Using a belt sander upside down

[BobL]

My brother finally (after 2 years!) asked for his trusty hard working makita belt sander back. Having made such good use from it in that time (and many times before that) I decided to lash out and buy my own. I used to have a 100mm Hitachi sander before some low life stole it from my brother's place

If I had room in my shed I would buy a proper sanding machine and a belt sander but small shed and very limited bench space means that like a few others on this site I am more often than not likely to use a belt sander upside down. When I got the sander home I then remembered a thread earlier this year which discussed the problems of operating the newer model Makitas upside down because they have much less of a flat spot than the older models. I have a few ideas of how to address this but just wanted to check if anyone else has designed a jig or rig to cope with this problem?

Thanks

[martrix]

I just bought a new 100mm Makita belt sander, whick one did you get?
I will watch this thread with interest.

[Pluggers]

I too am looking at a Makita belt sander purchase how much did it set you back?

[martrix]

I too am looking at a Makita belt sander purchase how much did it set you back?

got this one at the big green warehouse for $298....lowest price i could find for this unit.
Absolute workhorse....average dust collection though, easy fix with some tape.

[BobL]

got this one at the big green warehouse for $298....lowest price i could find for this unit.
Absolute workhorse....average dust collection though, easy fix with some tape.

I got this one at WA Toolmart for $475. I have been using an older version of the big Makita for several years.
The big Makita is not as brutish as they first appear once you get used to them. They have excellent dust collection if you stick them on the end of a dusty.

[MurrayD99]

I bought the big one (9401?) about 20+ years ago. It came with a bracket so you could run it upside down. Looking at your 9403, I can see the problem and it wouldn't be as easy as making a bracket to be fitted under the front knob because the knob design is new. These are great sanders - even though the price makes your eyes water.

[conwood]

I too can't live without a 100 mm belt sander. I do occasionally clamp it upside down and have found this method works well. A dedicated unit is on the list of machines I need.

On Sunday I had an incident..shirt got caught in sander. Not as dangerous as it sounds. I had to cut myself free and can't get all of the shirt out of the rear drive roller..well jammed, so I will have to remove some covers and get in there.

cheers,
conwood

[Slavo]

got this one at the big green warehouse for $298....lowest price i could find for this unit.
Absolute workhorse....average dust collection though, easy fix with some tape.

I've got one of those also. When Bunnings decided it wasn't grouse to be hardware house any more, I picked up a stand for the sander for $20 on the clearance table. Might be worth contacting Makita to see if they still import them. It was old stock when I bought it a few years ago

[BobL]

Here is my go at setting up the Big Makita sander upside down. I used part of the old stand made of MDF and added some crapiata and then Jarrah and Wandoo I found on a council roadside pickup.

Photo 1: "The bits"
Photo 2: Sander goes on - support fence folds back to accomodate sander.
Photo 3: Support fence comes down and rests on the edge of the sander
Photo 4: Full length working fence clips on.
Photo 5: Full length working fence replace by right angle fence. Back part of right angle stop rests on end of sander for added stability. Front right angle face rotatable +/- 10 degrees and is locked in place by that small protruding self tapper on the side. Crude but effective.

More soon

[BobL]

Photo 1: Shows dusty attachment.
Photo 2: Shows allowance required to get sufficient switch access.

Initially I had two bits of ally angle between the sander and the wooden uprights but they just kept getting in the way and clanging about all over the place.

Works all good. Not much else to say really.

[MurrayD99]

Not going anywhere is it. Truth is, I never used the bracket for mine - just put him on his back and it works OK.

[BobL]

Not going anywhere is it. Truth is, I never used the bracket for mine - just put him on his back and it works OK.

Yeah - I could do that with the old one but the new model has the power cord and dust extraction poking out the top plus no real flat spot so it wobbles around too much. Boy does it remove stock quickly !!! - could be as much 30 -40% faster than the old one. Also is

[MurrayD99]

Yeah - I could do that with the old one but the new model has the power cord and dust extraction poking out the top plus no real flat spot so it wobbles around too much. Boy does it remove stock quickly !!! - could be as much 30 -40% faster than the old one. Also is

Yes, I meant the old ones didn;t move around on their flat and the way you got this one, it doesn't look like it needs any form of lock/bracket.

Maybe the new one works better because it came with a new belt