Replies

1. 
   esch5995 | Dec 30, 2021 05:12pm | #1

   Makita and Metabo(formerly Hitachi) are the only brands that come to mind here in NA but I don't know if you have other brands available on your side of the pond.

1. 
   eddo234 | Jan 02, 2022 10:45am | #6

   Porter Cable.

2. 
   rob_ss | Dec 30, 2021 05:37pm | #2

   I have a green Bosch which has been abused for 20+ years. It has sanded 2 entire room floors (Just don't....) and been a general utility machine. It has been dropped a few times and no problems. I have even set it on fire once using it to grind the edge of a knife blade and it still keeps going.
   Now I mostly use it as a cheap, small wall-mounted sander, copying Woodshop Junkies.

3. 
   roy.unit8c | Dec 30, 2021 06:09pm | #3

   I have a DIY (Black and Decker) belt sander that eats the sanding belts. It is pretty much useless. So I use cabinet scraper, card scraper, and sand paper.

4. 
   davidsmith0726 | Dec 31, 2021 08:47am | #4

   I have the Makita 4x24 belt sander. Of all the belt sanders I've owned, it ranks head and shoulders above the rest. I can't speak for the smaller Makita, but if it's anything like big brother, it would be an awesome sander.

   But--my Makita spends most of its time sitting on the shelf since I found a used Rotex on eBay for a little more than the price of a new belt sander. Buying anything used on eBay is a gamble; but if the seller is reputable, the risk is minimal.

1. 
   lat_axe | Jan 02, 2022 12:45pm | #9

   Hi David,

   There've been many past moments when a Rotex-style RO sander tried to grasp my wallet but my resistance wasn't futile as I still don't have one. I can see their appeal for rapid stock removal; and their ease-of-use; as well as their ability to be an ordinary fine-sanding RO sander with the rotex switch set to "off".

   But the risk when using that rotex mode of accidently sanding a round pit in the middle of one's table top! I can see a Rotex for making a very hairy plank smooth enough to avoid handling-spelks, to reveal hidden nail-tops or otherwise rough-sanding the knags and knurrs away before more precise dimensioning begins ..... but a belt sander has been my way for such work to date.

   At this rate I'll be buying or making a scrub plane if the Bosch sander fades away! But those scrubbers are for true masochists, eh? :-)

   Lataxe

1. 
   Jkatzowitz | Jan 02, 2022 05:04pm | #13

   Masochists? I love my scrub plane, in fact I was using it today to flatten some re-sawn cherry boards. It is fast and accurate.

   Mine was "made" from an old Stanley #3 size transitional plane (Wood sole with metal frog lateral and depth adjusters). I Just cambered the iron and opened the mouth a bit, and voila, a scrubber!

1. 
   eddo234 | Jan 02, 2022 05:36pm | #15

   Starting tomorrow my sanding of flat surfaces is all getting done with the Supermax 25-50. I ordered it in early June and it's just getting here now, it was a slow boat from China. Nothing against a scrub plane, just a better solution for the work I do. :-)

2. 
   _mj_ | Jan 02, 2022 07:01pm | #16

   Nice! I have the same scrubber made from an old SB#35. Pretty much cut the profile to round...it is BRUTAL. huge wide throat that clogs anyway. It does not see as much action since I got the 12" helical J/P combo.

5. 
   lat_axe | Jan 01, 2022 01:03pm | #5

   Thanks for all the replies.

   Ideally I'd want to replace the Bosch belt sander with an identical model, if mine ever goes "phut". I have a sanding frame for it and this makes it far less risky to use in helping to flatten large surfaces with grain so nasty that even a very high angle plane can struggle to avoid the odd patch of tear-out.

   I do generally plane and scrape things flat these days, although there's also a bit of hand sanding; and some RO sanding of stuff like plywood, where even scraping risks taking off the ridiculously thin show veneer they stick on it these days.

   I'll just try to keep the old belt sander going whilst trying to practice alternatives to belt sanding in case the worst happens.

   Lataxe

6. 
   eddo234 | Jan 02, 2022 10:51am | #7

   I loved my Bosch 3x24 after years of using a Makita 3x24. The Makita was so side-heavy you had to compensate to keep it from digging in to one side. The Bosch’s in-line design was so balanced it made sanding very easy. I spent a lot of time a couple of years ago searching, to no avail, for a used Bosch, but wound up buying a 4x24” Makita (I briefly considered the Porter Cable, but they’re much heavier and tall). I really like it, I think the extra 1” width compensates for the side-heavy issue. It feels well balanced.

7. 
   john_c2 | Jan 02, 2022 12:10pm | #8

   I wonder what the professional belt sander racers use.

1. 
   eddo234 | Jan 02, 2022 01:06pm | #10

   :-) This one of course, it's even named Dragster.

   
1. 
   user7596380 | Jan 02, 2022 02:50pm | #11

   LOL! Does it do a "Beltie" when it comes off the line?

1. 
   eddo234 | Jan 02, 2022 03:09pm | #12

   :-)

8. 
   _mj_ | Jan 02, 2022 05:18pm | #14

   We ran belt sander races down a hallway at a studio where we were photographing them for a catalog. Long loops of extension cord and too many idiots. Our "LeMans start": When the flag dropped you had to run to an outlet and plug it in. The big old Porter Cable freight train from our set shop ran straightest. The winner unplugged itself first. Still laughing today.