New belt sander

I just received a new belt sander.  My last belt sander was on its way out.  It lasted over 15 years and it served me well.  I decided to go and get the Grizzly 6” belt sander.  It is a step up from my 4”.  I looked at the shop fox and the jet belt sanders.  The issue that I had with the shop fox was the box stand.  It looked good but it would take up too much room.  The electrical ran through the box so there was no way of separating the sander from the base.  The Jet had a lot of negative reviews for the disc sander part, the two things that drove me away was the reviews that it had a lot of plastic so it was light and the price.  The grizzly sander also has some problems but I felt it was the best choice for the budget I had. 

There were things that I liked out of the box.  It was noticeably heavy.  Most of the parts were cast iron.  The drive on the sander is a v-belt.  It makes it easy to replace.  I would have preferred to have it direct drive from the motor.  I like the size of the sanding table and that it can be moved from the disc and belt sanders.

There are a couple of annoyances.  The housing around the disc sander is sheet metal and was bent during shipment.  It is not that big of a deal because it can be bent back, it is just something that I would expect to do in for a new piece of equipment.  The top hood also moves when it is touched.  It is usually touched when adjusting the angle of the belt other than that it is not a problem. 

The one problem that I found was the on/off switch is on the back side.  I would have liked it in the front of the belt side but it is on the back. 

I also purchased the bear claw rolling cart.  I have to say that I like the stand a lot better than the shop fox version.  The locking mechanism is so much better.  It is a little more cumbersome to put together but the product is better for the price.

I have only used it a little bit but have enjoyed it.  I am not disappointed with the purchase.