Oscillating Sander

[TadMcD]

i searched the archives and the interwebs yesterday and read a bunch of stuff about oscillating spindle sanders and the consensus seemed to be that the Rigid EB4424 was the cat's meow. having rec'd recently the latest windfall from the guvmint, i thought i'd get one. problem is, it seems they are no longer available.

am i missing something?

so, at the risk of re-opening an old topic, what are the current suggestions for a benchtop oscillating spindle sander (i looked at the Jet, but it sure is pricey)? most of the stuff in the $200-300 price range seem, um, flimsy.

tia

[Cabinet Monkey]

I like the ridgid.   They come up in the used market around me fairly regularly in the $100- $150 range.

It's light duty, but I wouldn't say flimsy.  Don't ride it hard or think you're going to sand a bevel on an 8ft long piece of 6" x  8/4 oak , and you'll prob like it too.

[Bill_de]

i searched the archives and the interwebs yesterday and read a bunch of stuff about oscillating spindle sanders and the consensus seemed to be that the Rigid EB4424 was the cat's meow. having rec'd recently the latest windfall from the guvmint, i thought i'd get one. problem is, it seems they are no longer available.

am i missing something?

so, at the risk of re-opening an old topic, what are the current suggestions for a benchtop oscillating spindle sander (i looked at the Jet, but it sure is pricey)? most of the stuff in the $200-300 price range seem, um, flimsy.

tia

The Ridgid was probably one of the most versatile and popular units around here not too many years ago. I never did get one, and eventually picked up this unit from Jet. I have had no complaints about the results, but the dust collection was a bit weak. I then noticed that Grizzly had a similar sander that had a dust shield that kept dust directed toward the dust port. I ordered the part from Grizzly and it keeps things a little cleaner.

JET® Benchtop Oscillating Spindle Sander | JET® Woodworking Machines (jettools.com)

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[Wizard of Oz]

I have the original grey one, and it is still running strong, and I use it quite a bit, for a hobby. Just my $.02

[R Clark]

I have the Ridgid.  While it has been a good machine for well over 15 years, it does have limitations that might not be obvious when you first look at it.

- The table geometry is such that bevel-edge sanding is not goo.  The tilt-table pivots on an axis that is a distance from the edge the abrasive, and so the edge contacting the abrasive can be hard to control, in addition to limiting the portion of the abrasive sleeve that you can contact from the angle.

- The OEM hold-down nut that spins onto the spindle is larger than the diameter of the smallest spindles.  That means that if you are trying to sand an object that is taller than the spindle (only about four inches or so), then the hold down nut will contact the work piece.  This can happen on bandsaw boxes, for example.

I do like the convertible feature to go from spindle to edge sander.

[cpolubin]

Triton has what looks like a twin to the Ridgid.

Cliff

[TadMcD]

thanks, all.

good info/insights.

guess i'll go with the jet.

appreciate the feedback.

[dg152]

Are you talking about this one: https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-Oscil...151?NCNI-5

According to the HD website it's still available. It's gone up in price since I bought mine but in my opinion it's still an excellent choice at that price. If you need something heavier duty, go with the Jet, Powermatic or other brand.

[TadMcD]

Are you talking about this one: https://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-Oscil...151?NCNI-5

According to the HD website it's still available.  It's gone up in price since I bought mine but in my opinion it's still an excellent choice at that price.  If you need something heavier duty, go with the Jet, Powermatic or other brand.

yes. but, every HD within 100 miles of me shows not in stock. i'll call them tomorrow and check it out. be nice if i could get it there, especially with my veteran discount.

thanks.