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Needing a new one. Anything will be an improvement over the 100 year old Craftsman that has needed “jumpstarted” for the last year or so. Easy to do though….just pull the trigger…it starts to growl at ya, then slam the belt down along a saw horse and that free’s it up and it’ll start spinning.
Tough on finish grade stuff though……..so…….I’m thinking……..3 X 21……DeWalt or PC….or anything else. Jeff
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Jeff, I like the Porter Cable 352 ........ belt tracked well, plenty of power and it's heavy which may or may not be an asset depending on what you want to do with it. The weight is nice for horizontal or shop work but for overhead work it's a back killer. I've used the Bosch 1274 too ....... about 4 lbs lighter. The small dust bag fills up pretty quick. Don't think you'd go wrong with either one depending on what you want to do with it. Have a great New Year!
*jeff, my heavy duty all-aluminum 3x21 craftsman is still kicking since '73......i had some trouble with it about 15 years ago .. took it to one of those sears service centers... they rebuilt it..not only that .. they had shelves full of reconditioned stuff just begging for a good home..ah, hell, they weren't proud .. they would have settled for the open back of my pick-up... anyways... maybe you could get it rebuilt while you're breaking in your new PC....
*You must have got a good one, Mike ........ my tracking on my crapsman was a hair trigger of the knob between belt shred and belt launch. The PC was a revelation. Have a great New Year!
*Jeff,PC 362vs 4x24. This sucker eats! KK
*I've got one of them, too. Fine, hungry tool and you can run it without earplugs.
*Mines the plastic version. Not worth rebuilding. Your sander sounds like my router. A B&D , all aluminum, that some guy that owed my Dad money gave him in trade.....before I was born! The paper work , haven't checked in a while, but I believe, says something like 1954. It's the threaded body that threads into either router base....or....sideways into a door plane base. Have the huge case and all. Only one rusted door plane bit, so I never tried that.......getting that sharpened is always at the top of the to do list. Maybe this year! Funny thing about the router.....it's the one in all the "then and now" pic's in mag's when comparing how far technology has come. Still works great, always a job site favorite. Jeff
*I have a Bosch 4x24 . I really like it. It has a good dust collection system that works. If the 4in. is too big get the 3x24.
*I have the Bosch 3x24, but wish I had gotten the 4x24. Both tools share the same body, just use different rollers, so there's a big overhang on one side of mine. Can't get nears walls with it. Good tool though, plenty powerful and can run all day long.
*I just picked up a little Makita 3 x 18 for $100 at HD. The counter top is coming in a bit earlier than I expected.....like first thing tomorrow morning. This one is basic.....no speed change.....but at 5.6 amps.......should be plenty of power. Has a flat top body so she'll set upside down. If I keep it more than a day.......it'll give me time to look for a recond full size sander. Then I'll probably go for the 4 x 24 PC w/ the 12 amp's. The little one feels pretty comfy though. Hope I like it. Jeff
*Jeff,Keep the makita and get the PC 4x24 in the future. I have the PC and find the need for a smaller one alot of times. The PC is a pig.I used to have a Hitachi 4x24 that was light, powerful and cheap. It was stolen and I had to replace it for my insurance claim so I bought the pc. I think you can find the Hitachi for 175, maybe a little less. One of the things I like about it was the front roller was exposed which is handy for getting into curves. Plus its a lot lighter than the PC for one handed operations.
*Got a royobi 3X21 as a gift and didn't expect much out of it. That thing is a champ though. Gets real close to walls, tension and speed adjust are great. also has the flat back to lay on the bench. Flat sides too...I've even clamped it in a vise on a jobsite to serve as a stationary sander. No idea on price but it can't be as much as PC.
*I love the makita 3x24. It's got great dust collection and it takes a good beating. I was on a job and I was using my trusty makita. I triped a breaker and left it on my bench on the sencond floor plugged into a fifty foot extension cord. So I reseted the breaker in the basement and heard something come crashing down the stairs and across the floor and then I heard a scream. I went upstairs to find the homeowner looking at here newly sanded living room floor. Turns out I left the lock on switch on and it flew off my bench out of the room down the stairs and across the floor until the homeowner was able to unplug it. It took a beating and I cracked the casing but it still works.
*Reminds me of the beltsander races we used to have.The PC (the one that looks like the rr locomotive) always won.
*Used it for a bit today. Performed about as expected. Easy to stall if too much pressure applied. And it's so light.....you can't rely on the weight of the machine to give a smooth finish.....but with a little light pressure....works just fine. Will be nice for smaller stuff.....and anything overhead or weird positions. Definitely still neeed somethimng bigger.......but definitely nice to pay less than half that cost right after X-Mas! I'll give it a thumbs up.....if used as directed. Your mileage may differ. Jeff
*Jeff,I've got the metal 150-year-old Craftsman. Man, those folks used to make a tool! It's a genuine third-generation power tool. Used it yesterday to edge a hardwood floor for refinishing.It's heavy, slightly less ergonomic than a live salmon, requires a surgeon's touch to track and smells funny. God, I'll miss it when it blows up.
*The Bosch is the one!! Get the sanding frame also. It turns the 4x23 belt sander into a high speed finishing sander with no worries about gouging. Its available for the smaller 1274? also.
*Jeff- You must be one big dude if you can stall a 3x21 Portercable.I have two of them and the only thing I don't like is the hokey dust bag and the way it blows sawdust in your eyes with the bag on.Bob
*Com'mon Bob......follow along! I stalled the cheap, little Makita......the PC will have to wait......and I've used those alot before.......I'm thinking you'd take a ride before it stalled! Jeff
*LOL-Jeff-sorry missed the Makita thing-I had a Ryobi once and although it was gutless I liked how you could lay it upside down and sand mitres or sharpen chisels.Portercable still rules though.
*My fault.....I see I said B&D.......it's an early Stanley router. Gotta keep the facts straight. Jeff
I bought the 4x21 and the sanding frame ($89 at kilspore). Awesome. Best flooring job I have done yet. With the Fein vac hooked into the machine, no dust.
I was looking for a different Belt Sander thread from this Summer in Tool Talk but found this instead.
I was on Amazon.com to buy both the Bosch 4 x 24 and a Hepa filter for my Porter Cable 7810 vacuum. I found out that my PC is not a Hepa machine.
I remember that in that Summer thread which I could not locate that you wrote quite a bit, and with technical expertise, about dust control to avoid lead dust. I don't know if a Hepa level of filtration is needed for the lead dust, but overkill wouldn't hurt anything.
Anyway, now that a Hepa filter is not possible, do you know if it is necessary?
I intend to be more careful sanding the next set of floors than I was on the last set 15 years ago.
Thanks
I need to look up a few things to answer the question. If I get too side tracked in the Breaktime Fest section in the next few days , just bump this reply to remind me.
Edited 9/22/2005 7:57 pm ET by hdblackburn