Table-Top Belt Sanders

[recurvericky]

I also have a Ridgid osselating(sp) belt sander and love it. Just as Holm-Made stated you can do a variety of jobs with this. This is the only sander that I have and would not trade it. I can square up blocks, profile limbs, shape grips, etc with it. Mine has 2" - 1/2" spindle drums with it also. It had a dust port to hook your shop vac to. Great piece of equipment. I bought mine as reconditioned for $150 with the factory warranty from Cummings Tools.

[Cupcake]

I too have the Rigid oscillating spindle sander and recommend it highly.  It is very useful for many things.  I also like the blue belts for it as they last a lot longer.  A 36 grit will really chew some stuff up in a hurry if need be.  I bought 50, 80 and 120 grit drums from Rockler and they are great for handles. I also made an arrow taper jig to shape the knock and point ends of woodies.  There was a sale last year and I got it for $175.

The other two tools I love are the Grizzly 14" Extreme bandsaw and the Jet 10-20 drum sander.

I also have a Bosch 4000 table saw that is really useful.  I use it for cutting limb tapers.  I had made a clamping fixture to hold the limb but have stopped using it.  Now I use an 8" marathon, 30 tooth, thin kerf, carbide blade and cut them free-hand.  That blade is really nice for this and also squaring up blocks and such.  It really chews through hard stuff like cocobolo, maple, etc.  The thin kerf is great and the finish is like a planer.
Kevin

[wappkid]

Here is what I bought.Rigid oscillating sander.Its a multiuse sander It has a small edge sander.With 5 drums great for risers and grinding limbs.Cant figure out how to post pictures?????

[Apex Predator]

After all the good things said, I went to Home Depot last nite and bought one of the Rigid combo jobs.  Pretty nifty little tool!  I'm sitting here today trying to order some extra sanding drums and don't know what length I need!  It seems they make all different lengths.  I guess I'll have to wait until I get home tonight to measure one.  I couldn't find the length anywhere online today.

[wappkid]

I bought mine at home depot.I believe the lenght in 4 1/2 inches I would have to look.They came 1 set of 80 grit ond one set of 150 grit for 14 dollars.They are made by rigid.Sold right next to the machines.

[Holm-Made]

I have only used the belt on mine, never needed the drums.  I buy the Ridgid belts.  Once I special ordered some custom belts and they were a little oversized and the machine wouldn't run at all, kept binding up.  Not the machines fault though.

[loyd]

curtis i have one you can use just stop by sometime. loyd

[Curtis Haden]

Hey Loyd!  Good to see you posting.  I already bought the Ridgid belt/spindle sander.  Used it some too...  Looks like it's gonna get used a lot.        We haven't even started on that osage yet, and I've already slipped into the dark side of making glass-lam bows...  Apologize to that stave for me, would ya?    

[loyd]

youll get over it, and come back to the old ways. loyd

[Bob Sarrels]

I use a 6x80 Grizzly and would never part with it.  I built a bunch of bows on a 48" sander but when I got the big one I thought "wow"  how did I ever get by without it.  I can lay an entire longbow limb up against it and get a truly straight grind/.

[Jason Kendall]

I have an 80", a 48" and a 36", they all have there purpose in my shop but I could settle with just the 48" if I was limited to just one.

[rkmnt2]

I'm like you, Chad. I switched to a drum once and decided that it really wasn't necessary....I was just trying to use it since it came with the machine. The belt drive has a large diameter roller at on end and a smaller one at the other. They seem to fit real nice where I need them.
   Don

[AKmud]

+10 for the Ridgid!  I just got mine about 2 weeks ago and LOVE it!  I also have a small Delta combo (4" belt/6" disk) that will see very little use now.