I am in the hunt for a stationary, heavy duty belt and disc sander and would like to query those in the know. I will be using this for finishing steel and aluminum parts, not so much for wood, and I want to buy a quality machine. Most that I have used in the past were older machines - I am not sure of the quality of new equipment (Rockwell is now Delta, for example).

I am currently attempting to gather info on various models such as the following:

Wilton:
http://www.southern-tool.com/store/4200a_sander.html

Delta/Rockwell:
http://www.toolbarn.com/product/delta/31-735A

Powermatic:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/B00006S7CN/ref=cm_cr_dp_pt/104-9416662-4934335?ie=UTF8&n=228013&s=hi

Jet:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/customer-reviews/B00005NMRO/ref=cm_cr_dp_pt/104-9416662-4934335?ie=UTF8&n=228013&s=hi

What do you guys use at home or work? Likes/dislikes?

Anyone out there used Powermatic before? I never have, but the machine looks solid and has gotten some pretty rave reviews.

The Delta looks to be a larger footprint and it appears to come with at least a dust catcher - need to confirm, although not a huge issue for me I don't think ?)

Scott

I've had one of these for about 8 years, and am very happy with it. But it could use a bit more power.
http://www.amazon.com/Delta-31-280K-Sanding-Center/dp/B00004XOHJ/sr=1-2/qid=1159916440/ref=pd_bbs_2/104-7545180-4415911?ie=UTF8&s=hi


You might also want to look at this one.

http://www.amazon.com/Delta-Industrial-31-300-Sanding-Center/dp/B0000CCXTG/sr=1-1/qid=1159916195/ref=pd_bbs_1/104-7545180-4415911?ie=UTF8&s=hi

Wow. Not a very popular topic, huh?

I am still on the hunt. I am not 100% sure that the belt/disc combo is what I really want. I have also been looking into the Burr King belt sanders, and I ran across the high quality version - by JMR. I will see if I can scare up a link.

EDIT - - Attached is a pic of the JMR 2X48 belt sander. Kinda pricey - not that it's not worth it but it's up there. They are on E-bay for about $1400.00.

Still compiling info.

Scott

Mxtras, sorry to dredge this old one up, but I just stumbled on it.

Similar to the delta is a ShopFox (Grizzly). They're available for $460 on eBay.

The expensive JMR grinder is similar to what a lot of the knife making fraternity use. Many of them build those units and they seem to come out pretty well. If you have any interest in building one, I collected a few links on my projects "wish list" page:

http://www.thewarfields.com/cnccookbook/CCWishListBiggerProjects.html

Search for "knife grinder". Also, there is a company called "Beaumont Metalworks" that has these grinders as well as parts for making them:

http://www.beaumontmetalworks.com/

You probably already bought your sander. What did you wind up with?

Best,

BW

Interesting that you should ask this question. While on my way to Cabin Fever I stopped into the Grizzly store to look at their tool boxes, and browsed over to the sanders and grinders. I actually wanted to pick up one or the other of the sander or grinders but to be honest I wasn't impressed. Well not totally as Grizzly's high end bench grinders look really nice and ought to be durable.

Though I was only looking for a 1" wide belt machine none of the belt sanders of any sort left me with a good impression at the store. Some of the model they had on display didn't even fit together properly. This the larger of the one inch belt units. So I can't really recommend any of Grizzly's belt sanders.

I ended up picking up a belt sander at the Cabin Fever auction for 30 bucks which was significantly cheaper than the griz offering and came with a Dayton motor. Needs a little work but the parts fit.

I'd suggest looking in the industrial catalogs. Look for brands like Baldor, Dayton and Kalamazoo. I just don't see the griz hardware holding up to even casual use.

Dave

Best one out there is Burr King. The JMR has a very small throat so it is not very suitable for slack belt grinding. Also, they drive the rear wheel which will allow the belt to slip when contact wheel grinding. Burr King drvies the front wheel where the power should be. Burr King's 2x48 Machine lists for $1,468.

My customers tend to purchase the slightly larger 760. Stanard machine lists at $1784 with 1-1/2HP motor. This can run a 1-1/2" wide belt or optional 2" wide belt. Adapters are available for internal grinding, single wheel polishing, narrow belt grining and on and on and on.

The 760 runs at 8000 SFPM which is great for steel or sluminum. One thing to keep in mind in mising those metals, don't collect the dust as mixing the two is a fire hazard. If you do need to collect, use a wet one.

If I souund like I'm a little partial to Burr King, it is because I have been their rep in IL for about 20 years. They have the best machine out there, bar none. Check out their web site at www.burrking.com. If I can answer any other questions, feel free to contact me.

Sparky John

I do aluminum electronics enclosures and I have a belt sander with a rubber contact wheel that works nicely. My sander has a 2x48 belt. It looks alot like the Ellis style sander.