Edge Sander - good? What say ye?


tim0625

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I have a Grizzly.  I use it all the time, next to the ROS I probably use it the most of any sander in the shop.  The only downside to them besides the space they take up is that good belts are fairly expensive.  The support for the table on the Grizzly is an absolute joke though.  You can see it in the picture.  The whole table is just balanced on that threaded rod and the only other support is the other smaller vertical rod that isn't even all the way out to a corner to give it a chance to work, which you need a wrench to adjust.  Once you get it locked in a plane perpendicular to the belt you never want to move it ever again.  I would recommend if you get that one that you just never bolt on that contraption in the first place and make something out of plywood that will be more stable.

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I have the Jet 6" x 89" belt model. Good belts are not cheap but the blue zircon ones last. Dust collection does leave room for improvement . The table and base are better than the Griz. I bought it for cleaning up sub assemblies before we cover them with laminate. Now it gets used for all sorts of things. I have even jointed short highly figured boards that the jointer would have shredded.

It does take a deft touch to use it , too much pressure with a coarse grit will take more off than you intend. Too much pressure with a fine grit can burn the wood or load the abrasive beyond the ability to clean it with a crepe rubber block.

The belt is moving at a pretty high speed. Slip when sanding a small part and it sands your finger to a very painful wound long before it even draws blood. Practice and safety need to always be on your mind.

Several companies offer a similar machine, only the accessories seem to vary.

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You can tilt the belt to 45 or flat facing up depending on what you want to sand. I built a fence with a larger table surface so I can sand 8" x 1 1/2" ends and keep them exactly square.

It is easier to have 2 people to lock it down at exactly 90 degrees. You can do it by yourself but it isn't easy.

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Sorry to ask a question and then go MIA....Crazy few days at work...it looks like the prices of the Griz and the Jet are close to each other but what I'm hearing from you Steve is that you're pretty satisfied with the Jet.  I do want the versatility to be able to adjust the table some without too much trouble though I'm guessing 95% of what I do will be at 90 degrees and i do like the oscillating feature. I just know that I had the little Craftsman combo belt/disc sander (6" disc and 4x36 belt) sitting in the corner for a long time and finally I began using it and now use it all the time!  What grits do you keep on hand and what grits do you primarily use? Also, what is the price of the blue zircon belts?

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