I have a piece of E36 M3 $59 4" wide belt and disc sander that the disc stripped off its shaft with 2 uses. I would like to throw it away and replace it with one of the combos with a 1-2" narrow belt. The intention for the belt side is knocking slag bits off the backside of plasma cut pieces. Disc is just because every so often they're handy.
I prefer a benchtop unit at this point because most floor space is marked for other free standing tools, and i have a nice place in mind to keep it when not in use. I'm expecting to use it weekly with the intent that need will get ramped up so I don't want garbage that's going to need replacement in a year.
budget $200ish?
It sounds like you're looking for a belt grinder not a belt sander. Sanders are fine for wood and soft materials, but if you want clean edges on plasma cuts, you're grinding. More info HERE.
I'd be looking for used at the $200 price point. It's a serious enough tool that most any of them will be decent. There isn't a market of cheap HF style belt grinders that I've seen anyway...
In reply to Mezzanine :
The author of that article, "Meghan Collins", sure knows how to write a good self-bio...
I dunno if it means something deep fake is going on here, or if this is some sort of technique to trick google-bots, but that is really odd to me.
Yeah, that's just weird. I didn't read the bio for sure. The article wasn't awesome in the first place, but let's not imagine I scrolled past the very first link in my google search.
In reply to Patientzero :
ok that's cool and they have a 2x48. I have 2 bench grinders
pirate
HalfDork
6/17/20 4:27 p.m.
I have an old Burr King belt sander/grinder. It was given to me in very bad condition, with some work, new parts and labor it turned into a well built, reliable tool I use all the time. Mine is a 2" wide belt. You can get some sticker shock looking at their website. https://www.burrking.com/catalog/cat-100000/belt-grinders You might be able to find some discounts from dealers. However their tools are worth the money.
On the other end of the spectrum is Grizzly Industrial https://www.grizzly.com/ which is made in China. I have a disc sander, tool grinder and a few other tools and I have used them a lot with no problems. A friend of mine is a cabinet maker and has a wood shop full of (planners, saws, table routers, sanders) them and swears by them. I think the tools are built heavier and better then those you might find at HF.
As someone else mentioned Jet Tools are also very good.
is it possible to convert a bench top grinder into to one of those.
I bought a huge grinder at a yardsale 20 years ago bigger than the one in the pictuer.
In reply to scooterfrog :
Apparently it depends. Old beefy grinders like the one I wanted to use it on do not work with the trick tools kit. Newer grinders where everything bolts on the ends do. I ended up with the 2x48 trick tools kit and mounted it to an older alltrade 6" grinder I got at a yard sale for $15. Kit is a bit of a pain to get set up because of all the pieces but it's pretty awesome and I would definitely recommend it
