[Edited Message Follows]
[Reason: Well 4 1/2 times is the charm, I thought I just edit this original post to end this saga.]

It has been on my list to add a disc sander. My current use will be to cleanup band sawn templates. Couple of yrs ago, I tried the oscillating belt sander from HD. After trying 2, I gave up on the combo (spindle/belt) idea and bought the bench top oscillating spindle sander, Jet JOBS-5. I have been very happy with it.

A 25% off no exclusions coupon from HF started this exercise. Bought the following 12” disc sander for $150:

12 in., 1-1/4 HP Disc Sander ( )
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First one was not usable, casting feature for the table attachment was bad and the AL table was way beyond flat. 2nd unit, casting is good and the table is still unusable. I removed the sanding disc, cleaned the sticky crap off and measured the run off. Half way from center is +/- 0.004” and near outside perimeter it is +/- 0.010”. You can feel the bumps easily on the outer perimeter. If I keep this I will have to build or fix the table. The disc is cast iron and has milling marks like a record. I may be able to sand the high spot some and reduce the overall runout. T he unit feels solid in operation and runs w/o noticeable vibration. The dust collection port does not match my shop vac but I can probably rig something up. The disc runs at 1750 RPM and is directly mounted to the motor shaft.

Not satisfied, did more research and this PC model available at Lowe’s looked promising for $250:

PORTER-CABLE 4-in x 36-in Belt 5-Amp Benchtop Sander Lowes.com ( )
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00558292.jpg ( )

It is a nice little unit. Both tables are AL and flat. The casting feature for the table attachment is much improved but still works like what you would expect on a $250 machine. Interestingly, belt needs tracking adjustment between horizontal and vertical positions but it is not dangerously off and single knob makes adj a breeze. The runout near center, middle and near outer perimeter is 3, 7 & 10 thousands of an inch. The disc however is AL. It has a single port for dust collection and my shop vac fits. Disc runs at 3450 RPM and belt at 2160 RPM.

I like that it has a disc and a belt. I removed the discs and cleaned the plates on both sanders. While cleaning process is okay, I absolutely do not think it is something I would do to change grit. I assume no one does this, unless I am missing some trick. I did look into H&L but appears that enough heat can generated under heavy use to melt the backing pad and some also think it makes the disc too soft (as in having give). Therefore, having 2 sanding options appeal to me as I could place 2 different grits.

Following from Maksiwa also looks promising for $285.

LD.300, Maksiwa 12 in. Disc Sander, 1HP, 1 Phase ( )
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I have written to Maksiwa and asked if they can share the flatness specs of disc and table. They acknowledged receipt but I likely won’t hear back until next week. I am reluctant to buy t his and some others (Grizzly) because they are not locally available. All of these may actually be built by the same company, so chances of getting an acceptable product in this price range is low and I do not want to deal with shipping back. Oh! while this comes with manual brake and cast iron table, the disc is AL.

Since I have not had a machine like this, I not only lack experience to make a good call, I am also not thinking of other possible uses. So I thought, I check with the collective wisdom here. What should I do? I really do not have room for a stationary machine and would like to keep my outlay low. I looked for used but nothing exciting came up in my area.

Appreciate your feedback.

Imran Malik


Feb 6th 2024 Update:
Maksiwa got back to me but the guy could not tell me anything more than what’s published. Credit to Grizzly for actually posting a tol on disc for $650 G0702 and it is 0.21mm. Then I found Shop Fox W1812 that is not in their catalog but it is on their website for $352. Being half the price I asked for its spec and they said it is same. So I decided to order it. Not sure why, I thought I do a last check on net for this model and guess what Grizzly sells it on Amazon so shipping was free ($70 if one orders from Grizzly) and so was the return. So got it thru Amazon.



Well the machine came well packaged but it turned out to be the worst +/- 0.030” wobble and table was also about the same with middle high. I wrote to Grizzly and they offered a new disc and table. These arrived today. Table is near perfect and the disc is acceptable, it is +/- 0.0035” at 5” out but goes to +/- 0.010” near the outer edge. Another diff is that all 4 discs that were bad were warped as the high and low areas from near center to outside were close to 180 deg apart. This disc has random variation. So I am keeping it. In case, anyone is interested the disc is AL not cast iron but the thanks is cast iron.

James,?

Brave is not the term I would use.

--
John Hinman
Boise ID
K700S and A941