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OK, I have a decent ROS and the Luthier's Friend drill press sander. I have the pieces to put together a variable speed 2"x72" belt sander (just not done yet). I want to add a sander to my humble shop to do mostly utility type tasks like sanding neck/tail blocks, brace stock, and other general purpose stuff. Maybe it's going to be a 9-12" disc sander, maybe a combo belt/disc sander, or some form of orbital sander. Maybe bench-top, but doesn't have to be. What do you guys find to be your most useful sander, beyond a ROS or drum sander for daily guitar assembly operations? Just looking for insight and things I haven't considered. Thanks, Curtis.

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"I need to hurry up, the years are going by far too fast"

We have one of these and just about every small part we make (necks too) is touched up using it:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/RIDGID-Oscil ... DQodkWgE8A

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

Seeing an old Fine Woodworking article, I fitted a disc sander to the drive shaft of my bandsaw 20 years ago ... never regretted it. (google "a disc sander on a bandsaw" to see the article in google books)

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Dave
Milton, ON

If you have the room, a long (30-48" platen) edge sander is great. A belt/disc combo would be my second choice and can do most everything you mentioned. Look for one with a 12" disc and a 6x48 belt.

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ELEVATE || Next Level Lutherie
http://elevatelutherie.com
&
http://ensorguitars.com

I have the Ridgid unit that Ken referenced and a 6" x 36" Delta with a 8" disk. I use both of those all the time and would not want to be without either of them. The 6" x 36" Delta is adequate but I would get a 6" x 48" with a larger disk as Chris recommended if you have the option.

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Steve Smith
"Music is what feelings sound like"

For a small shop that might do all sorts of projects a 4 X 24 inch portable belt sander is a handy thing to have. If you make a cradle for it with a table 90 degrees to the belt you can do a lot of things an edge sander is used for.

My wife bought the Ridgid sander for me for our first anniversary. I find it incredibly useful and definitely adequate for the basic jobs of shaping tail blocks, neck blocks, cutaway blocks, etc. The Spindle feature is great, too.

That said, we have a disk sander in the maker space I belong to, and it's in a different category. That thing hogs off material like nothing else. If I had space, funds, or a more demanding situation (i.e., if I were doing this for an income), I'd definitely upgrade.

However, I love my Ridgid. For my uses, it's fantastic and I'm not left wanting. When I say I'd upgrade, it would simply be for speed.

Before we purchased the Ridgid oscillator this is exactly what we fabricated -- very handy

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Ken Cierp

http://www.kennethmichaelguitars.com/

I use my oscillating spindle sander frequently.
The dust port hooked into my shopvac works very well.
I use it for neck carve roughing the heel and neck.
I can thin down pieces by using a fence.
It's great for body outlines too. I only use a router for cutting cavities.
I have a disk sander, but it cuts way too fast and easily burns wood.
I'd like to have a slower moving disk sander if they exist.
Dan

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Wah-wah-wah-wah
Wah

Hmmm, the Ridgid get pretty good reviews. That will be under consideration. Thanks all.

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"I need to hurry up, the years are going by far too fast"

I have a Jet 6" belt/disk sander and later got the Rigid.

I use the Rigid mostly for shaping the concave surface of parts and templates but still use the Jet for probably 80 percent of the shaping projects with various jigs that fit on the adjustable platforms.






With a home made attachment I still do headstock thicknessing and bridge wings on the Jet. I made a fence for the Rigid but like doing bridges on the Jet better.



With the drill press drum sander I could live without the Rigid but not the Jet.

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It's not what you don't know that hurts you, it's what you do know that's wrong.

Dan , I made my disc sander more user friendly by using a 1725 rpm 1/2 hp motor, the former delta motor was 1.5hp and 3400 rpm 400$ for a new one , so I replaced it with an inexpensive motor and now my belt/ disc sander runs a lot slower and is way more user freindly for many tasks

I have a couple of smaller combination belt / disk sanders, but the one I use the most it my large 6" x 99" (33" platen) edge sander. I have a few jigs for it for specialized tasks, but I use it mostly free hand for shaping, squaring up things etc. The idle drum end is great for concave shapes, the unsupported section of belt between the vertical platen and the idle drum can be useful for certain curves etc. Lots of possibilities once you get to know it. Make sure your dust collector and ducting is up to the task!

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Rian Gitar og Mandolin

"Hmmm, the Ridgid get pretty good reviews. That will be under consideration. Thanks all."

The oscillating feature is a definite plus and helps reduce clogging of the abrasives. If I didn't already have a number of other sanders the Ridgid would be on my short list.