# Best Value on a sander



## BarryW (Sep 15, 2007)

I need more tools…this looks like a great sander….I have some sanding tubes for my drill press…but they don't oscillate…and they seem a bit small to me…I use them…but control seems more problematical. I'll put this one on my list.


----------



## motthunter (Dec 31, 2007)

I have one and love it. It is not for industrial shops.. but for meit is perfect and not expensive compared to other tools


----------



## Julian (Sep 30, 2008)

I've had one of these for 4 years. It works alright pretty well, but the tracking spring needed to be replaced 2 years after I got it. All in all, it was worth the money.

Are you sure that the HD near you doesn't carry the belts? HD is where I have always bought mine.


----------



## Steelmum (Jul 21, 2007)

I also own this sander. I love it. I have a hard time changing back from the belt sander, so I just use the spindles. I own an older craftsman belt/disk sander and use it too.


----------



## bayouman (May 13, 2008)

I have the same model and love it. Has performed as promised and I use it on almost all of my projects.


----------



## mmh (Mar 17, 2008)

I have this sander also and I like how quiet it is to run. I also had problems with changing the belt gizmo, as it would lock up and give me a Heck of a hard time to remove, so I've had to purchase a separate belt/disk sander and keep this one as a spool sander.


----------



## Dave44 (Nov 15, 2008)

I have had one of these for a few months. I used it on some band saw boxes for Christmas. I have found that if you put talcum on the sleeve tube, the replacement tubes go on better. One source for the sleeves in toolsnow.com since the local HD does not carry them.


----------



## Built2Last (Nov 17, 2008)

I have the same sander (GOT A DEAL ON A DEMO AND HD FOR 139.00) and after I finally used the belt, it gets a lot more use than the spindles. Toolsnow.com has ryobi sleeves in a pack of 6 for only $1.00 , but all they have left is 50 grit. These are really good, long lasting sleeves. At one time they had 150 grit also. They also have some ridgid sleeves of different grits for something like 80 cents for 2 depending on the size. You can wear the 50's down a little and get a pretty good finish and when new they are aggressive. I sold close to 2000 of the ryobi sleeves all over the world and never got a complaint. When I sold all the 150 grit I had the 50"s didn't sell as good so I moved on the selling other items. As of today they still had the 50's and the loose ridgid.


----------



## sIKE (Feb 14, 2008)

Klingspor is the place for your sanding needs. They should have anything that you need.


----------



## tooldad (Mar 24, 2008)

If you are using the belt, be sure not to sand on the narrow end around the curve. Several of my students did this while building the adirondack chairs and wore out the spring on the end, and the tracking would not work after that. If you sand on the large end of the belt when sanding curves you can pretty much use it as both a belt and spindle at same time if not too close to a wall. Unfortunatley we only use it as a spindle now due to the spring mechanism. I agree with other post, definitely not an industrial tool, however it has held up for a year other than the spring issue in freshman shop class.


----------



## boboswin (May 23, 2007)

I wonder if the spring might have held up werr it not a freshman shop class.
Shouldn't be that difficult to put in a new spring . I haven't looked at mine and it's about 6 years old.

Maybe I should pick up and extra spring.

Good unit for the $

Bob


----------



## bob101 (Dec 14, 2008)

I have the same one and have had it a few years and it gets some seriouse use and its never let me down an awsome tool( but i still want an 80 or so inch stationary belt sander)


----------



## GuyB (Jan 23, 2009)

I have had this tool for a couple years and love it! My HD had replacement spindles right next too it so I picked up some then. I never use the belt sander as I have a couple machines dedicated to that job. All in all good tool!


----------



## JMatt (Mar 2, 2009)

I picked this up at the wood show. They gave 20% off in discounts and mail-in-rebates. For $160.00 is was a no-brainer for me.

I sure hope it's easy to find replacement sleeves and belts when the time comes. Might start shopping for spares now.

Glad I'm not the only one who loves this thing.


----------



## dbhost (Jul 20, 2009)

I have also had mine for about a year now, and use it to death. It is mounted on a Central Machinery stand / mobile base, but it spends all its time right next to the band saw… Never so much as a hiccup, and I am stunned that in all this time I have not needed to replace a sleeve or a belt. Not sure why they are holding up so well, but they are!

Replacement belts and sleeves are readily available at all 3 Home Depot stores near me.

I too got it for the oscillating spindle feature, but ended up falling in love with the belt function.

Dust collection is as good as can be expected. It doesn't catch everything, but it is close enough for horseshoes as it were…

There is a GOOD REASON you see this sander in so many shop tours. And I bet if you ask owners of this tool they will gloat about it. I haven't met anyone that is dissatisfied with their EB4424. They did a bang up job with designing and building this thing.

O.P. Could you please link the Harbor Freight item #s for the sleeves? I am pretty sure folks will want that info…


----------



## a1Jim (Aug 9, 2008)

This is a super sander for the price and the only one that converts from spindle to belt that oscillates in this price range


----------



## Gerry1 (Jul 12, 2009)

I just bought this sander over the week end, and have not taken it out of the box as yet. I'm working on 2 projects now, an add on Router table to my tasble saw, and a end grain cutting board a la the Wood whisperer. Will post photos as I get closer…


----------



## rroades (Oct 16, 2008)

I just bought this, too. Used it on a necklace display I'm making for my wife, and loved how it worked. I did notice the detents to lock in at certain angles seems inaccurate. I used a digital protractor to measure 45 degrees and set it. But then the 0 (flat) is a little off. Not much, but a little.

Other than that, I really like the tool and since I am space limited, I was hoping to find a tool to do double duty - edge, spindle, etc. to replace a disc. So far, so good!


----------

