Belt sander recommendations

[part time]

Looking into buying a belt sander, any recommendations or warnings?
Thanks!

[Stephen Tashiro]

A warning about the DeWalt DW433. I bought a new one and it works fine. I also bought a "refurbished" one (it has an 'R' branded on the body) and it stops working after about 20 minutes of sanding due to the speed control chip overheating. Don't count on using the dust collection "bag". It's actually a rigid collector, not made of cloth. It rides too close to the bottom of the sander. When I put it down on a clutter work table, it gets knocked off and it isn't easy to reattach. There is a lever on the dust chute of the sander that closes it, so you can use the sander without it.

If you read the reviews on Amazon, you will detect that there have been some lemons of this model sander. However, I'm pleased with the one that I bought new.

[WJA]

Hello part time,

I have always had luck with any of the Porter-Cable belt sanders. If you are looking for heavy duty, go with their 360 series sanders 3x24 or 4x24. A 3x21 would be their 352 series.

[sweebs]

I picked the Ridgid R2720 3x21 belt sander over the comparatively priced 3x21 sander from Porter Cable - based solely on the fact that the Ridgid came with a LONG 12 foot power cord (lighted when energized no less) and all I thought was 'do I want to drag out an extension cord 95% of the time and go with the old trusty workhorse P.C.? Or try this Ridgid? (plus at 10 amps, the Ridgid beat the P.C. which I think was 8 amps).

The Ridgid also has a soft-start feature, a cord wrap and the belt tracks nicely.
Wish it came with a case though. I have used and abused this thing and so far have had to replace the cogged belt, as it broke after about 3 to 4 years of use. I ordered replacement brushes as well, but when I went to change them out, the old/original ones were barely worn.

Definitely need a new platen now though.

All in all, the Ridgid is a nice machine, very powerful too. But I have to say, if the Dewalt DW433K had been available at the store where the Ridgid & P.C. were at, I would have went with it...even if it's 'only' 8 amps