Guy, from all the posts you are making you seem to be setting up a shop. If
it hasn't been mentioned before you might want to go here and do a search of
the archives for the various equipment.
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&group=rec.woodworking
And if you are going to be doing mostly WW I would forget buying a belt
sander, at least for now as most people never use one. Canadian Tire has a
great boxing week sale on the DeWalt sander. It is well worth the bucks.
Cheers, JG
Guy LaRochelle wrote:
> Can anyone give any recomendations on belt & orbital sanders? There is so
> many different ones I don't know which has the best reputations.
> Regards. -Guy
Guy,
Depending on what you want to do, I would recommend a 'portable' belt sander
before a 'stationary'. {The portable can be set-up like a small stationary -
either 'store-bought' or 'shop-built' fixtures are available}
Here's what I said in a post a few minutes ago . . .
Lionel,
I got into this a bit late and maybe I missed it . . . What type / Brand is
the sander?
I have a Ryobi 'in-line' type. {Very similar in silhouette to a Bosch}. It
has about 6 speed settings. These two things allow a great deal of balance &
control.
My belts come from Klingspor {via the Post Office} . . . a GREAT variety of
belts !! One 'type' they have are 'Planer Belts' - extremely tough
INDUSTRIAL belts that are available in Extremely Course grits {36 grit !!}
as well as the 'normal' grits. {I use 40 and 60 on the stationary Belt
Sander, and 40, 60, and 80 on the Ryobi}. This tends to get you out of the
habit of 'bearing down'. In fact, quite the opposite - it teaches you a
'light touch'. In addition, I have covered the platen with a 'Graphite
Belt'. A full explanation of 'what & why' is in their catalog.
It is a very useful tool - from straight up 'Material Removal' to 'Rough
Sanding'. I have used it for the shaping of gunnels & thwart edges, as well
as 'knocking down' cured epoxy and rounding of chines. I have even flattened
& 'cleaned up' large surface areas . . . 'glued up' panels. Although there
are belts available in the finer grits, I really wouldn't select it as the
tool for anything finer than 120 - even at the slower speeds.
Regards & Good Luck,
Ron Magen
Backyard Boatshop
"Lionel" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Thanks for the advice. I think I was expecting it to do more delicate
work.
> If I have it right, it's first the chainsaw, then the belt sander, then a
> ROS.
>
> As to different grits, we mainly just have yellow and white here.
> Quick-cooking grits are all right, but the instant ones don't have a good
> texture. SWMBO does a pretty good cheese-and-spinach grits casserole.
>
> Thanks again.
>
> Lionel
As far as 'orbital' . . . I have the PC 'angle head' {7336, I think} . . .
with 6" and extra 5" heads. Also 'Soft' pad that takes the 'Hook & Loop'
fasteners. In addition to the 1/4 sheet 'buzzers' I also have a variety of
sanding blocks and a circular Foam 'handle' that takes the 5" PSA disks.
Another good 'heavy duty' sanding tool is an 'Angle Grinder'. It can be used
with a type of specialized 'flap disk' or with a 'sanding adapter' {I got a
spare one from Harbor Freight for about $15.oo. However, my 20 year old
Sears is going strong !!}
Regards & Good Luck,
Ron Magen
Backyard Boatshop
"Guy LaRochelle" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Yes, I am setting up shop..............I thought one of those belt sanders
> would have been a handy thing. Glad to here they are not that
> useful............
I have no experience with belt sanders but I can recommend the Festool
RO sanders.
Are you looking for a orbital sander (finish sander) or a ROS?
If flatness is of much concern for you go with an orbital sander. On
the other hand orbital sanders tend to leave "swirls" so if you want
an absolutely perfect surface a ROS might be better. ROS's sand more
aggressively but leave a superb surface at the same time.
Personally, I use a Festool ES 150/3 (ROS for finish sanding).
Excellent design and ergonomics, well balanced and low weight (you can
use it very comfortably with one or two hands), VS, hardly any
vibrations (very important if you sand an extended period of time),
extremely smooth sanding operation and great finish result, hook and
loop (Festool calls it Stickfix) and the best dust collection I can
imagine.
The sander comes with a filter bag which works quite well but if
possible connect it to a vac. I have the Festool CT 22 vac (wet/dry
extraction, auto on/off, variable suction - very important when using
a vac attached to a sander) and have to admit that this combination is
hard to beat. It allows almost dust-free sanding.
Festool offers such a great variety of sanders that you'll find the
right one for your application. And if you have any questions
regarding the Festool line, you might like to contact Bob Marino at
[email protected] Bob Marino is hobby woodworker and Festool ISA, very
friendly and helpful and as he uses the tools himself he really knows
a lot about them.
No matter which sander you get, do yourself a favor and connect it to
a vac.
Here are some reviews of Festool sanders:
http://www.thewoodshop.20m.com/festool_es150.htm
http://benchmark.20m.com/tools/Festool/FestoolIndex.html
http://www.cjohnhebert.com/toolreviews.htm
http://home.alliancecable.net/~woodworker/festool.html
http://www.woodshopdemos.com/men-fes.htm
Hope this helps,
Christian Aufreiter, Austria
PS: No affiliation to Festool, I'm just a happy customer.
"Guy LaRochelle" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Can anyone give any recomendations on belt & orbital sanders? There is so
> many different ones I don't know which has the best reputations.
> Regards. -Guy
A lot depends on your use. Commercial or small home shop?
Portable hand held belt as opposed to a stationary belt?
For a hand held orbital sander, the Porter Cable 333 or Dewalt 430 something
I think, are very good in the $50 to $60 range. I have and use both all the
time.
As for belt sanders, I have little experience. I do know that they remove a
lot of material fast, and not used with some practice, can do a lot of harm
to a project. I use it only for the roughest of chores. I won't recommend
any because I just don't know enough about the various brands.
Ed
[email protected]
http://pages.cthome.net/edhome
Yes, I am setting up shop..............I thought one of those belt sanders
would have been a handy thing. Glad to here they are not that
useful............I will focus on other things. Does anyone have a list of
tools that are necessary to set up a shop? I'll bet that there are some
tools that are nice to have, they make things easier, but with pateince the
good old tablesaw will do the trick .................you know what I mean? I
want to start building furniture. Give me a list of tools that I should buy
guys! Thanks for the info. Regards. -Guy
"JGS" <[email protected]> wrote in message
news:[email protected]...
> Guy, from all the posts you are making you seem to be setting up a shop.
If
> it hasn't been mentioned before you might want to go here and do a search
of
> the archives for the various equipment.
>
> http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&safe=off&group=rec.woodworking
>
> And if you are going to be doing mostly WW I would forget buying a belt
> sander, at least for now as most people never use one. Canadian Tire has a
> great boxing week sale on the DeWalt sander. It is well worth the bucks.
> Cheers, JG
>
> Guy LaRochelle wrote:
>
> > Can anyone give any recomendations on belt & orbital sanders? There is
so
> > many different ones I don't know which has the best reputations.
> > Regards. -Guy
>