Sander Recommendations?

[ghansen4]

I'm considering buying a standalone sander, I saw that Woodcraft has a 15% of Rikon sale coming up, so I've been looking at those. It looks like most of the Rikon units are disc/belt combos, but they do have a 12" disc only option.

My question is should I go for the combo unit? If so, discs range from about 4" to 10", what do you recommend? OR should I just go with the 12" disc only? I plan to use this for squaring blanks, perhaps rounding blanks before turning, etc. (I've been sanding on my lathe, but it would be nice to have a dedicated unit.)

 

[mark james]

I have a Porter Cable combo. I rarely use the belt sander, but find more and more uses for the disk sander.

 

[jttheclockman]

I'm considering buying a standalone sander, I saw that Woodcraft has a 15% of Rikon sale coming up, so I've been looking at those. It looks like most of the Rikon units are disc/belt combos, but they do have a 12" disc only option.

My question is should I go for the combo unit? If so, discs range from about 4" to 10", what do you recommend? OR should I just go with the 12" disc only? I plan to use this for squaring blanks, perhaps rounding blanks before turning, etc. (I've been sanding on my lathe, but it would be nice to have a dedicated unit.)

If you are just looking for a sander to do pen blanks on, then a bench top sander is all you need. Always get a combo sander. The uses are endless. If you have the room for stand alone then again a combo is the way to go. I have a Jet 12" and a bench top Delta and use them equally for many things but then again I have a full shop of woodworking tools.

 

[Dehn0045]

I got the $100 WEN combo off of Amazon. I don't use the belt very much. Actually I don't use the disk very much anymore either, I square blanks on the lathe using a collet chuck and skew. If I went back in time, I would probably get the 12" Harbor Freight disk only sander, which is only a little bit more money. The 6" disk on the combo is pretty limiting, and the cheap belt isn't so great.

 

[ghansen4]

John T., you say "always get a combo..." When do you use the belt vs the disc?

 

[gr8macbeth]

I don't think you need to go to a stand alone to square blanks or round them. I have a 1" belt/disc sander made by Wen that works great for either. I like the 1" belt sander because I added a speed control and use grinding belts to sharpen all of my chisels. You can get a razor edge much more quickly and don't have as much risk with overheating the steel. The Wen sander on Amazon for $70 is actually made by Rikon and is identical except for the paint colors.

Good luck with whatever you decide, and enjoy your new tool! :biggrin:

 

[Curly]

I'm with JT because it will allow you to do much more than squaring blanks. I bought this Grizzly because it is a 1725 rpm rather than the usual 3450rpm. Less burning and I don't mind a few extra moments at the machine. The belt is good if you want take the corners off a blank before turning, if you need justification for a combination machine rather than a disc only. Like JT I have a full shop minus the scroll saw/s but that's on the someday list.

 

[jttheclockman]

John T., you say "always get a combo..." When do you use the belt vs the disc?

Greg being you asked I will give my full opinion.

First let me say I do more woodworking other than pen turning and cutting blanks and in fact that is not even 1% of my shop work. If you did you will see right away the advantages of having both because they do sand yes but it is the way they sand that can be advantages. When buying one or the other or both just makes more sense to have both in that case you need both. I could not begin to list all the cases that both come into play for it would be too long of a list.

With a disc sander the safe area to sand with is the center to left of disc. This is the area where the material is pushed down toward the table and makes it easy to control. From center to right it pulls the material up away from the table. Also the closer to center of a disc the speed of sanding is slower, less burning and less material removed. The more you get to the outer edge the faster the speed and more material removed.

With the belt portion the speed is always the same across the entire belt. The material is always being pushed down toward the table. It is longer so that an edge of a board can be sanded evenly. With the bench top belt sanders the end of the belt is open and I use that all the time on curved piece instead of having to go to a spindle sander (which I have that too)

With a combo to take it back to pen turning you can always put a course belt on the belt portion and a finer disc on the disc portion and switch back and forth. I never sand the ends of blanks on a disc sander, I always use the lathe.

The reason that they sell larger discs is because of what I said about the useful side of the disc. The larger disc has more useful side to it from center to left. I use to only have a table top but quickly found out a floor model with a 12 " disc is the way to go. I still use both.

Hope it sheds some light and remember this is only my opinion but I have been woodworking for over 35 years. Just sanding edges of blanks and taking corners off blanks can be done with either or sanders.

 

[Woodster Will]

I've had a belt and disc sander for many years and find it invaluable. Mine has been much modified over the years though. I do much of my tool sharpening on the belt.

 

[Silverado]

Highly recommend the The Byrnes Disc Sander. Very Precise for squaring blanks.

 

[jttheclockman]

Highly recommend the The Byrnes Disc Sander. Very Precise for squaring blanks.

Wow that much expense to square a pen blank

 

[jttheclockman]

Byrnes Model Machines - Thickness Sander


http://www.byrnesmodelmachines.com/sander5.html


http://www.byrnesmodelmachines.com/tablesaw5.html


Man that is some cash to make pens.

 

[whickman]

John T., you say "always get a combo..." When do you use the belt vs the disc?

Greg being you asked I will give my full opinion.



First let me say I do more woodworking other than pen turning and cutting blanks and in fact that is not even 1% of my shop work. If you did you will see right away the advantages of having both because they do sand yes but it is the way they sand that can be advantages. When buying one or the other or both just makes more sense to have both in that case you need both. I could not begin to list all the cases that both come into play for it would be too long of a list.



With a disc sander the safe area to sand with is the center to left of disc. This is the area where the material is pushed down toward the table and makes it easy to control. From center to right it pulls the material up away from the table. Also the closer to center of a disc the speed of sanding is slower, less burning and less material removed. The more you get to the outer edge the faster the speed and more material removed.



With the belt portion the speed is always the same across the entire belt. The material is always being pushed down toward the table. It is longer so that an edge of a board can be sanded evenly. With the bench top belt sanders the end of the belt is open and I use that all the time on curved piece instead of having to go to a spindle sander (which I have that too)



With a combo to take it back to pen turning you can always put a course belt on the belt portion and a finer disc on the disc portion and switch back and forth. I never sand the ends of blanks on a disc sander, I always use the lathe.



The reason that they sell larger discs is because of what I said about the useful side of the disc. The larger disc has more useful side to it from center to left. I use to only have a table top but quickly found out a floor model with a 12 " disc is the way to go. I still use both.



Hope it sheds some light and remember this is only my opinion but I have been woodworking for over 35 years. Just sanding edges of blanks and taking corners off blanks can be done with either or sanders.

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