Belt sanders

I will be in the market for a belt sander in the near future.
My main topcoat in the boat forum details my restoration of an old clinker speed boat. The deck is being strip planked in Huon Pine and Honduras Mahogany ( purchased through this forum, thanks.)

I will need to sand the whole deck area but I am not willing to use the cheap belt sander that I have on this deck.

My budget doesn't run to being able to purchase the Festool belt sander. So I'm looking for the next best thing.

I have narrowed it down to either the Metabo BAE75, the AEG 1010, the Bosch GBS75 or even the Triton.
i have had a look at ome of the reviews on all of them and they all seem to stack up really well. I have no real leaning to one or the other.

Advice gladly taken
Peter

I would probably say the metabo or aeg, they are the same machine bothe backed by a 3 year warranty, triton also does well but comes with a 1 year warranty

i have the makita, and its bulletproof.


i have had it for over 20 years now and have never had it serviced. Yet it still gets a flogging.

despite a lot of negative makita comments round here of late, i can say this makita has been the same design and spec for many years.

dont waste your money on the festool. i still have a bad case of buyers remorse over the Of1400 festool router. its a PITA to use. the systainer is great though :U

SYDNEY TOOLS - Makita 850W 76mm Belt Sander

+1 for the Makita. It'll take 100mm belts as well as 76mm and the built-in dust collection system works surprisingly well.

Avoid the Hitachi belt sanders like the plague - they're so poorly balanced that you really have to fight it just to stay flat. Bought one to replace the aforementioned Mak when it died, used it for 60 seconds before taking it back and getting another Mak.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by GCP310

i have the makita, and its bulletproof.


i have had it for over 20 years now and have never had it serviced. Yet it still gets a flogging.

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The old ones where built extremely well & lasted for ever, make sure u check your bearings as they have a tendency to go thru them especially at that age.... If there's anything we can do to help you out with your festool router let us know as that model is one of our biggest sellers & always gets good reviews

Thanks, as for the festool, its more of getting used to the Strange handle arangement, it just feels strange when using it

i love the one tool ratchet chuck, and the dust extraction, which is why i bought it over the makita

seems i am out to jinx myself every time i talk about gear on this forum.

somehow sliced the power cable on the belt sander today whilst prepping a curved bar back, now its at the tool repairer's getting a new cable and new graphite bed, it was looking a little shabby.

Thankyou very much for all the input.

I haven't made up my mind yet but may be able to borrow a mates Festool BS. He also has a Festool RAS that I may be able to borrow as well.

I have a Bosch RAS which I have been really happy with but may try his Festool for a comparison.
Not that I can afford one but it would be interesting to compare.

Again thankyou. I am going to have a look at the AEG tomorrow.

Hi guys
This is slightly off the topic of Makitas ,festools etc but ....for those of you who don't want an expensive belt sander or only need one occassionally I bought a Ryobi yestyerday and I used it today sanding 6 lengths of pine , now ready to be used as handrails, and the ryobi LIVES. I thought it had burnt out after 15 mins of use but the plug had popped out of the power lead, so all good. The dust collector seems to work well, it can be used with a vac if you have one. For 99 bucks it seems to be quite OK . I will keep you posted on its progress.
Planepig.:U

I decided that I could put the money for a decent belt sander to another use at the momen so hit the boat with the cheap n nasty Supercheap belt sander.

I was pleasantly surprised with the results that I achieved. I put a couple of new belts on the sender during the sanding process. The biggest hassle was the noise. It sure is a noisy thing had to put the earplugs.

It took me about 2-2 1/2 hours to flatten out the deck and get rid of most the ridges on the deck area. Now to spend the same amount of time if not longer on the end of the orbital/ ROS sander to give it a final sand before the first coat of varnish.

So thanks for all the advice. It really came down to whether I would rather try with what I had or spend the money on something I my not use again for quite a while. I tried it and it turned out OK.

Cheers
Peter

Hi.. I am also on a hunt for a good belt sander.. I read this review and now planning to buy this one.

Attachment 441661

Hi.. I am planning to buy this belt sander.. Any recommendations??
Makita 9903 Belt Sander Reviews | Belt Sander Advisor

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Originally Posted by farooq12

Any recommendations??

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only not to run multiple threads in the same sub forum on the same topic :)

I have an Ozito belt sander that works pretty good and I havent killed it yet, mind you was given to me by a friend of my mums who said it didn't work if I could fix it I could have It only took me 10 minutes the clean it and it worked perfectly. Mind you I'm looking at getting a Makita once I kill it.

I was in the market for a belt sander after the last cheap one gave up on tracking and just chewed up belts. Had a look at the Makita 9910 in the green shed. To my pleasant surprise it is actually made in Japan. That clinched the deal for me.
Regards
John