So I’m in the market for a new bench top belt sander. My 18 year old Craftsman is completely worn out, bad bearings, won’t hold adjustment and motor has gotten so weak you have the release belt tension to get it started. For a brief moment I considered trying to rebuild it but that really isn’t cost effective for a tool that was sub $200 new and at this point finding the correct bearings will probably be next to impossible.
This wasn’t by any means a high end tool and while it’s always been a bit underpowered I’ve always managed to accomplish what I needed with it. And honestly that underpowered complaint sometimes was handy as it allowed me to sand tiny little pieces that more powerful sanders would have jerked out of my hand and launched across the shop.
So with that mind set I figured it wouldn’t be hard to replace with a tool of similar build quality and specifications.
Boy was I wrong.
I started at harbor freight fully intending to buy the Bauer model for $109.99 and calling it a day. But when I looked over the display model it just looked cheap and flimsy.
So a checked out the larger 6x48 central machinery sander currently on sale for $279.99. Maybe the display model wasn’t assembled correctly but everything about it seemed to be a red flag. The disc was rubbing the table. The table seemed flimsy. The belt didn’t track correctly. It was pretty apparent that It would require a lot of fine tuning and shimming and probably a bit of grinding to get this thing to where it was even usable.
So I went across the street to lowes only to be told they didn’t stock any such tool but they had several options I could order off their website.
On the Lowe’s website I found a Dewalt DXBD4801 for $299 that looked suspiciously like a porter cable that had been painted yellow. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as PC produced some pretty decent home shop equipment back in the day but that day has come as gone. It had some good reviews but no one seems to know where it’s made. Everyone seems to agree it’s being rebranded by dewalt and while that part is true for just about every brand of low end wood working equipment I’m not exactly sure this thing would be a good buy.
Google returned a buck tools BD4801 for $211.90 I know nothing about the buck tools company. I didn’t even know they existed until they popped up on a search for stationary belt sanders. They get good reviews but having never seen one in person I’m kind of clueless and probably not willing to order unless someone more credible that shill reviewers says they are good.
So what’s left now is Vevor and Wen and a bunch of Amazon randomness with made up names which are probably no better hell probably not as good as anything I’d find at harbor freight. They are also priced quite a bit higher. Not impressed with that option.
This brings us to Grizzly and Shop Fox. Both fully and freely admit they rebrand tools. A couple of the models looking identical to sanders available on Amazon. Leaves me to believe all these sanders are made in the same 2-3 Chinese factories and painted different colors and sold at price points that are seemingly made up.
Actually the entire Grizzly business model seems to be similar to that of Harbor Freight where they buy tools from a number of different vendors and resell them.
And while we are taking about Shop Fox I have a w1717 sander that been the most disappointing tool purchase I’ve ever made for the woodshop. It was delivered damaged, the stand is atleast 6 inches too short for anyone average sized. It’s underpowered and yet is designed in such a way that it’s practically impossible to use without launching whatever you’re sanding across the shop. That or it stalls out instantly. How on earth your only two options are jerked out of your hands or stalls instantly make zero sense to me. The only thing I’ve found is good for is edge sanding. I should also mention I ended up having to buy the parts to repair the shipping damage as both Shop Fox and UPS were of no help. Well let me rephrase that Shop Fox told me to take it up with the carrier and UPS wanted me to jump through a bunch of hoops and submit multiple forms wasn’t worth it for $50 in parts.
Rikon offers a couple models that look like they should be Amazon rebrands. I really don’t know much about the Rikon company but I’m being lead to believe they are similar to Grizzly.
Now that we’ve exhausted the cheap options the next step in puts you well into the $1000+ range. At the end of the day this old craftsman that I paid less than $200 for did just fine for 18 years and I’m having a hard time understanding why I need to pay $1000+
At this point I’m pretty much thinking I should just buy the Bauer and worst case return it. My mind keeps telling me circa 2007 craftsman shop tools weren’t all that great to start with so if that one satisfied me I’m probably overthinking it.
