# Black and Decker's Dragster Lost the Race



## a1Jim

It least it looks jazzy


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## dbol

I bought the same one used it once and thought the same. So I I got my air hose blew it off and took it back to Lowe's. Never did get a another belt sander though.


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## HanselCJ

I have either this one or one similar to it. It was an out of box sale for 20-30 bucks. for that price i cant complain, but i would have to say it isn't a fabulous piece of equipment.


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## richgreer

Black & Decker was never a great brand - but they were a good brand at one time. They made reasonably good products at relatively low cost. It saddens me to see the deterioration in the quality of B&D products.

Of course, the company also owns the DeWalt, Delta and Porter-Cable brands now and they have positioned B&D as their very low cost brand.


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## RexMcKinnon

I was thinking about getting this one but now I am not.

Thanks


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## AaronK

thanks for the review. Although that tapered nose seems nice for some things, I wouldnt trust myself to be able to control it well enough on flat surfaces. I wonder if you could attach a strip of leather or something onto the pad (under the belt) to raise the belt off it a bit more - that might help prevent the roller from gouging into the surface.


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## dbhost

I saw that one at both Lowes and Home Depot. Something about it just screamed STAY AWAY to me… I still don't have a hand held belt sander. I am actually kind of glad I don't have that particular unit…


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## tierraverde

I stay away from ANYTHING with the B&D label.
I just hope their engineering and Mfg. practices don't bleed down to their subsidiaries. Already, some Porter-Cable tools have become questionable.
If so, we all may be buying Festool products. (Which ain't a bad thing.)


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## Edward83

Yep next time going with my gut and spending the dough for a decent one, can someone recommend any in particular?


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## dbhost

If you want to upgrade from B&D, Harbor Freight sells belt sanders…

But better question is, what are you looking for in a belt sander? Bosch sells a belt sander that I am saving up for… But it is BIG, meant for lots of fast material removal…


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## araldite

Looks like the design team has a bigger budget than the engineering team. If you're into drag racing, there's your tool.


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## PhineasWhipsnake

I have a Porter-Cable 352VS I got 11 years ago for $130 refurbed. It's a beast - really hogs off the wood-, it's noisy & heavy, but utterly rugged. You might look for refurb deals on old PCs, DeWalts, Boschs, Milwaukees, Makitas. Stay away from the 'Dime Store' brands for this kind of tool.


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## Bearpie

I have a Craftsman 3" x 21" belt sander that I have had since the early 70s and it has served me well and faithfully and I hope it never wears out! I bought this when the Craftsman name meant something. This has sanded all the hardwood floors in 2 of my houses and they were not exactly small houses. However I would not recommend buying Craftsman these days although they rate higher than Black and Decker.

Erwin, Jacksonville, FL


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## Edward83

I agree about craftsman bearpie, though I wasn't around in the seventies to really know craftsman in their prime. I do have a craftsman table saw that I have run a lot of lumber through but It's not fantastic, they really try to make it difficult to make jigs for so you will buy their factory ones at outrageous prices, but I'm not rich and have all the time in the world so their jigs can take a walk as far as I'm concerned, I also like a challenge.


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## steventyler

I bought the Porter Cable 362V back in December to sand a bunch of plywood for some cabinets I was building. This thing has lots of power and was used for hours straight with no problems. It just grinded the wood smooth in no time at all compared to a ROS that I had been using. Awesome tool that has worked very well for me. Only problem is that you definitely need to wear some type of dust mask because of the cloud of dust it creates. Even with a shop vac hooked up to it, there was a tremendous amount of dust in the air. (I am looking at buying a better dust collection system in the near future…)


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## mnguy

I have the Bosch 1274DVS, 3" x 21", and it's great. Belt tracking and changing is excellent, dust collection with a shop vac hooked up is decent. I think unless you're sanding down timbers or trying to sand a floor without renting a real floor sander, you don't need a 4" x 24" beast. They just end up too heavy to control for most sanding chores.

I chose the Bosch after reading some comparison tests and getting a recommendation from the guys at 7 Corners Hardware in Saint Paul.


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## Ingjr

I have had that sander for about 3+yrs. now and it has served me great. No problems on my end what-so-ever.


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## falegniam

that small front roller wheel would come in handy if you had to get close to a board or wall when the grain is perpendicular to it.


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## dannymac

it really sucks that black an decker has fallen so low. i still have a bd saw i bought almost 30 years ago and consider it one of my best circular saws, its outlasted and out worked every other brand on the market. hell i even cut concrete with this thing after i burned out my wormdrive. someone needs to bring BD back to it's formor glory


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## Ollie

Makita 9404 is awesome. 
I`ve had mine for years , you just need to replace the graphite friction strip every year or two. I have used it to sand entire floors and it will go all day no problem. I have never been happy with any Black and Decker power tools or De Walt for that matter.


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## Jero

I also have a Makita, it's been in the shop since '94 I think. Always, and continues to run great!


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## JoelB

Was in a situation a few months ago where I needed a Belt Sander and could not spend a lot of $ on it. Went with the Harbor Freight sander. Did not get teh cheapest one, but rather the next one up. It is nice and light, pretty quiet, and really does an excellent job. May not be the best sander out there, but still takes a lot of material off pretty quickly.


