Official Luthiers Forum!

Just curious what people are using for Edge sander/Belt sander? I am probably going to pick something up in a few months and just starting to figure it out.

Thanks!

_________________
Brad
Avon, OH

Brad, I just happen to pick up a Rigid - spindle/edge sander at the Borg today. Its a neat little machine.

_________________
Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Brad-
I have a 4x36 sander and I'd strongly recommend going the extra $$ for a 6x48 size. Mine does what I need to do, but it would be nice to have the larger platen. And, in general, the longer the belt the longer it lasts.

Cheers
John.

I've got a King disc/belt sander. 9'disc, 6 x 48 belt.  OK for light work, but that's it.  I actually hate it.  I wish that I'd spent the money and gotten a more substantial unit.

_________________
Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/

Doug...what do you consider a more substantial unit? Any models?

_________________
Brad
Avon, OH

KC-760L  is is the one I have.

Something like the KC-788FX would have been much better.  The KC-ES is appealing, but I find that the 6" x 48" belt is long enough.

www.kingcanada.com

Not too sure if I'd buy King again.  The price is appealing, but I want to check out other brands.

_________________
Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/

I'm kind of partial to the General 15-035.

_________________
Expectation is the source of all misery; comparison the thief of joy.
http://redrivercanoe.ca/

Dave buddy does the Rigid have a dust collection port and how would you rate the dust collection.  Also, does the spindle just turn or is it the type that goes up and down too as described in the book Clapton's guitar........

I have the Grizzly G1014Z 6x48. It serves my needs pretty well. I have a 12" disc as well that is very handy although I wish the disc were bigger.

_________________
Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

I'm thinking that it would be great for sanding the inside of molds too.

Hesh- Yes it has the oscillating spindle which is cool.It has a dust port in the back that just so happens to fit my ridgid shop vac. So far,so good. I like it!

_________________
Anderson Guitars
Clearwater,Fl. 33755

Thanks Todd and Dave - I am going to get one as a result of your great reviews!

I have a 6x89" edge sander that is likely my most used of the large power tools. I modified it by making an extension and now run 6x108" belts on it.

The longer the belt, the longer they last, by far. 

Still don't have a spindle sander. Maybe some day, but no hurry.

I use my JET 6 x 48 with 12 in disc a lot, not quite as much for the Grizzly spindle sander (huge and heavy) but just saw this one come up on my local Craig's list.  Seems like it would be very useful, wiring could be a problem for me, not sure I want to bring another 110 into the shop...

 

http://monterey.craigslist.org/tls/502532518.html

 

Bruce

_________________
Bruce Herrmann
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

I've been using the Grizzly G1014Z also. Does everything that I need it for.

Just got the Grizzly oscillating spindle sander on sale for 119.00 plus shipping.

Tested out great! If anyone is looking for that type of sander. I was for finishing my templates off the bandsaw. Been using my drill press and a drum attachment.

The Grizzly is much more accurate.

Hi Brad,
I have the Delta 6 X 48 sander-nothing like American iron!!(except for the price-around $1200.



I also have a Taiwanese made Powermatic 6 X 89 sander-many companies put there name on the same machine-I think I paid $600 for it-It works well.



I also have an old Enlon (Taiwanese company that went out of business-same as Grizzly) oscillating spindle sander:



This is a great machine for the money.

I have a Powermatic 6x89" edge sander that I bought new maybe 6 years ago or so. It's basically identical to the Jet one now. The only issue with these things is the motor doesn't hold up to the stress of sanding bigger stuff very well. The thing overheated and fried some of the wiring. I had to rewire and run it 220 instead of the 110 that it came set up as. It works better, but it still can't handle heavier loads anymore and will bog down and begin to overheat. A this point, the motor is fairly shot, and needs to be replaced. Cheap asian motors...ig there was a Baldor replacement for one of these things, I'd put one on there.

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Brad, that Enlon is a dead ringer for the Grizzly one I have, you're right.  It's pretty useful, I had to put it on a caster base to get it where I need to use it but it does the job...

Bruce

_________________
Bruce Herrmann
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

Which do you use more? A good spindle sander OR belt style sander?

_________________
Brad
Avon, OH

My edge 6x89" edge sander looks exactly like the Powermatic above. The one thing I don't like about mine is that there is no 90 degree stop for the belt / table. I love the machine though, it gets a lot of use. I also have a 6x48" belt / 12" disk sander that I still use quite a bit. I have no spindle sander, but the drill press sanding spinldes work OK; a proper machine is on the wish list though.

_________________
Rian Gitar og Mandolin

The one thing I don't like about mine is that there is no 90 degree stop for the belt / table.

Mine had one, but I rarely, if ever, use it. All it does is stop the dust from reaching the collector port...

You're not missing anything by not having it.

Brad, to answer your question, or at least attempt an answer, I think it depends on what you are building.  The spindle shaper really comes in handy for building forms, working on compound curves, headstocks that have more complex shapes etc.  If you are building guitars that are more traditional, you probably won't find yourself using the spindle shaper as much as the good 8 inch belt sander.  I use that thing every day.  But when you do need the spindle shaper, it really does the trick.  My suggestion might be to get the smaller one that Dave got.  It will handle most average jobs very nicely and it's quite compact.  My big Grizzly version is great but overkill for what I use it for. 

Bruce

 

_________________
Bruce Herrmann
"What lies behind us and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us."

What about the edge sander that Grizzley puts out with a oscillating belt. I am seriously looking at getting one and wondering about its service. What do you guys think?

John

You guys are a bunch of enablers.........

I have never seen a spindle sander in operation until now - good thing we can't show movies on this forum............