# Edge Sander or belt/disc



## DRJZ1974 (May 19, 2010)

What do you guys think has more general use, an edge sander or belt/disc combo sander? I notice that both can be gotten for about the same amount of money.


----------



## dodgeboy77 (Mar 18, 2009)

I bought a used a craftsman 9" disk, 6x48" belt sander (which I use a lot) and later supplemented it with an oscillating spindle sander. Had I to do it over again, I might go with this Ridgid unit - http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc...splay?langId=-1&storeId=10051&catalogId=10053 .

Guys here on this forum love them. Then again, my disk sander is great for quick jobs like cleaning up outside corners that have been band-sawed, etc.

Bill


----------



## DRJZ1974 (May 19, 2010)

Thanks Dodgeboy, I have been reading that many like the rigid, but that seems like a really small belt. I am looking at either a 6x48" belt and 12" disc or good size edge sander.


----------



## DRJZ1974 (May 19, 2010)

I guess what I am getting at is it would seem an edge sander could do everything a disc/belt and sander could do and more. If there are limitations to the edge sander that the belt/disc would win out over, let me know. Open to all suggestions


----------



## cabinetman (Jul 5, 2007)

If I had a choice I would opt for the belt/disc sander, even if it's only a 4"x36".


----------



## rrich (Jun 24, 2009)

WOW! Is my mind warped!
Edge Sanding.
Belt.
(6-8" wide, 36" sanding surface with a right angle table... Three, four five grand...)

Whoops, back to reality...

I have a cheap, Delta, disk and belt combo machine. It does have it's uses. I use mine for mainly shaping and some sanding. The things that I found... The fence (almost perpendicular to the belt) is weak. A right angle gusset welded to the fence helped a lot. Attaching a piece of oak to the fence stopped the metal from marring the work. 

The disk is not really good as PSA seems to loose its stickiness as time passes. The disk is almost never used any more.

I only paid $65 for the machine about 8 or 10 years ago. As a tool, it is OK and I wouldn't throw it out. Mine shares space with my planer on a roll out cart. If the machine were stored under a bench I would probably do the small edge sanding by hand rather than drag it out for use.


----------



## Lola Ranch (Mar 22, 2010)

*Here's a inexpensive solution*

I bought this 4 x 36 bench top sander with the small disc. I made some modifications to the machine and I built this stand for it. The table is adjustable for height. I rotated the entire machine 90 degrees to make it an "edge" sander. I don't know what to do with a sander that runs horizontally. I also removed the shroud on the end and the fence so that I could edge sand long pieces. 

Total invested, $125 or so. I have had, nice big floor standing edge sanders in the post and where as this contraption isn't quite as nice as those were it does work quite well and I use it a lot. Another good thing about this small sander is that belts are cheap. The fact that it is a little under-powered is OK because it prevents burning the wood.

I hooked it up to the shop vac and later to the DC and there is very little ambient dust.

I recommend this setup as an alternative to an expensive floor model.

Bret


----------



## DRJZ1974 (May 19, 2010)

rrich said:


> WOW! Is my mind warped!
> Edge Sanding.
> Belt.
> (6-8" wide, 36" sanding surface with a right angle table... Three, four five grand...)
> ...


Let me clarify, the Jet 708447 vs. Delta 31-300 are the same price. Yes, I realize you can find more bargain pricing in either machine type. These are the two machine levels I am looking at. So, money aside, is there any drawback to either machine?


----------



## rrich (Jun 24, 2009)

I don't know what the Delta (4x36 Belt) number of my combination is but there is nothing really wrong with it. I've looked at the Jet. As I recall it was more expensive than the comparable Delta model. I think that the Jet is a bit sturdier. 

Let me toss something out for all to flame me. :icon_smile:

IF you have the ability to fine tune machines there may be another option. Harbor Freight sells this type of machine. And when it comes to a stationary belt sander there are only a few important items. The belt needs to stay on the machine, you need decent dust collection and you need a motor that won't burn out easily. If you are thinking of something like Bret built, I would take a good look at the HF machine. DUNNO, just a thought.

Bret,
Brilliant idea! You have me thinking now...


----------



## JohnK007 (Nov 14, 2009)

DRJZ1974 said:


> Let me clarify, the Jet 708447 vs. Delta 31-300 are the same price.


