Sander Report

My sander has been in service for a few weeks now, and I have developed a few thoughts on the thing.

This is the 9" Porter-Cable belt/disk sander.  After quite a bit of research and fussing, this is the unit I settled on as being the best choice within my price range.  With a package of sander disks and sales tax, the final damages were a few bucks over $200.00.  It seemed to be the sturdiest unit I could look at within my price range.  Everything I looked at was Made In China and so is this tool.   :(

This unit's performance has been, so far, quite satisfactory.  The table is very sturdy, and the unit is hefty enough to stay in place without having to be bolted to the bench.  I have yet to come even close to bogging down the motor.  But then, I am doing pretty light work, though lots of it, at the moment.

The dust collection system is totally ineffective when using the belt sander.  But then, it HAS a dust collection system.  The ancient and beloved Craftsman did not.  The dust collection system actually works pretty well when using the disk.

It actually has several advantages over the old Craftsman.  First, it is much quieter.  The Craftsman's mechanism was completely open with the motor mounted under the bench driving a V-belt, and the bearings have been in rough shape for a long, long time.  I also like the larger disk (the Craftsman was a 6"). 

Something I REALLY, like over the Craftsman is the speed.  The Porter-Cable operates at a much higher rpm than my old tool.  The result is the ability to do some very "light touch" work.  Much as I hate to admit it, this tool allows a higher level of accuracy, due to the high rpm, over my old standby.

On balance, and so far, I would have to say that this is a tool I could recommend to a friend.