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## jbertelson

Old Skil, mostly metal body, purchased some time in the 70's. It is definitely more insurable than I am…......it will outlast me…........(-:

I have had a few B&D things over the years, none of them survived. Haven't purchased that brand in the last 20 years.

Alaska Jim


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## Sivers

I had one of these for a whilte, lost it in a flood but really llike iit. I refinished some flooring with it so got to know it quite intametely. It did take some time to get the knack and have it track right but it was an all round good sander for what it cost.


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## jbertelson

*Sivers*
It is interesting how differently people work. In one person's hands a particular tool model is a bust, and in another's, it becomes a productive old friend.

Alaska Jim


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## woodsmith1

Funny thing, I've got a craftsman that is IDENTICAL to this except for the colors and I think its horrible! But until I have ALL the other tools I want first, it will do.

The only nice feature is the flip up front. you can mount the sander upright to a table and work small parts with both hands.


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## Robb

I've had a Makita 9910 for several years that I bought used on Ebay for $35. I've used and abused it, sanding decks, hardwood, loaned it out to friends, you name it. It's been a great tool for me; I'd highly recommend it.


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## Magnum

I have the same B&D sander. Works great! No gouges after I Learned how to use it properly. A lighter touch is required. This is not what you would call a Heavy Duty Belt Sander. I have one of those also.

I made a jig/table for the B&D that allows me to use it in a side mount position and the Open End part is almost as good as a Spindle Sander. The picture below is NOT my sander. It's just where I got the idea from. Mine wraps around the front Sander Wheel, has a much closer fit to the Belt, surrounds the rest of the Exposed Belt and a side/undermount (left side) 2-1/2" Outlet for Dust Collection that grabs 97.675% of the Dust! Well…maybe 97.5 …LOL…


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## Edward83

thanks rick I have been toying around with the idea of mounting it and using it as a stationary sander but I didn't think to lay it on it's side like that. I'm definately going to try this!


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## Magnum

Well! There you go Edward! Something "Not So Good" might have just turned into something "Not So Bad"! That's a GOOD thing! (YOU have 8 Hours ONLY to figure out what I just said. It''ll take me a little longer.;-} )

ALWAYS Pleased To Help! Just don't let "Your Little Angel" get His/Her Fingers anywhere near it.

Rick


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## Ingjr

I wanted to add an update to my comment above. I have had excellent results from my B&D dragster BUT it appears to be a slightly different version. It's the dragster but it doesn't look like the above pic. Mine appears to be an earlier heavier duty model. It has a metal front flip-up on the front and appears to be slightlier heavy duty. I noticed this when I went to Wal-Mart the other day and saw the one on display. It appeared identical to the pic above and was NOT the same as mine. Perhaps they "updated", downgraded to save some more money on the tool. Anyway, mine is an excellent sander and I'm glad I got it before the "update". BTW, I paid $25 dollars for mine on a clearance at W/M 3+yrs. ago.


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## Magnum

Mine also does not look EXACTLY like the picture above. Mine has NO flip up device on the front at all, it's just a partially exposed front wheel and belt. I bought it at the begining of this year for $85.00 at WM (SHU).

Just went down to my Shop had another look. Also does not use the word "Dragster" anywhere. Found a WELL concealed Manufacturing date of 2007!! Think I got "Nailed!" by B&D and/or WM!!

I think B&D turns these things out like Fleers turns out Dubble Bubble (IF Fleers still does?) and "Modifies" them for whoever their selling to.

Now I have to go to B&D's Web Site and see what I can see!!

Edward! This is all your Fault! .....LOL….

Rick


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## Edward83

Ok so I did lay it on it's side and made a little laid down bench top belt sander with this, Rick kudos goes to you for saving me money I was going to spend on a spindle sander this year. Granted it's not a spindle sander but I have actually used this belt sander a lot more like a spindle sander than a belt sander. It has proved very handy for a lot of little pieces for a project I am currently working on. So once again thank you Rck for the great suggestion. (and sparking a craving for double bubble, haha) I regret this purchase considerably less, tho I will still be getting a belt sander with some kahuna's.

PS I am like the least computer savvy guy so I can't figure out how to post the pic in this box so I put a pic in my workshop section!


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## Magnum

Saw your Picture Edward. Looks pretty good and Very Usefull, I can see where that would the job quite Nicely.

You're Certainly Welcome.


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## Tabasco

Here is another project this sander is good for; stripping a large deck. I bought it with the hope that it would last long enough to strip my entire deck in preparation for re-staining. After that, I don't really care what becomes of it which of course means that it will last a lifetime and much longer than I want it to last.

The narrow front end of the dragster fits perfectly under the lower deck rail allow me to get at it without having to haul my middle-aged out of shape butt 20 ft. up a ladder just to get to the other side of the rail. That alone was worth the price of admission for me. Other than that, yes, I would like to race it around the neighborhood also. Hint….you don't need a rubber band. It has a trigger lock and as you might guess, if you have it locked on when you plug it in, it will race across your deck at least the length of the cord. Ask me how I know this…...


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## Magnum

Tabasco:

You gong to have a problem repairing the "Tire Maks" on your Deck?.....LOL… TSK TSK TSK.

Welcome to Jumber Locks …..no Lumber Jocks!


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## tmiller

I really like mine though it doesn't feel particularly well built. The adjustable handle is great and it is super easy to clamp in a bench vise and use upside down as a flatbed sander. I'd buy it again. Maybe my last one was so bad that this one seems so good.


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