Ridgid Belt/Spindle sander
#11
I see these things all over the place in photos and videos of people's shops. I'll be in the market for a spindle sander in the near future and the belt option may come in handy. This combo machine is undeniably popular, so I'm wondering, does it work well?
Jason

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#12
I'm on my second one.  I use it on almost everything I build.  It isn't a replacement for a dedicated edge sander but in my small shop it does 90% of everything I need to do.  I'd buy another when this one wears out.

On the down side, the duct collection is poor and trying to keep the table 90 degrees to the belt platen will occasionally try your patience but other than that I won't fault it.
Mike


If you're the smartest person in the room, you're in the wrong room!

But not today...
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#13
I've had mine for 6 or 7 years now and I can't say anything bad about it. I am only a hobbyist, though.
Currently a smarta$$ but hoping to one day graduate to wisea$$
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#14
Ditto. Dust collection is not very good. I very very rarely move mine or adjust the table so I've not noticed a problem with the 90° thing.
-Marc

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#15
I would replace mine in a New York minute- with another one. Love it

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#16
I was not happy with mine so I replaced with a 6x89 OES and a floor standing OSS.  I am much happier now.  I seem to be one of the few that didn't like it.  The spindle worked great, the belt not so much.  The finish on the table rubbed off and left marks on the wood.
"There is no such thing as stupid questions, just stupid people"
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#17
I have one of the old gray ones, and have had it for several years. I use it a lot, with no problems. I can live with the poor dust collection, it is minor compared to the rest of the shop. :-)========

Oz
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#18
Have used one without issue for many years.

The belt and spindle paper HD sells for it work quite well too.

Ag
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#19
This is one of those tools that really has no competition at or near its price point, so if you need both functions and your budget is not significantly more than $200 just buy it.

In the grand scheme of things it is very limited in its functionality and has a list of cons twice as long as the pros but seeing that it is unique remotely near its price point it is a well loved machine.  If nothing else it will illustrate how much or little you can use each of its functions based on your work and work flow and may either point you in the direction of budgeting for bigger more powerful machines or more than satisfy your needs.  For me a large edge sander is a highly desirable machine but an OSS is somewhat of a dust gatherer since the edge sander handles larger inside curves on the end drum so I have a floor standing OES and a smaller table top OSS.  
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#20
I've been another happy user for many years.
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