# Nice Big 6 X 10" Belt/Disc Sander



## longgone (May 5, 2009)

I bought this same sander a while back and did not like it. Took it back for a refund.


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## Lenny (Sep 28, 2008)

Nice review Phineas. I too have this tool. I bought it about 2 years ago and have been satisified with how it has performed. I found getting the disc table to 90 degrees took a fair amount of fussing but I got it there. I am not sure what you mean by the disc table having cast iron supports. They seem to be a thin steel or even aluminum to me. Whatever they are, I wouldn't refer to them as flimsy.

If it's any consolation to you and your knuckle(s), I experienced what I would call my worst woodworking injury on this tool. It is not intended for thin stock. I was sanding some thin stock on the belt sander, in the horizontal position and it slid under the table and broke into pieces. I was apply downward pressure when it slid so the middle finger of my left hand went right into the spinning abrasive. I had a very deep abrasion that took weeks to heal. It was operator error on my part as I had no business sanding such a thin piece on this tool. To add insult to my injury, the piece was completely ruined. Lesson learned the hard way!


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## Dusty56 (Apr 20, 2008)

I haven't used mine since getting my Ridgid OSS . 
The brackets that support the 10" disc table are very thin , stamped steel , and don't like to hold the adjustments very well , but that is the designers fault. The table itself weighs about 5 pounds and when you add the miter gauge plus the workpiece plus any necessary pressure to hold it in place , it's no wonder the table flexes or slips on the brackets. Also , when trying to sand with the 6" belt in the vertical position , the table is impossible to keep at 90 degrees , so forget about your workpiece staying square. The 10" disc on mine seems to turn a whole lot faster than the 1720rpm that it states in the owners manual and tends to burn the workpiece rather than sand it , no matter how careful I am with it , unless I use ie: 60 or 80 grit discs. I've emailed Rikon several times regarding this matter and have yet to receive any replies from them. If there is any way to slow this beast down , they would have a much better machine. Even though it weighs 100 pounds , it still vibrates more than it should and needs to be clamped or bolted to a solid workbench. If you get replacement discs from Woodcraft , they're about $5 each , so I had to go online to find the elusive 10" size….seems like everyone carries the 7" , 9" or 12" discs. Dust collection on the disc area is fair , but the belt area is mediocre at best.
This is just my experience with my particular machine…....thanks for your review , but I would give mine 2-3 stars at the most.


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## cosmicturner (Feb 7, 2009)

I bought one a while back and returned it, same as Greg did.


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## Ken90712 (Sep 2, 2009)

Think this should do well. I have the Craftman one this size and I use it all the time. I love it both the belt and disc. Its a go to machine for sure. Enjoy!

here is a [place that has great Sandpaper that lasts see my review as well.
http://www.industrialabrasives.com/sticky-discs-5-12-white-nonloading-cloth-sticky-discs-c-78_143.html


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## PhineasWhipsnake (Jan 20, 2010)

Update:
Since retiring seven months ago, I've become a full-time screw-off/er/"wood artisan", and have put this sander to almost daily use making decorative boxes. I still feel the machine is a bit crude and noisy and the dust collection is fair-to-poor, but overall does a great job of hogging off stock quickly and accurately. I'm sure the Jet and other brands would have been much more refined, but they also cost twice as much. Not worth it, IMHO.


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## lizardhead (Aug 15, 2010)

I am fairly satisfied with mine, but like everyone else says the disk table is not of the quality that it should be another $15 bucks in the cost would have made a big difference put into the table, I made some bracketry changes to mine to make it a solid & accurate table, also made sliding base plates for it. Then I mounted it using shock rubbers that are high end absorbers for off road use.


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