I'm familiar with general's reputation for quality, but every tool has its own characteristics and I'd like to know about things like dust control effectiveness, tracking, ease of changing belts and discs, if the tables are easy to adjust after changing abrasives, etc. I'm going to check out what I can with the company after the weekend. In the meantime, Don, I appreciate your response to my post. Jim
Jim,
I'm not sure how far you are from Sanford but here's a link to a FL. dealer.
http://www.utterguys.com/
Prices will be higher because of the import broker fees, but then again, you save on shipping. As far as general international goes, I'm really impressed with the quality for imports. General owns it's own factory overseas so they are in control. Something Delta has gone and done and their pushing that as a positive for their imports also. GI's rejects get passed along to someone else who imports. Interesting point huh?
Don
Jim,
We have the Grizzly 1725 rpm model. It's a pretty good one. I've worked on several industrial versions and would probably prefer a Kalamazoo or Wilton but they'd be about three times as much for a similar machine. We've put a lot of miles on the Grizzly and have no real complaints. All-in-all, we'd probably buy the same one again if the need came up.
Thanks, Larry. I had spent some time on the Grizzly website and, as far as I could tell looking at the photo, it's just like Jet and, maybe, another or two. The specs look OK and it's the only company I've found with a slow speed disc option. Guess I'm a little hesitant to take on a Grizzly without a real user's opinion, so I value your input. How hard is it to change belts and discs? Does the belt work OK in the vertical position? Are the dust control shrouds satisfactory (not that anybody makes really good ones)? Is the tracking easy to adjust and does it hang in there, or wander like the old Craftsman?
Jim,
Changing belts and discs is pretty straight forward and easy. I use belts a lot more than the disc so rarely change discs. The only trick to changing belts is to back the tracking alignment knobs off enough to release tension. This allows adjusting tracking for each belt without risking running the belt into the inside of the housing. It took a while for us to figure this out and the housing is pretty scared on ours as a result. We also have a similar unit that was sold by AMT before they went belly-up. It's exactly the same as the Jet. I like the tracking adjustment system on the Grizzly better and haven't found anything on the AMT that offers any advantage.
I'm not impressed with dust collection on the Grizzly or the AMT and the only reasonably efficient dust collection I've seen on these was home made and made belt changing a night mare. There's got to be a better way but I haven't seen it anywhere.
Jim mentioned earlier about the tracking and scarred disc-plate also. I found the other day, the first time I changed belts on mine, that I can turn the belt by hand and get a very close approximation to the correct tracking balance. A quick flick of the switch shows if I've not quite gotten it right. No problems with it moving so far it hits metal.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Well, the decision has been made to go for a Delta Model 31-278 6-inch belt, 12-inch disc combination sander with open stand. I appreciate all the counsel you've provided and want to let you know why I went the way I did. Most of the imported machines were pretty much the same, including the General International, with the Grizzly being the exception because it has a slow speed model. But I kept reading or hearing about various problems with the Grizzly, the latest being a magazine's test of several disc sanders. In addition, the Delta has a large table for the disc with 2 miter guage tracks running at 90 degrees and a more complete dust control shroud around the belt unit. Meanwhile, Delta introduced a new "Limited Edition" model that is the same machine as their previous Model 31-280 but with the accessory package now included (the shaft extension with inflatable drum and dust collector) for less money, and, in addition, Delta and Woodcraft announced a 10-percent-off sale next week. So, the combination of a better machine with more goodies for less money then before put me over the top. Otherwise I would have checked out the Grizzly more completely by finding someone who uses it. So, thanks for your inputs!
Congrats on your new purchase! Sounds like you got a great deal and a dynamite package. Me thinks you're gonna love it -- I just have an old Craftsman combo with zero bells and whistles, and it makes life sooooo much easier!forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
Thanks. My Craftsman is about 35 years old and still running, but it ain't that great a machine for a lot of things I like to do. Time to move up! Jim
It's a good looking machine, enjoy it.
Don
Jim: If it is the G1276 6"/12" machine to which you are referring, I have it. It's a beast. Simple to set up, fit-and-finish is very good. Tracking is easy to set. Belt replacement is a snap after replacing the pan head screws that hold the belt guard in place with 1/4-20 thumb screws. The belt sanding media that comes with the sander is junk. All-in-all, an excellent machine and value.
HTH
Scott
Too late! But the Delta is more to my liking as stated above. Thanks.
The magazine review was on 12" disc sanders. Grizzly scored poorly on the power scale. The Grizzly stalled with "red oak under heavy pressure" as did the Central Machinery model. The Delta 31-120 "slowed considerably" (from ~1700 rpm to 800 rpm. The Jet and Woodtek stayed above 1700.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
I've looked over that article. I don't have any of those machines, so I can't comment on them. My machine is the big, slow speed 6"x48"/12" combo sander. If I ever stalled this puppy, then I'm did something wrong.
Scott
I was simply clarifying that the article Jim mentioned was in reference to 12" disc sanders, not the combo sanders.forestgirl -- you can take the girl out of the forest, but you can't take the forest out of the girl ;-)
OK. I was replying to his request for anyone with the Griz combo, but I didn't finish reading the thread. So, I missed the fact that he had already purchased a different brand. Aint nothin' but a thing...
Scott
Edited 12/5/2002 3:12:34 PM ET by Phenom
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