Rate the Harbor Freight Tools Thread- Pass or Fail?

[HMF]

Harbor Freight 4" x 36" Belt/Disc Sander, Yea or Nay?

I am interested in buying a small belt/disc sander. Looked at HF and Wen.
What is your opinion on HF?

I have seen some videos:

http://beltsanderhq.com/4-x-36-belt-sander-reviews/

http://lumberjocks.com/reviews/885

 

[Charles Spencer]

I have one of them and like it for what it is. I have an older and larger (6"x49" belt, 9" disk) Craftsman sander. I use that for heavier jobs. The HF sander is one I haul out and set up for finer jobs. It works pretty well for me.

On the HF sander the tracking on the sanding belt is a little fussy to get adjusted just right. Also you must make sure you adjust the drive belt properly. All in all, it works and is worth the money.

 

[royesses]

Harbor Freight 4" x 36" Belt/Disc Sander. I have one also. As long as you respect it's size and power it is a decent little sander. You need to check all nuts/bolts/screws and adjustments first before use. I have it mounted on a HF grinder stand.

 

[kingmt01]

I have one & while not great it is still useful. I don't have any problems with the belt rollers. The disc sander however has huge voids in the casting. I wasn't interested in it anyhow so I didn't install it. If I ever want it I might go back & Bondo the holes.

 

[kingmt01]

I ordered two 10 FT. X 17 FT. PORTABLE GARAGE Item #60727 but got #69039 instead. Only problem I found was one of the pins wasn't drilled for a cotter pin. They seem fairly made. I also had one of the old style that was gray that lasted a few years. This one is much better built then the old style. I'm not sure how long the top will last but I may end up covering it with metal roofing when the top goes bad.

 

[swatson144]

I Have a HF green 4x36 belt sander from about 10 yrs ago. I changed the drive pulley to speed it up and I am happy with it. IMO the disk is useless except for jewelry making and is no longer installed to save space on the workbench.
It is still a good value for the money for my occasional use of it.

Steve

 

[Anthony G]

Since a couple others commented on the 4" X 36" Belt and Disc Sander, I wanted to add my two cents, also. Now, I don't own it, but I went to HF a couple days ago for a couple small things and checked out this sander, along with everything else in the place, as I always do when I'm there. They have it on sale right now for $59.99.

Well, I wasn't impressed. The biggest negative I saw was in regard to the table for the sanding disc. It is mounted with a single rod that fits into a hole in the casting which, in turn, is secured by a single bolt that holds against a milled flat on the rod. The rod/hole fitment was sloppy to say the least. On the store display, the bolt was secured tightly and, because of the slop fit, the table was nowhere near square to the sanding disc. It's just not a good setup. It may be OK for free handed sanding, but that's about it I would say. I wouldn't expect accuracy with it.

 

[jocat54]

I have one of the HF 4x36 sanders, bought it while waiting on a drive belt for my very old 4x36 craftsman sander, needed the sander before the belt got delivered. It is ok for what it is and will do in a pinch. The belt runs pretty slow--never thought about speeding it up as swatson144 did (great idea, thanks).
It sets on the shelf now--might look at speeding it up.

 

[hardwarz]

I bought the 10" drill press. I burned out the motor within 6 months. The chuck had a lot of runout.

Instead of putting another item into a landfill, I decided to fix it. I replaced the 1/3 HP motor with a 1/2 HP motor. I made an adapter plate from a piece of 1/4" steel plate. I had to expand the motor pulley hole in belt housing, replace the step pulley on the motor, and get a new belt. I upgraded the wires for the increased amperage, but the switch was still within spec for the higher amperage. I also replaced the chuck.

I could have just bought another drill press or purchases a used one, but the whole landfill thing got to me that day.

If I had to do it again, I wouldn't; because of one thing... The head is not cast iron. It's some kind of non-ferrous metal.

 

[hardwarz]

I almost bought one of the 4" X 36" belt disc sanders. I decided to buy the Ryobi one instead because of so many bad reviews of the HF one. After my experience with the 10" HF drill press, I thought I'd spend the extra money on the Ryobi.