| Review by dbhost | posted 62 days ago | 1012 views | 2 times favorited | 18 comments | ![]() |
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- Harbor Freight 30766 Sanding Belt Cleaner
- Brand: Harbor Freight | Category: Sanders

Not much to say about this. I needed to finally replace the sanding belt cleaner I had as I had worn it out. (Still on the same belt FWIW). I hopped into Harbor Freight, and picked one of these up. Sale price of $3.99, and since I wasn’t getting anything more expensive, I threw the 20% coupon on it for an additional $.80 savings for a total before tax of $3.19…
Got the thing home, and it is EXACTLY the same item as I had purchased at the big name woodworking supply and hardware store that sponsors Norm’s show a year ago… Only theirs sells for $8.99 on sale…
I know this isn’t much to write home about, and if Harbor Freight isn’t located conveniently to you and the other places are the cost of shipping kills the value prospects… But this can be a bargain for those of us that need to watch the budget somewhat…
-- Trying to follow the example of the master.

























18 comments so far
a1Jim
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16598 posts in 469 days
posted 62 days ago
Thanksd for the review.
-- Jim from Heirloom Woodshop Southern Oregon
kkickback
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234 posts in 108 days
posted 62 days ago
yup I picked mine up @ mneards for 3.99 i think works great…
-- christoper Blanchard, Michigan
dbhost
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599 posts in 124 days
posted 62 days ago
I wasn’t so sure about the HF one. Honestly for the $$ I figured they would have cut corners somewhere… If they did I have no clue where…
-- Trying to follow the example of the master.
mmh
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1381 posts in 614 days
posted 62 days ago
I use these a lot. Almost time to get a few more. The HF ones are a bit smaller, but for the price, not a bad deal.
-- "They who dream by day are cognizant of many things which escape those who dream only by night." ~ Edgar Allan Poe
dbhost
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599 posts in 124 days
posted 62 days ago
I’d rather not say which store I got the other ones at. But the HF one is at least visibly the same size as the other one… Now since I have only bought my belt cleaners locally, you can figure out where I got the other one by doing some Googling…
-- Trying to follow the example of the master.
Jerry
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80 posts in 431 days
posted 61 days ago
Small item, great review….
thanks for taking the time!!!
-- Jerry - Rochester, MN *Whether you think you can or you can't, you are probably right*
davidroberts
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238 posts in 378 days
posted 61 days ago
I still say for consumables and small items you know you will probably abuse to death, HF is the way to go. I bought a $10 1/4 sheet sander I dedicated for use with WD40 on cast iron. No reason to stink up a $50 sander.
-- david roberts, houston area, "A little knowledge is a dangerous thing, but that has never been a problem for me."
Karson
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25795 posts in 1293 days
posted 61 days ago
I use the HF ones exclusively. I’ve gotten them for 10 years. The only way to go.
-- What happens in the workshop stays in the workshop. No wait that doesn't sound right. Karson Southern Delaware karson_morrison@bigfoot.com †
Phil53
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9 posts in 515 days
posted 61 days ago
Thanks good info. I’m all for cheep if the quality is there. The last one I bought was $10.
Todd A. Clippinger
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5632 posts in 992 days
posted 61 days ago
Looks like a good deal. It is probably one of those items that has the most mark-up on it in the store.
To clean my belts I focus the compressed air gun on them while running the sander. All the stuff caked on the belt flies right off. I never have had the need to purchase such an item.
I clean the sandpaper on my drum sander the same way. It blows all the contaminates right off.
-- Todd A. Clippinger, Montana, http://amcraftsman.com
Mike Gager
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215 posts in 159 days
posted 61 days ago
yeah i found the HF one shortly after spending like $10 for one from rockler/woodcraft.
ive only used it once to clean my belt/disc sander, i was a bit skeptical but man these things work awesome.
dbhost
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599 posts in 124 days
posted 61 days ago
Okay, I had to list the measurements. I was trying to avoid throwing the other competitors names around but since Mike breeched that for us…
The HF unit I have measures 9” x 1.5” x 1.5” Their web site says it is 8.5” x 1.5” x1.5”. LINK
Rockler advertises theirs at 8” x 1.5” x 1.5” LINK
Woodcraft apparently has 2 models. Only one of which I have seen on the store shelves which measures 8.5” x 1.5” x 1.5” LINK
FWIW, The Rockler one is currently on sale for $5.99
While I won’t link it here. Woodcraft does have a larger size online, that measures 12” x 2” x 2”. The larger size may interest some folks..
-- Trying to follow the example of the master.
Mike Gager
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215 posts in 159 days
posted 61 days ago
oops sorry! didnt realize that was a no-no
dbhost
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599 posts in 124 days
posted 60 days ago
No it wasn’t I was just trying to be nice to Woodcraft / Rockler. I like both of those businesses as they have stuff I cannot seem to find anywhere else… I was trying not to slam them on price…
No harm, no foul…
-- Trying to follow the example of the master.
john50
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8 posts in 125 days
posted 60 days ago
was in Harbor Freight today and got 2 HP Dust Collector for $139.00 plus tax,with coupon. Works Great.
-- john50
dbhost
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599 posts in 124 days
posted 60 days ago
Stick a 1 micron filter on that, with a Thien pre separator and you will be that much more impressed with it… I love mine!
-- Trying to follow the example of the master.
USCJeff
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899 posts in 960 days
posted 59 days ago
Been using the same for few years. Still has a lot of life left. These type of items are what keeps me shopping there, some others, not so much.
I also have the Dust Collector mentioned by a few. It’s a more of a glorified shop vac than a true DC, but it meets my needs in a small shop. The bags don’t filter enough to make the shop “healthy”, but it works well on a short run as far as collecting debris. I’ve seen many spend twice as much as the DC adding canisters and what not. While a good idea, it kind of makes me laugh. I always picure the beat up car with the $3000 sound system and rims.
-- Jeff, South Carolina
dbhost
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599 posts in 124 days
posted 58 days ago
I’m one of them with the canister filter. But no worries. I had the beat up car with the $3000.00 stereo and rims. And that was back in the ‘80s!
In all fairness. I am looking at my HF DC as an interim stage. I keep watching CL for a Delta 50-760 on the cheap. Then I can move the canister over, and either sell the HF, or give it to a deserving friend or charity…
FWIW, with the coupon offer, the HF 2HP DC AND a Wynn 35A cartridge is around what a Delta 50-720 1HP DC goes for, with a bag and not a cartridge. When you compare what the total dollars spent will get you, I would MUCH rather have, and I know I am going to tick off owners of these other units, but I would much rather have my HF DC than say a Delta 50-720, or Jet DC-650, well just about any 1 HP dust collector actually… As far as HF lying about the rating on CFM, yeah, true. But they all do… I am confident though, that the HF unit pulls enough to get all the fines, especially with the cartridge instead of a bag…
-- Trying to follow the example of the master.