Benchtop spindle sander

[BrokenOlMarine]

I'm thinking the next tool added to the shop might be a spindle sander.  The woodcraft flyer in yesterday's mail has their woodriver  benchtop model 157889 on sale at $139, $50 off.  This is one of those tools that is great when you need it and a time saver.  I see it used for sanding drawer cavities, curves, shaping and the like on bandsaw boxes, and the shaping of knife scales.  For the last twenty years plus, I have used a couple drums chucked into the drill press. 
  They worked... but I think the spindle sander might do a bit better.

Like Johnny Five... I crave input.
Brands, models, options, pros and cons...
Quality and price.. or rather than the spindle sander?
(I have a benchtop disc/belt combo)

What say you?

[Lucky Irish]

I've had the Ridgid oscillating spindle/belt sander for about 12(?) years and have had no problems with it at all. I think they run about $200.

[DaveR1]

I'm thinking the next tool added to the shop might be a spindle sander.  The woodcraft flyer in yesterday's mail has their woodriver  benchtop model 157889 on sale at $139, $50 off.  This is one of those tools that is great when you need it and a time saver.  I see it used for sanding drawer cavities, curves, shaping and the like on bandsaw boxes, and the shaping of knife scales.  For the last twenty years plus, I have used a couple drums chucked into the drill press. 
  They worked... but I think the spindle sander might do a bit better.

Like Johnny Five... I crave input.
Brands, models, options, pros and cons...
Quality and price.. or rather than the spindle sander?
(I have a benchtop disc/belt combo)

What say you?

You might have a look around and see if you can pick up a Porter Cable 121 OSS. It was designed to be used hand held and its sometimes handy that way. Several companies make/made mounting plates so they will fit into a router table. Or making your own would be pretty easy. I probably use the sander in my router table more than I use the router in it.

[Ohio Mike]

I'm thinking the next tool added to the shop might be a spindle sander.  The woodcraft flyer in yesterday's mail has their woodriver  benchtop model 157889 on sale at $139, $50 off.  This is one of those tools that is great when you need it and a time saver.  I see it used for sanding drawer cavities, curves, shaping and the like on bandsaw boxes, and the shaping of knife scales.  For the last twenty years plus, I have used a couple drums chucked into the drill press. 
  They worked... but I think the spindle sander might do a bit better.

Like Johnny Five... I crave input.
Brands, models, options, pros and cons...
Quality and price.. or rather than the spindle sander?
(I have a benchtop disc/belt combo)

What say you?

This one appears identical but I have no personal experience with it.  Maybe other Woodnet members do.

https://www.amazon.com/WEN-6510-Oscillat...scillating

[MarkSingleton]

So far, the Ridgid oscillating spindle/belt sander I picked up off craigslist
has been a workhorse.  My only strike against it is the horrid orange color.
One day I will strip it down and spray paint it gray like the other
shop tools.

It has some fairly good dust collection, but it can be improved. I have not
done so, but saw a video on youtube some time back where a guy made
a shroud that really helped. (If I find it again I will add to this post).


Home Depot carries them at about 200 clams and they also carry the
consumables.  I notice there is also a "Wen" model that looks very much
the same. Probably made on the same line.

[Hank Knight]

I have been getting along with a sanding drum in my drill press for a long time. It's not very satisfactory and it side-loads the drill press bearings which is bad for the drill press. I have a current project that needed some heavy spindle sanding, so I saved my pennies and bought a Jet OSS. In my view, it's the best one on the market in a reasonable price range, even though it's pricier than most. It is a very good, robust machine, and I am very satisfied with it. The only downsides I've found so far are it's size and weight. It is taller than almost all the others and is inconveniently tall for use as a "bench top" machine. I use mine on a base that is about 12" high. It's also pretty heavy for manhandling around the shop. It either needs a permanent place or a base on casters. Even with these issues, I'm glad I bought it, and it will see a fair amount of use in my shop.

People seem too like the Rigid convertible machine. I looked at it but rejected it. I think they suffer the limitations of most combo machines: they do both tasks (belt and drum sanding) fairly well, but are not great at either one. The gizmosity factor is high, though, so you might want to look at the Rigid. There will be lots of people who disagree with my assessment. They are also lighter and smaller than the Jet, which might be a plus for you, and they are considerably cheaper than the Jet.

My $.02.

Hank

[Bill Wilson]

I've had the Ridgid for several years now and it works well for me.  There are times when I wish I had a bigger stationary belt sander, but I rarely use the flat part of the belt anyway.  I use the belt sander often for sanding gentle curved pieces.  The short platen comes in handy sometimes, as I can wrap the piece around either drum and shape/sand pieces with inside & outside curves.  Dust collection is as good or better than anything else in my shop.  My shop is cramped and this thing doesn't take up too much room.  You would have to fight me to get me to give it up.

Make no mistake though, this is not a heavy duty machine.  It's great for occasional, hobbiest type use, but I doubt it would hold up long under constant, heavy use.

[jstraw]

I have the Jet, but it also came with the Jet stand, so it’s no longer a bench top. Wouldn’t want to lift it up and down from the bench. Stand has a reasonably small footprint. Whatever you buy, you might want to consider a stand for it. I really like the Jet. Dust collection could be better. The new Ricon that came out this year looks to have better dust collection.

My brother has the Ridgid and loves it. But, he uses the belt sander more than the spindles.

[ronlaughlin]

For years the Delta Spindle Sander has worked good for me.  It has good dust collection, and multiple spindle sizes.  It is heavy enough to work with, but light enough to carry around the shop.  I like it.  Once i wished for a tilt table, but that project was solved by using a home made shim on the table.

[wjt]

So far, the Ridgid oscillating spindle/belt sander I picked up off craigslist
has been a workhorse.  My only strike against it is the horrid orange color.
One day I will strip it down and spray paint it gray like the other
shop tools.

It has some fairly good dust collection, but it can be improved. I have not
done so, but saw a video on youtube some time back where a guy made
a shroud that really helped. (If I find it again I will add to this post).


Home Depot carries them at about 200 clams and they also carry the
consumables.  I notice there is also a "Wen" model that looks very much
the same. Probably made on the same line.

Here is a link to a video making a shroud for the Ridgid OSS that improves dust collection.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vqb-VTC6O2w

A link to download templates for making the shroud is also available. I made this and it works well.

Bill