Jeff, IMHO you are spending a lot of money for plastic and alumn. (New) tools. I have purchased from
Craigs list a Delta 6" belt X 48" w/ 9" Disk for $75.00, never looked it up, but I would say it's at least early
70"s, heavy as hell, tracks excellent and I use it all the time. I also have a Delta 4" X 48" belt w/ 6" disk, I
got that in my local newspaper for $40.00. That too is very heavy, they are both made of cast iron, they both
raise the belt up 0 to 90 degrees, and they both work excellent, again, I never looked them up, but I am guessing
again early 1970's, they basicly look alike. I do have to say, both people I bought them from took very good
care of them. I have had them now for about 4 - 5 years and both still run just like you would expect them to.
Great.
Again IMHO I would rather loose $75 or $40 buying good vintage tools, then spending $200 - $300 on a new
tool, that will not last like the vintage ones, unless you start to spend upward of $800 - $1200 for new ones.
And the great thing I find, (most of the time), if you purchase a vintage shop machine, either floor or bench model
the old saying, "...you get what you pay for…" does not apply. New machines that is gosple, you do get what you
pay for. Today, you find some very good deals from guys/girls who are just getting too old to work the shop anymore, or their health won't allow them to continue, or in my case, I bought from two guys who were down sizing and moving into a smaller place and they did not have a two car garage anymore, they both sold all their shop
tools. I just got there too late, but I got my sanders, one for the shop and one for my side of the two car garage.
Don't be into too much of a rush to get that sanded, check your local paper, Craig's Lists, eBay, and Amazon you
will be shocked at whats is out there. One week you won't believe the prices, they are so low, then the next week those sanders maybe another $100 more than what you passed up the week before. Believe me the deals will come, but when they do you have to jump on them. Especially if you find an old timer who took good care of his equipment and pride in his work, and he knows those tools of his are going to a good home, the price will drop dramatically.
Check out those old tools before jumping in and buying those shinny new toys. Good luck in you endevers.