A better experience

It’s a good thing I don’t use belt sanders very often. I think they hate me.

I need a belt sander so rarely that it’s weird how much bad luck I have with them. When I was leveling a slab for a sofa table two years ago, I broke one belt after another. That was the belts’ fault, I thought, since they’d been sitting on a shelf for a decade and the connecting tape had deteriorated. With a pack of new belts, I managed to finish the slab, even though I still broke a couple more.

Last week I stripped a Western red cedar picnic table that was in bad shape after being exposed to weather for the last eight years. Before starting, I picked up a pack of brand new belts. Good thing I did, as I went through them all in minutes. No idea what was wrong – my tracking was fine, I kept the speed low, there was nothing on the picnic table or inside the machine snagging as far as I could tell.

This particular belt sander was itself a replacement. Although infrequently used, the motor on my earlier one simply died. I had no idea what was wrong with this one, but I was on a schedule to get the table done so I just went out and bought me one.

Tired of high-end sanders that just weren’t getting it done I opted for the cheapest sander the Big Box store had, the Craftsman single-speed you see above. It was already inexpensive, but I also had a gift card or two lying around so it was almost free, and figured if it just made it through this table project I’d be a happy guy.

To my surprise it performed magnificently. Tracking adjustment was a breeze and reliable. It weighed almost half what my belt-breaker did, changing belts when they were worn was easy, and the dust collection was surprisingly good.

Best of all, I didn’t break a single belt and the table came out great. I think I may be tempering my dislike for belt sanders after this experience. I can only hope that the feeling is mutual.