Help Selecting a Spindle Sander

Re: Help Selecting a Spindle Sander

John K Jordan

Hank,

I have the Ridgid but it's one of the older models, maybe 10-12 years old. Mine has worked flawlessly. I use it both in the oscillating spindle and belt sanding mode.

Maybe find a used one on Craigslist?

JKJ

Re: Help Selecting a Spindle Sander

Hank Knight

Thanks, John. I've had my eye on Craigslist, but these don't show up often. The older ones definitely seem better built than the newer ones, from all I've read.

Re: Help Selecting a Spindle Sander

Dick Coers

I have a Delta Boss, but wouldn't buy a Delta product today unless it was a desperate situation. I often wonder about the bad reviews these days. I have this feeling that new woodworkers expect industrial quality from a cheap import machine. And being patent and letting the machine do the job is also a lost theory. Personally, I'd buy the Rigid.

What problem is to be solved?

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

From the perspective that I do have tasks that seem to be a candidate, I find I can get by without this machine just fine. I borrowed one once for a repetitive profile and promptly abandoned it. All the stuff moving while I tried to concentrate drove me nuts and it wasn't that much faster, if any.

For larger arcs I spoke shave. For smaller arcs I file in one way or another, including calling coarse sandpaper wrapped around a dowel, bottle or whatever a "file". It all begins with accurate sawing so that the refinement need is just removing teeth marks.

So if the need is to efficiently hog off 1/8" of wood to get to a line then a solution could be practicing sawing. If it is possible to split a line with a hand saw making dovetails then at least kissing a line is achievable with a band saw or something similar. If the need is routinely profile sanding a product something with a bigger table and faster up-down and around than the hobby sander will be appreciated.

i agree

Bruce, a MN Galoot

I have a Delta Boss, too, and while it works fairly well in some respects, there is a problem with it, at least the model I have.

The problem is that the spindle shaft itself moves from left to right, iow, it doesn’t stay perpendicular during its oscillations. As it moves up, the spindle shifts to the right and then to the left as it lowers. Front to back is okay, but not right to left.

If I could afford it, I’d find an old Clayton.

rigid

John in NM

I have the Rigid, bought maybe 4 years ago. The spindles seem to wobble more than when new, and one time the oscillation stopped. No idea why, but I when I took the mechanism apart whatever was stuck must have snapped back into place.

Bear in mind, I have used the heck out of this tool, so I'm not surprised by some wear. For $200 I have no regrets. I mostly use it for shaping and smoothing grips that I sell, using first a really coarse drum (50 grit) followed by a fine one (150). Must have made a few hundred grips on it.

I also have a Max OSV1 that I bought used. Haven't used that one much yet.

Re: Help Selecting a Spindle Sander

John C Lucas

I used many of them at a class.i took. I picked the ridgid and love it. What i really like is the belt sander option. That is really handy some.times. Wish i could remember all the pros and cons of the various machines but its been too many years. Dont know what the complaints would be i have.used the snot out of mine and its worked.perfectly

love the Jet

ronster

Had one about 10 years. Don't use it much, but it's very sturdy and effective when I do use it.

If you have and edge sander,

Keith Newton

You can convert it to do the same thing by removing the far idler wheel, and replacing it with a graphite canvas covered wooden block of any shape of your choosing.

I have a long elliptical curve on mine, which offers a changing curve from small radius on the end, to long back where the belt straightens out. It works great, is easy to use, and the belt runs cool, so it doesn't load like small R sleeves that get hot and melt any resins in the wood that load the grit.

Re: rigid

Jay Lombardo

I second the Rigid. Use both the spindle and the belt quite a bit.