TLDR: recommend me a stationary bench top belt sander that’s good enough for a hobby wood shop under $500
This wasn’t by any means a high end tool and while it’s always been a bit underpowered I’ve always managed to accomplish what I needed with it. And honestly that underpowered complaint sometimes was handy as it allowed me to sand tiny little pieces that more powerful sanders would have jerked out of my hand and launched across the shop.
So with that mind set I figured it wouldn’t be hard to replace with a tool of similar build quality and specifications.
Boy was I wrong.
I started at harbor freight fully intending to buy the Bauer model for $109.99 and calling it a day. But when I looked over the display model it just looked cheap and flimsy.
So a checked out the larger 6x48 central machinery sander currently on sale for $279.99. Maybe the display model wasn’t assembled correctly but everything about it seemed to be a red flag. The disc was rubbing the table. The table seemed flimsy. The belt didn’t track correctly. It was pretty apparent that It would require a lot of fine tuning and shimming and probably a bit of grinding to get this thing to where it was even usable.
So I went across the street to lowes only to be told they didn’t stock any such tool but they had several options I could order off their website.
On the Lowe’s website I found a Dewalt DXBD4801 for $299 that looked suspiciously like a porter cable that had been painted yellow. That’s not necessarily a bad thing as PC produced some pretty decent home shop equipment back in the day but that day has come as gone. It had some good reviews but no one seems to know where it’s made. Everyone seems to agree it’s being rebranded by dewalt and while that part is true for just about every brand of low end wood working equipment I’m not exactly sure this thing would be a good buy.
Google returned a buck tools BD4801 for $211.90 I know nothing about the buck tools company. I didn’t even know they existed until they popped up on a search for stationary belt sanders. They get good reviews but having never seen one in person I’m kind of clueless and probably not willing to order unless someone more credible that shill reviewers says they are good.
So what’s left now is Vevor and Wen and a bunch of Amazon randomness with made up names which are probably no better hell probably not as good as anything I’d find at harbor freight. They are also priced quite a bit higher. Not impressed with that option.
This brings us to Grizzly and Shop Fox. Both fully and freely admit they rebrand tools. A couple of the models looking identical to sanders available on Amazon. Leaves me to believe all these sanders are made in the same 2-3 Chinese factories and painted different colors and sold at price points that are seemingly made up.
Actually the entire Grizzly business model seems to be similar to that of Harbor Freight where they buy tools from a number of different vendors and resell them.
And while we are taking about Shop Fox I have a w1717 sander that been the most disappointing tool purchase I’ve ever made for the woodshop. It was delivered damaged, the stand is atleast 6 inches too short for anyone average sized. It’s underpowered and yet is designed in such a way that it’s practically impossible to use without launching whatever you’re sanding across the shop. That or it stalls out instantly. How on earth your only two options are jerked out of your hands or stalls instantly make zero sense to me. The only thing I’ve found is good for is edge sanding. I should also mention I ended up having to buy the parts to repair the shipping damage as both Shop Fox and UPS were of no help. Well let me rephrase that Shop Fox told me to take it up with the carrier and UPS wanted me to jump through a bunch of hoops and submit multiple forms wasn’t worth it for $50 in parts.
Rikon offers a couple models that look like they should be Amazon rebrands. I really don’t know much about the Rikon company but I’m being lead to believe they are similar to Grizzly.
Now that we’ve exhausted the cheap options the next step in puts you well into the $1000+ range. At the end of the day this old craftsman that I paid less than $200 for did just fine for 18 years and I’m having a hard time understanding why I need to pay $1000+
At this point I’m pretty much thinking I should just buy the Bauer and worst case return it. My mind keeps telling me circa 2007 craftsman shop tools weren’t all that great to start with so if that one satisfied me I’m probably overthinking it.
TLDR: recommend me a stationary bench top belt sander that’s good enough for a hobby wood shop under $500
