belt sanders?

[Rob Eades]

My cheapo angle grinder is dead, but I just picked up a belt sander.It seems that I should be able to use a belt sander for some "grinder" type jobs, but nobody ever mentions using a belt sander.What gives?

Rob

[peter-curacao]

I have 2, one you need 2 hands to lift, and one small one, I used both in my build, mostly for shaping stuff

[pee wee]

Belt sanders are tools that can make curves flat and flats lumpy. They take a lot of practice to get good at. I've got a Porter-Cable that is quite heavy, does a good job when you can let the weight work for you, but if you're sanding the side of a boat it would work you to death. I'm not sure that a belt sander is really well suited for much boat building, it really is made for making surfaces flat- and there are other tools that can do that, like large disc sanders. Makita makes some lighter ones, but like I said, without practice they can get you into trouble fast. My opinion is that for most boat building jobs, you don't need one. Maybe shaping a center board or rudder, stuff like that it would be helpful. Fairing the hull- not so much.

[Cracker Larry]

Belt sanders can occasionally be handy for boat building, but generally speaking I consider them more an implement of destruction You can create a big boo-boo in a big hurry with a belt sander. I've got 2 and use them about once a year, usually not on a boat Sometimes useful for very rough shaping, also useful for increasing your 4 letter vocabulary and fairing skills. Of course, angle grinders aren't much better either. Again, for very rough work only.

[Knottybuoyz]

"Outside of the military a belt sander with a 40 grit belt is probably as close to a Weapon of Mass Destruction most of us will ever get!"

That being said I've used mine quite a bit for shaping the panel joins on the keel/bottom and side/bottom joins, removing tabs from the CnC cut parts etc. They have their place in the shop but must be used carefully.

[Greene]

This is my first post so I hope it will not sound too much stupid.

I heard that there is coming to the market some sort of first ever "flexible sander" that is able to work with concave and convex surface. That was actually main reason why I registered on the forum here. Anyone heard about this new tool? It should be coming to the market this year.

If you guys might have some idea what company manufactures it, or perhaps some videos I would be glad to check it out. I also quite interested how this type of the sander could work. As I read above here sanding with the belt sander take some getting used to. This new sander could solve it once and for all.

Happy sanding.

Greene

[pee wee]

I'm sure this isn't what you are describing: http://www.pirate4x4.com/forum/shop-too ... pipes.html

but it would be an interesting tool. I don't think there could be any tool that will "solve it once and for all", though. How would the tool manufacturers sell a new and improved model?

[Cracker Larry]

My friend Raymond has one of those that he uses for pipe fabrications, it does an amazing job

[bigtalljv]

i used one when plugging my transom hole. It eventually lost to the fiberglass dust. Ground the insides and rollers up. Went pretty quick too. It was just a Home Cheapo Ryobi.

Jason