Official Luthiers Forum!

I have the harbor freight $85 sander which I like and use alot but From reading all these good reviews I'll probably go with the Ridgid for the next one if I have the extra cash.

another vote for the ridgid. heck of a machine.

j

I had the Ridgid and agree it was a great tool. I never could get the belt sander part of it to work real well however. The belt always seemed to drift off and needed constant adjusting. No big deal as I use my stationary belt sander for that anyways. The reason I finally sold the Ridgid however was due to the limited height of the spindle on the downstroke. For me this made a difference as I required the higher spindle for some work. I use a Taiwanese version of the General International which was about $250 but has a 6" spindle that gives me that bit of extra height. The cast iron table and bit of extra horsepower is nice too.

I really do not understand your issue with the belt sander... mine is dead on, all of the time. Maybe ask HD to give you a new belt attachment.

Mike

That is the answer to my question. Thanks.

I'm already able to sand to a line by any number of means. That isn't what I'm after.

Now, if there were the pattern following doodads, it would be an even greater machine and I'd buy one like that! (snapping fingers)

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