Official Luthiers Forum!

Am looking to add an edge sander to my shop and thought I'd check and see if there was any new wisdom on the forum as to the best (or least) liked machines. I have read most of the prior threads on the topic and it seems they all have their issues.

Would appreciate any thoughts regarding particular brands as well as models. I have 110 and 220 power both available in the shop, so that's not an issue. What kind of experience have people had with the 110 only units? Powerful enough or not?

Thanks in advance,

Kevin

Oh, I have a real good comment on that one!

I have a Powermatic 6x89 edge sander, virtually the same as the Jet or the Woodtek units. I ran it at 110, and eventually it kicked off the circuit breaker while under some heavy usage. So I go and turn on the breaker, and it doesn't start up. The wiring inside melted and shorted it out. So I rewired the whole thing with new wire and at 220. Now it works fine, no overheating. But I'm careful to not use it too hard also.

Go 220...

It's a decent unit. Others use the Grizzly unit and seem to like it.

_________________
"I want to know what kind of pickups Vince Gill uses in his Tele, because if I had those, as good of a player as I am, I'm sure I could make it sound like that.
Only badly."

Thanks Don. Enough said on the 110/220 issue!

Kevin, I have the Grizzly 6X80something. I like it. It's not as accurate and true as I would ideally have it be but then again I don't do anything like jointing plates on it.

Motors in general (assuming that the internal leads are connected properly for each voltage)
Higher voltage= lower current
lower current= less voltage drop in external wiring
lower corrent= cooler running motor
Less voltage drop= more torque
cooler motor = longer life of tool
more torque = tool works better
higher volatge is the better way to go when it is an option.

Al

I also have the grizzly unit. It is "ok". It runs great now, but I had to fortify it. It wanted to "drift" a little while it was running and get out of a true 90 degrees to the table. After creating an assembly to bolt and shim the entire thing it works great, but I hate having to jurry-rig brand new tools.

But now it works like a champ.

_________________
Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

By the way I know I tout Rigid tools, but they are not perfection. They are easily available, do the job acceptably, and are priced right. One of the guide bearings burned up on my saw, and had to be replaced. It was a $5 part at the local motor rewind shop. I will upgrade the blade guides someday soon, and it doesn't like 3/4" blades. Delta , Jet, and Grizzly tools are probably in the same class and similar quality, they just don't sell them down the street.

Al

The one thing I missed desperately after getting home from Frank Finocchio's course in February was the edge sander.

Frank also had pretty much redone the support system under the table, doubling up on what Grizzly started with. He says it's pretty good now, but he also said he wouldn't buy another one (it's the one that sells for 550 or so? Can't remember model number).

Once you get used to the edge sander, going back to the horizontal 6 by 48 belt ...   

_________________
Jim Kirby
kirby@udel.edu

[QUOTE=jtkirby] The one thing I missed desperately after getting home from Frank Finocchio's course in February was the edge sander.

Once you get used to the edge sander, going back to the horizontal 6 by 48 belt ...    [/QUOTE]

I feel your pain Jim.

That was the first thing I bought when I got back from Frank's class.

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Dave Rector
Rector Guitars

I love having an edge sander - I just don't love mine, the Powermatic
variant of the Taiwan Jet/General/Woodtek style. I will replace it someday,
but the problem is that I have not seen a 6 x 89 sander that is real
quality. here is what I would look for:

Table that is quick and easy to change height.
Small end table is adjustable for tilt as well as height and is rigid once
set.
Sanding platen is flat within .005" over its length. Obviously flatter would
be even better.
Sturdy, reliable, and adjustable 90 degree stops for vertical and flat
sanding positions.
Ability to use all or almost all of the 6" height of the sanding belt.

The sanders listed above fail on all these issues. To some extent they can
be fixed as mentioned in other posts.

Can anyone give feedback on the oscillating sanders now sold by Grizzly
and Jet, among others?

If I had the room, I would look at this one:
Ritter 911
BrookM38815.5179282407

[QUOTE=Dave Rector] [QUOTE=jtkirby] The one thing I missed desperately after getting home from Frank Finocchio's course in February was the edge sander.

Once you get used to the edge sander, going back to the horizontal 6 by 48 belt ...    [/QUOTE]

I feel your pain Jim.

That was the first thing I bought when I got back from Frank's class.[/QUOTE]

Me too. :-)

_________________
Brock Poling
Columbus, Ohio
http://www.polingguitars.com

BrookM

That Ritter looks like a good unit. I am not familiar with their products, though. Do you know much about them?

Kevin

I do not have any personal experience with them, but they have a good
reputation in industrial woodworking circles. Ritter bought out Crouch,
which was known for its top quality sanders . They are made in the USA. The
911 is about as small a tool as they make. If you are looking at 108", I guess
you might want to look at the Delta also, but I know nothing about it.

I would love to hear your feedback if you find a good edge sander.

Brook

Here is yet another new moderately-priced American made sander.
Intriguing, but I don't know a thing about them. The adjustable radius curve
platen on the heavy duty model sounds cool. Also check out their
adjustable-height work stand for a very reasonable price.

Vega Woodworking

Brook

Thanks Brook. I'll check them out as well.

Kevin

I have the Grizzly one like Brock, I was a bit let down in that it has a wraparound table but only a platten on one side (thereby almost negating the wraparound part). And the grizzly belt that came with it is horrible, it has a HUGE bump in it, I ordered a couple of extra sets with it and have not changed over to them to see if they are the same yet.

I have only used it sparingly so far, but other than the things I mentioned it seems pretty solid. For the price I thought it was a bargain, just wish I had known about the platten missing on the back, I may attempt to fix that yet..

If I was to do it again, I would get one that moves the paper up and down, that way you avoid getting burn spots on the paper and have to clean it less but hindsight is always 20/20

Cheers

-Paul-

_________________
-Paul-

Patriot Guitars