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http://www.grizzly.com/products/item.cfm?ItemNumber=G9983
I'm fed up with my General sander. I'm convinced it was made on a Friday at 3:00. So it's going back. I'm thinking of taking the leap into a belt sander. I'd love to hear anything anyone has to say about this one.
Is it true that the burning/clogging problem is omitted by the belt vs drums? That would be very nice. Thanks in advance. Paul

Well my little drum sander bit the dust last month so I hope you get this and give a review cause I've been eyeing the same one. I've decided to take the rest of the summer off though after HB (Hmmm the summer will be over by then) so I don't need to buy anything just yet. So you go ahead and be the 1st kid on the block so to speak and let us all know how it goes.John How38546.4469907407

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Tickle your guitar daily, and it'll tickle you back.

Yeah, I thought that's what I would do with the General. And it bit me in the keister. So, I'm thinking you should devote the summer to buying this machine and getting it working well so you can share it with ME! javascript:AddSmileyIcon('')

I have seen one of these, and they look pretty small to me. I don't know well it would work to try to do it in multiple passes, but I think one slightly larger would be the way to go if they money wasn't a deal breaker.

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

Someone at ASIA was saying they liked their new 18" Grizzly sander. If it was me, I would save a lot more pennies and go for the 24" unit. Some things seem to sand better going through sidways, and with the 18" you can't do that with a back or top. Then again, heck, a 36" or 48" unit would give you the ability to sand table tops, and you could make an extra $50 a year sanding table tops for people, or make some yourself.

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"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."

Sylvan has a wide belt sander but I don't remember what brand it was. You might ping him...

I rented time on an open end belt sander several years ago at a cabinet shop. I was VERY dissappointed in it (although it could have been set-up related). My boards came out severly tapered and they were uneven accross the face of the boards. I was sanding 2" thinck hard maple at the time. I would hate to think what it would have done to guitar parts

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tim...
http://www.mcknightguitars.com

That's some sander Paul...

For the money I would get something wider though, your talking alot of dough there and for that much I would get something that would not require multiple passes because of width...

I'm assuming the belt is only 15" based on the sales lingo in the text, wonder why you need compressed air to run it?? 220v I can see but compressed air??

-Paul-

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-Paul-

Patriot Guitars

Oh!!

One other thing I forgot to mention, MAKE sure you can even get one delivered, I have had a vertical belt sander on order for over 3 months now and still nothing. I'm just about to go looking for something else, they had a high demand and put us on the list...

-Paul-

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-Paul-

Patriot Guitars

Paul, the air is for the tension of the belt which keeps it tracking properly.
I talked to the guys at the store I bought my General from and they think I got a lemon. So we're swapping for a new one with the stipulation that if I don't like this one, they'll take it back. We'll see...

About the air. The top roller is actually held in place by two pneumatic cylinders. One is centered on the roller and supplies belt tension, and also acts as a pivot. The other cylinder is on the side, and pivots the roller back and forth, which provides the tracking. To me, based on no personal experience, the control system on the 18" looks the best. It's simpler and it's electronic, which is better than the pneumatic feedback system on their other sanders. I would think that the fact that the newest one uses a different tracking system than all the others probably says that the old system has some problems.

I would have problems spending that much money and not being able to pass a whole top or back through at one time. But $1000 is a lot of money.

Paul -
I have Grizzly's 18" wide belt sander and it is one of the best investments in
tooling that I have ever made. The belts simply do not wear unless you screw
up and take a huge cut. It is really nice to be able to get close with 60 grit,
switch to 100 and then 150. Almost no cleanup later!
It is a very heavy machine (1,000 lbs) and a bear to get in the shop but, it
works great! I just hope I never have to move it.....

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Sylvan
http://www.wellsguitars.com

[QUOTE=Sylvan]
It is a very heavy machine (1,000 lbs) and a bear to get in the shop but, it
works great! I just hope I never have to move it.....[/QUOTE]

That thing's a mere waif of a machine. In my basement, I have a 5000lb milling machine and a 1500lb lathe, but I'd move in a heartbeat if I could get a decent shop space. Kinda enjoy driving giant forklifts around except for the fact that it always rains just before I have to move a machine.

Like I said above, the Grizzley 18" looks like their best to me. I really want to run up to Williamsport and check out their showroom. Haven't been there since they moved.

   I use a friends timesaver 48" but I am looking at the 18 belt sander. I am fortunate in that I live about 90 minutes from Grizzly in Muncy Pa and I am there on a regular basis.
    A good sander is a great investment in time savings and in what you can do with one.