Same price? Buy the Jet. You'll get more useful belt out of the edge sander than with the Delta combo. If I can get my blasted digital camera to work I'll take a picture of my Delta 31-710 and show you what I mean. I think you'll find the edge sander better suited to longer pieces. Plus with the oscillating feature you can do radius work albeit not tight radius's like on a true spindle sander. The 12" disk on my Delta is fine but you can pick up a stand alone disk sander for less than $200 and add it later. 
The only thing that sours me on the Jet are some of the reviews I read on Amazon. I'd want to see one in person first before pulling the trigger.


----------



## DRJZ1974 (May 19, 2010)

JohnK007 said:


> Same price? Buy the Jet. You'll get more useful belt out of the edge sander than with the Delta combo. If I can get my blasted digital camera to work I'll take a picture of my Delta 31-710 and show you what I mean. I think you'll find the edge sander better suited to longer pieces. Plus with the oscillating feature you can do radius work albeit not tight radius's like on a true spindle sander. The 12" disk on my Delta is fine but you can pick up a stand alone disk sander for less than $200 and add it later.
> The only thing that sours me on the Jet are some of the reviews I read on Amazon. I'd want to see one in person first before pulling the trigger.


Any pics you can get would be great! I have seen the Jet edge sander in person. I was leaning very heavily to the combo sander until I saw the Jet edge sander in person, I was very impressed. The drawbacks listed on Amazon reviews are true. Table height adjustment and setting of the angle of the belt relation to the table is a bit of a juggling act and some fixed set points would be nice. Jet's edge sander was much more heavy duty than Jet's belt disc combo. The cast iron tables on the edge sander are stout.


----------



## DRJZ1974 (May 19, 2010)

rrich said:


> I don't know what the Delta (4x36 Belt) number of my combination is but there is nothing really wrong with it. I've looked at the Jet. As I recall it was more expensive than the comparable Delta model. I think that the Jet is a bit sturdier.
> 
> Let me toss something out for all to flame me. :icon_smile:
> 
> ...


rrich,
both the Delta open stand combo and the Jet edge sander are $899. A little searching and you can find the Delta combo for $799, but at that price, I am will to spend the extra $100 for whichever is better.


----------



## AlWood (Apr 18, 2010)

DRJZ1974 said:


> What do you guys think has more general use, an edge sander or belt/disc combo sander? I notice that both can be gotten for about the same amount of money.


DRJZ, it depends of course, what kind of job you do, but in my own experience I never felt a great need for an edge sander. What I do is mostly bench-work; all kind of shelves and other stuff around house. Pretty often I need to cover a flat part with dimensions larger than 6", and you cannot do it with an edge sander. At some point I realized I can use big belt to sand an entire board (with an auxiliary support left&right boards). Anyway, after torturing for a long while my home-made disc sander (converted from a grinder + wooden disc), I bought recently a disc+belt combo (12" disc +6"x48" belt, 1+ HP, belt drive with a reduced RPM, includes stand and abrasives, all for $230 from HF) and settled down with that one. It is a real beast, very heavy and powerful. From the beginning, it gave me some troubles with wobbling and vibrations (see the thread

http://www.woodworkingtalk.com/f2/help-12-disc-sander-trouble-17266/

but after dilingent work and consulting with the forum:smile: I made it work, and am satisfied with it.

Well, you've got to look carefully what are your needs and typical sizes, etc. Good luck.

Al


----------



## Colt W. Knight (Nov 29, 2009)

I have a small edge sander and a 9"disc, 6x48 belt sander, and I use the edge sander way more than my belt sander. In fact, I haven't even put a new belt on my belt sander since buying a edge sander. I would welcome a large edge sander in my shop.


----------



## woodmk (Nov 9, 2014)

Lola Ranch said:


> I bought this 4 x 36 bench top sander with the small disc. I made some modifications to the machine and I built this stand for it. The table is adjustable for height. I rotated the entire machine 90 degrees to make it an "edge" sander. I don't know what to do with a sander that runs horizontally. I also removed the shroud on the end and the fence so that I could edge sand long pieces.
> 
> Total invested, $125 or so. I have had, nice big floor standing edge sanders in the post and where as this contraption isn't quite as nice as those were it does work quite well and I use it a lot. Another good thing about this small sander is that belts are cheap. The fact that it is a little under-powered is OK because it prevents burning the wood.
> 
> ...


Hello Bret, do you still use this? I would like to build the same and have few questions...


----------

