Dear Orchid Buddies I am in the market for a small simple stationary
belt sander for the jewelry studio. I would welcome feedback on where
to buy one. If some one has a good used one to sell please contact me
off list.
Cathy Wheless
www.cathywheless.com
@Cathy_Wheless
Try your local large hardware store, like Home Depot or Lowes. They
sell a couple by Delta that work very well. Or you could see what
www.harborfreight.com has in its catalog these days.
Cathy, Micro-Mark has a Delta bench-top Mini Disk/Belt Sander in their
current catalog for $140. It has a 1" X 30" belt, a 5" disk, with tilt
tables and a miter guage, etc. You can reach them at 1-800-225-1066 or
www.micromark.com. Joel @Joel_Schwalb www.schwalbstudio.com
Hi Cathy! Didn’t burn up your tools budget in Richmond, huh? 
Try
Harbor Freight… several choices! This one is only $40!
Good luck,
Dave
Dave Sebaste
Sebaste Studio and
Carolina Artisans’ Gallery
Charlotte, NC (USA)
dave@sebaste.com
Cathy, How small is small? If small means using 1/2 inch belts, you
can find these at almost any shop that sells woodworking power tools.
In my part of the country that means Aubuchon hardware stores,
Woodcraft, Woodworkers Warehouse, or Home Dept. Mine cost about $50 a
few years ago and I don’t think they’ve gone up much in price.
Christine in sunny and warm Massachusetts US, but I’ve still got a
few patches of snow.
Dear Cathy, You will never regret getting ahold of a small bench
vertical sanding unit. I have used a 1"x30" unit for many years and
seem to need it on a daily basis. For grinding off sprue connections
and for squaring off heavy stock it has no peer. The belts last
forever and are quite reasonable ( use the resin bonded type ). A
good source of this kind of unit is Harbor Freight. I bought mine at
a garage sale for ten dollars. Oddly enough, if you should buy a new
one, the 42" model belts are somewhat cheaper and more readily
available. The only caution I would suggest is that you get one that
has ample power…mine tends to poop out when pressed too hard.
Ron at Mills Gem, Los Osos, CA.
If there is a Harbor Freight Tools retail store near you, they have
this same sander on sale right now for $49.99. They didn’t have much
of a selection of replacement belts, but you can get the belts from
Micro-Mark in 50, 80, 120, 180, 240 & 320 grit. The machines look
identical and have the same specs.
Jim Marotti
Lancaster, TN
I just saw the Delta combination 1" belt, 5" disk sander that
Micro-Mark is selling for $140 for $79 at Home Depot.
Joel Schwalb
@Joel_Schwalb
www.schwalbstudio.com
I bought this sander at a local hardware store for $90. I would look
locally first in stores that supply tools for the woodworking trades.
This sander does not wimp out with heavy use as it seems the one
from
Harbor Freight does. Also, the 30" belts are easy to find, I don’t
know if this is the case for 42" belts. Maybe someone else does? But
it is a drag if you can’t readily get the stuff that wears out
regularly. Alana Clearlake in sunny Emeryville, CA