12" Disc Sander

[george mavridis]

I am looking at buying a disc sander and have noted the 2 most common are the Carba Tec 12" and the Woodfast DS300. With a special price on the carbatec model there's about $100 difference in price now. What are the pros and cons of either and which machine is recommended?

[BobL]

The CT has an alloy table and 1.5" dust extraction port.
The WF has a cast iron table a 2.5" dust extraction port and a gear driven table angle setting system which will be very stable

The difference between 1.5 and 2.5" extraction port size is very significant - 2.78 times in area, but closer to 5 times in air flow.
Both machines have a very restricted "air intake" and would benefit from improving this.

I also dispute the CT claim that "Unlike most sanders that run at twice the speed this machine make it almost impossible to burn the wood being sanded and greatly prolongs the life of the paper." It's still very easy to burn the wood even at 1440 rpm. On my sander which has a variable speed drive it will still burn wood down even under 1000 rpm.

[george mavridis]

Both machines have a very restricted "air intake" and would benefit from improving this.

Thanks for the reply. Where is the intake located and how could you improve this?

[artme]

I have an old Hafco - hare and Forbes (Machinery Warehouse) 12"sander with an integral belt sander.

Great machine !! 2hp with a cast iron table for the disc and an aluminium table for the belt. Both tables are adjustable for angle with a fiercely stable locking mechanism.

This machine is still in production so it os a proven design, but I note the newer model has a dust port.

You will find the having both a disc and a belt is heaven!!