Re: Help Selecting a Spindle Sander

Jim Dillon

Hank, I have a 10+ year old Delta BOSS that has met my hobbyist needs very well. The main plastic gear cog gave out after a few years but has been fine since replacement. I use it a lot but am gentle with it in that I don't try to "hog" off wood. Folks on WC seem to like the Rigid but, as you have noted on your OP, quality may not be what it once was. If I had to buy now, I would look at the Jet bench-top as it comes with a 1/4-inch spindle that I would find very useful for my particular work. Jim

Re: Help Selecting a Spindle Sander

Tony - Memphis

I have had a Delta BOSS for many years. It has been a good tool. I honestly don't use it as much as I thought, but it is nice to have. I had one issue with it - the case that covers the gears (I think) was broken. I epoxied it back together. I posted a comment on the Pond and a Delta rep saw it and sent me a new cover. No other issues.

Tony

Re: Thanks for the input

Hank Knight

I think I'm going to flip a coin between ponying up for the Jet or taking a chance on a new Rigid. The third option is to just stick with my spokeshaves, but who am I to pass up an opportunity to buy a new tool?

Thanks for all of your comments. They have been helpful.

Tony, your account of Delta's customer service is amazing. Unfortunately, I think that has gone the way of the carrier pigeon with Delta's acquisition by the Chinese.

Re: Thanks for the input

Bill Tindall, E.Tn.

Don't overlook the efficacy of files, and sandpaper wrapped around anything of convenient diameter. I don't find spoke shaves efficient for tight curves on end grain. If the wood is the softer hardwoods a Sureform rasp is faster than a spindle sander.

But not the same surface finish!

Re: Help Selecting a Spindle Sander

jmohnike

I was going to buy one from Home depot but found out that they did/do not cary the sanding sleves nor would they order them for me. I purchased one from Harbor Freight and have no regrets. Does the job, has a good dust collection system for a vac. and they have the sanding sleves in stock Cost less than HD.

That's a good tip Jim...

John in NM

Talcum powder is pretty much just cornstarch and perfume these days. If one wants real talc, get a welder's marking stick and rub it on the drums. Sounds like the starch works though, I will certainly give it a try!

I had my eye on those heavy bench models for years, but the belt sander option sold me on the Rigid. I use it mostly for making pistol grips, but with a 36 or 24 grit belt it is just the thing for making tool handles (ax and hammer mostly) from scratch.

I never would have known about spindle sanders but for a shop I worked for that had a Bridgewood clone of the Max sander. A very handy tool to have if its what you need.

Re: Thanks for the input

Tony - Memphis

Sad, but true. Even better...my contractor's saw motor died just outside of warranty...when I inquired about purchasing a replacement, they sent me a new one free of charge!

PC 121 hand held

Kneale Brownson

I bought the PC when I wanted to work on something like a big headboard that would be too heavy to move around accurately on a table.

Then I figured out a temporary way to mount it to a chunk of plywood so I could clamp it to the wing of a tablesaw for use as a mounted oscillating spindle sander.

Re: Help Selecting a Spindle Sander

TM Stock

Used a Ridgid for for about 7 years and a Jet bench top for 3 after that - the Ridgid was smoother running, but both lack vertical stroke and cannot work stock much over 3-1/2", plus suffer from alignment issues (though both can be tweaked to 90 degrees with some work). The biggest issues with small spindle sanders are lack of an adequate number of drum sizes, short spindle length, and lack of/gaps in spindle sizes/right sizes. The Jet - besides being hit-or-miss on getting a smooth-running one (I went through three before getting one that was merely adequate) does not come with 1" or 4" spindles, which are some of the more useful sizes for cabinet work, and a 3" spindle is a $75 assessors purchase.

Have the Grizzly GO-1071, for about $300 more than the JBOS-5 with 3" spindle. Smoothh running tool with an oil-bath transmission, lots of spindle reach, and with drums sized 1/4", 3/8", 1/2", 5/8", 3/4", 1", 1-1/2", 2", 3", and 4". Heads and shoulders above any of the smaller machines. Used sanders come up on Craigslist every few months - usually from cabinet shops shutting down - most run about $500-$600, so worth seeing what shows up and what the used tool vendors that can be found in larger cities might have. The additional size and weight of a stationary tool might seem daunting, but mine bet into the same space that the Ridgid and Jet came out of, and the Jet was already too heavy to function well as a 'used on the bench/stored under the bench' tool.