ShopSmith Belt sander

[cincinnati]

I started looking for an edge sander to sand some small jewelry type wood boxes. The problem with most edge sanders is they run at almost 4,000 RPM. Way too fast in my opinion. Grizzly does make a model that runs at the slower 1,700 rpm but looks kinda cheap built for a price of just over $500. Most others are around $1,000
That brings me to the Shopsmith belt sander. I use to have a smaller Craftsman bench top unit I did not care much for and gave it away. (I almost never give anything away) So I am a little apprehensive about getting another belt sander. I am attracted by the variable speed option. Would like to hear from anyone who owns the Shopsmith. Likes & dislikes etc…

[paulmcohen]

Wouldn't the Sand-Flee on the Shopsmith be a better option for a Jewelry Box?

[charlese]

...That brings me to the Shopsmith belt sander. I use to have a smaller Craftsman bench top unit I did not care much for and gave it away. (I almost never give anything away) So I am a little apprehensive about getting another belt sander. I am attracted by the variable speed option. Would like to hear from anyone who owns the Shopsmith. Likes & dislikes etc…

I've had my SS Belt Sander from the get go! Love it. It is very versatile and takes little maintenance. Have used it for sanding flat stock, curved stock, and also use it for sharpening lathe tools. The sanding on wood can vary from very fine touchy removal of scratches/defects to removal of quite a bit of wood. Concave curved wood can be sanded on the end of the belt. Convex wood can be sanded on the back side with the sander raised to vertical position. I've sanded large radial curves on the platen side just as many do on the disk sander. The most complex pieces I did on the Belt sander are Queen Anne legs. The belt sander with a 150 grit belt would be wonderful for jewelry boxes. For smaller round items, the Belt Sander has a spindle that allows you to put on a sanding drum.

Paul - If the boxes have dovetail or box joinery. the sand flea would be harder to use to take down the joinery that protrudes. As I understand, the Sand Flea is for only fine finish sanding.

[paulmcohen]

Paul - If the boxes have dovetail or box joinery. the sand flea would be harder to use to take down the joinery that protrudes. As I understand, the Sand Flea is for only fine finish sanding.

Wouldn't that be dependant on the grit of the paper?

Also you could use the disk Sander to get close and then the Sand-Flee to finish but I don't have one so I don't know.

[dusty]

If you would go watch the Sand Flee demo, he deals with that.

Change grit to whatever you want and sand down the protrusions with the rest of the item off the edge. Then surface sand the entire piece.

[wa2crk]

Hi;

Ihave the belt sander and find it a great asset.
Outsidew radii can be sanded easily however it is sometimes difficult to set up so you don't sand across grain.
The sander can be laid down flat and the table moved to the side rails for additional versatility.
Keep the headstock speed down to the lowest setting because this sander can be very aggressive and make sure you use a dust collector of some kind.
Go to Nick's instruction videos and look for the one on the belt sander.
He shows a setup that is used for squaring edges and small boxes.

[Nick]

I turned my old 500 into a "mini," took it off it's legs and mounted it on a storage cabinet, and set it up as a permanent sanding/sharpening station with the belt sander and drum sander on one side and the disc sander on the other. Occassionally, I switch the disc sander for the pneumatic drum sander, flutter sheets, and the conical disc sander; and switch the belt sander for the strip sander and chisel sharpening jig.

To say the this is the world's greatest sanding station is faint praise. I have been trying to get Shopsmith interested in selling this as a stand-alone sanding tool for professional cabinet shops, but we have other pressing problems to deal with. My experience, however, is that the Shopsmith Belt Sander is as well designed as any professional sander on the market. When combined with other sanding equipment in the Shopsmith arsenal, it's heads and shoulders above.

That said, I have evaluated a great many motorized stand-alone belt sanders and belt/disc combos and find that there are none, nothing, nada, zip that run at the correct speed. It's as if all the sanding tool engineers in the world caught the same virus (except ours, because they're dead) and it destroyed the part of their brains that makes the connection between rpm and fpm. I really think the CDC should look into this.

With all good wishes,

[Ed in Tampa]

[quote="Nick"]I turned my old 500 into a "mini," took it off it's legs and mounted it on a storage cabinet, and set it up as a permanent sanding/sharpening station with the belt sander and drum sander on one side and the disc sander on the other. Occassionally, I switch the disc sander for the pneumatic drum sander, flutter sheets, and the conical disc sander]

Nick
You got any pictures of this????? I sure would like to see it. I may go out and buy another 500 to cut down.
Ed

[charlese]

My last post was past my bedtime, so forgot to mention two of the more important features of the SS Belt Sander.

First; The adjustable table. It can be moved from a position parallel to the paper flow to one perpendicular to it. In both configurations, your SS miter gauge can be used to make sure you can achieve flat, SQUARE sanding. The miter gauge can also be used to make sure your bandsaw blade blocks are flat and square. The table can also be tilted in either location, to achieve miter sanding of edges - etc., etc.

Second; The dust collection from this unit is wonderful. Dust collection from sanding operations being more important than from sawing - this system is very valuable. I noticed today that dust coming from the drum (attached to the sander spindle) got sucked right into the dust collection unit.

Today, I had the Belt sander attached while doing some pin routing on the OPR. I could just lower the way tubes and sand out the piece just routed. Fun, Huh? Got some real weight training today.

[fjimp]

My new Sand Flee arrived just over a week ago. As I attempted to assemble it I became a bit frustrated. The packing and assembly of the wooden bottom of the sand flee cabinet to the steel sides lacked just a bit. The tiny screws were too small for the predrilled holes. Clearly they also would never hold up to being bumbed or jostled. During shipping all four pulled out and were floating loose in the box which scratched the finish on the wood.

After visiting with Shopsmith customer service I received permission to drill out the four holes in the wooden cabinet bottom and insert four small nuts and bolts with washers top and bottom. This created a far more stable mounting than the screws it was originally built with. I am just a bit concerned that a week later I have not heard a word from the folks at sand flee.

The good news is that I assembled and mounted it on my 520. After following the written instructions tried a few sample runs sanding some scrap hardwood. One of those trials was a piece of scrap I had used to try out the wood burning signature iron my wife had given me for Valentines day. As I was learning to use it I had several "Brands" that were severly burned into the wood. The nature of the flat surface of my sand flee evened out my signatures beautifully without creating divits in the wood. I then tried it on the edges of the scrap. The edges were uneven (cupped) on the first pass, with each additional pass they evened out and the edges ultimately became perfect after several passes.

I have never seen a sanding tool that removes so small an amount of stock with each pass and creates a truly flat surface in the final analysis.

Thanks Nick for showing me such a fine method for finish sanding.

Yes I love it and am convinced it is a valuable addition to my shop. As to not hearing from the sand flee folks, I am disappointed but really don't think I care that much. I feel my minor redesign of their assembly is an improvement and the scratches are minor enough as to not worry me.
Would I recommend the sand flee for others? You bet its 100% worth every dime. Jim:)