# Harbor Freight 4 In. X 24 In. Variable Speed Professional Belt Sander



## vskgaming

I have the same sander and it works great, only a bit on the heavy side and still using the 80 grit sandpaper it comes with.


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## dbhost

I have that same sander and I disagree on the dust collection. I had to hook it up to a vac hose. The dust bag on mine was worthless. ..


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## Magnum

Thanks Jerry! Good Review!

I'm considering a New One. This Helps!

OOPS! It' a HF Product. No HF's in Canada.

I'm going to download Your Picture and see if I can find a Comparable Model.

Rick


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## Sigung

RE dbhost: It appears that the one I bought worked better, so common sense suggests you should return your defective product. Cheers.


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## MrRon

It appears that HF tools are a hit or miss proposition. No better or worse than other brands, except maybe for Festool which is in a whole different class. I'm sure the components that are in a HF tool comes from the same Chinese factory as do the other name brands. I think HF is slowly, but surely climbing the quality scale and will soon be a name that brands like Skil, B&D will have to contend with. I have a few HF tools and I'm happy with the, including a wood lathe, DC, mortiser, clamps and digital calipers.


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## Bogeyguy

After finding the 2nd sander defective I would have walked away from HF. How can you give it 5 stars if you had to take it back twice for replacement??


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## Sigung

RE Bogeyguy:

Of course it takes a certain level of awareness to be able to discriminate between a tool and the company that makes it, so allow me to clarify. The review was for the belt sander, not for Harbor Freight the company.

I own many things that I've had to return once or more before I finally got one that worked and this applies universally to American and Chinese manufacturers.

This particular belt sander works very well, that is why I gave it a good review.

Now if I were to review Harbor Freight the company, I would have to say it's a mixed bag, with quality varying wildly from one item to the next.

Not to put too fine a point on it, but again, it takes the ability to discriminate and pay attention to be able to separate the wheat from the chaff. Something myself and many other people are willing to do in order to save hundreds of dollars in many cases.


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## b2rtch

I like most HF products but their abrasive are pure junk.
I recommend Mirka belt on Amazon. 
http://www.amazon.com/Mirka-57-2-5-14-100-2-5-Inch-Portable-Abrasive/dp/B001BKT5HM/ref=pd_sim_sbs_hi_1?ie=UTF8&refRID=08D0BTV2VEWWRG6AN5P8

I used to use Klinspor but now they are too expensive.


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## Sigung

RE b2rtch: Normally I would agree with you about HF abrasives. If you have not tried their belt sander abrasives, though, you are in for a pleasant surprise.

Of all of the crappy abrasives I've bought from HF, the belts, at least in the 4×24" size are a notable exception, as I pointed out originally in my review.

The link you provided is for belts that are the wrong size for this particular sander, but I did find the correct size in several grits on Mirka's website here those who are interested.


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## b2rtch

I provided the link just for you to look at them. 
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=4x24%20Mirka%20sanding%20belts
I buy mine on amazon with free shipping.
I use Mirka sanding disks, sheep paper, and sanding belts, I am satisfied with all of them


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## Sigung

Bert, I appreciate it very much, hope you understood I was just trying to help other people that may have my particular sander find the correct belts.


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## 33706

How does it compare to other belt sanders that you are familiar with?


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## Sigung

RE poopiekat: I looked at all the major names at Lowes and Home Depot. Some of them are comparable in power and features, such as the Hitachi and Porter cable, but those are $169.00 and $268.00 respectively. This is a 10 Amp sander with variable speed and great dust collection for $52.50 if you use the standard HF 25% off coupon. There is nothing else on the market at this price point with similar power and features.


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## 33706

@Jerry:
Sorry, I should have been more specific. Knowing how some users stand by their Bosch or Porter-Cable sanders, e.g., and strongly dislike Craftsman or Makita sanders, for example. I should have asked how your sander performs, relative to other belt sanders on the market that you have *used* and are familiar with..


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## Sigung

RE poopiekat: Absolutely cannot give you an answer on that. This is my first belt sander, but if any factory reps for the brands you mentioned want to send me their sanders for a comparison review, I will be happy to oblige 

Perhaps this consumer reports comparison test of 10 belt sanders will help you with an answer you can relate to.

The predecessor to the sander I reviewed here came in 5th overall.


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## Ken90712

Congrats, cool that its workingout for ya finally.. Not to be too negative, but five stars for an item you had to take back twice is little much. While it may be working now, the brand I bought worke perfectly the first time. I might have paid more I'm sure, but no returns. Seems there are little to many five star ratings for HF tools. I'm not saying I dont go shop there from time to time but returning an item twice would have made me mad. Again, just a point not trying to sound rude.


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## MarkDavisson

Thanks for the review. Sounds like your purchase represents tremendous value to you, and that's what it's all about.

It also sounds like HF's customer service deserves 5 stars, unless they gave you a hassle you're not telling us about.


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## Sigung

RE: Ken90712 and Mark: Well, I don't want to be put in the position of defending my rating, but I will try to explain why I rated it the way I did.

The thing is, when I go to Harbor Freight, I go there looking for a gem, something that's cheap and good.

I have fairly low expectations when it comes to Chinese manufacturing, to the point that the phrase "Chinese manufacturing" is almost an oxymoron to me, nevertheless, one lives in hope, so when I find that gem, I want to share the news.

Now you might say ( and I'm quoting Ken90712 here ) "five stars for an item you had to take back twice is little much" - but you need to remember that I didn't take the working model back. When I finally got one that was manufactured correctly, and one that was undamaged due to poor handling during shipping, the thing worked magnificently, beyond all of my expectations.

As far as HF customer service is concerned, I've always been given exchanges and / or refunds without question.

So keep in mind, I'm giving the 5 star rating to the the example that was made well and according the manufacturer's specs, not to a defective or damaged one.

I think it's an important distinction. You can't judge the overall quality and performance of any given make and model based on one or two bad examples.

If that were the case, then we might as well just stop electing presidents.


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## eatsawdust

I was looking for a 4×24 belt sander this week and ended up buying a used Porter Cable off of ebay which was manufactured before B&D bought them and cheapened the components I ended up paying twice as much as you, I think I got a great deal for me and the types of projects I do. I'm sure you feel the same way about your find. Thanks for the review.


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## Kentuk55

Nice review Jerry. Gotta luv HF for some things, and the bonus 25% off coupons as well.


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## MacB

I'm chiming in because someone brought up the topic of Bosch belt sanders in comparison to the HF belt sander. I had a Bosch $300 belt sander 4" x 24" for several years and used it intermittently as the projects necessitated it. It functioned well when it worked. I replaced brushes much sooner than expected, sometime during the second year of use. Into the third year of use the armature went bad. The way I figure it I could've bought 6 HF belt sanders for the price of this Bosch. Considering that my local Harbor Freight is 5 minutes away, I am now considering UPGRADING from the Bosch to the Harbor Freight belt sander.


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