Sanders Reviews

Be aware that the listed width in Amazon is wrong the true inside dimensions are 21" x 35-3/4". I built a router table to put on this mobile base using the stated wrong demensions in Amazon. I hope this info keeps you from the mistake I made. As for the base, I like them this is the third one I have.

I am setting up a REAL basement workshop for building furniture and needed a top notch solution to allow indoor sanding. This machine is what you would expect from Delta -- very substantial and solid. Decent air flow, combined with the curtains, directs the dust to the removeable dust filter. At 31" by 31", and with the moveable dust curtains, you can handle almost anything in the realm of furniture. If you loved Erector Sets as a kid, you will also love assembling the 50-855 -- with some 75 sets of bolts, nuts, and washers -- straightforward, but 1 to 2 hours to set up. Overall, a great addition for any woodworker who recognizes the importance of dust control!

I've had my 1 HP dust collector for about two years now. Overall I've been very happy with it. Assembly was straight forward without any missing hardware or other nasty surprises. Fit and finish of all parts is very good to excellent. The
assembly/use instructions are quite adequate. The zip lock
plastic bag for storing the manual/parts breakdown is a nice touch. Like the vast majority of my Delta tools it did NOT
require a phone call to their customer service to get it up and
running. Having said that you DO need to set aside a couple of
hours to assemble the pup..there are a LOT of bolt/washer/nut
connections to make. Should be a one person assembly operation-nothing is really too heavy for the average woodworker to handle
alone.

It is a well made unit which will obviously serve the needs of the small shop user for many, many years.

In operation it does an outstanding job of sucking up airborne
sanding dust and debris. Out of habit I still wear a dust mask,

but I really think it isn't necessary. In a confined area it is a little noisy (not as bad as a cheap vacuum though) and you might want to consider ear protection especially if you're going to use it all day.

Nit picks: (1) the dust filter-glued-to-a-tray needs to be changed to something where a standard 1" industrial filter can be used. Even though the original filter will last for years with care, the purchase price for a replacement is just too high.

(2) The curtain surrounding the top is a little awkward to use if you put the dust collector up against a side wall.

(3) Why aren't all of the holes in the top fitted with grommets?
Gosh, these things cost maybe a dime a piece..surely that extra
expense wouldn't have broken the budget! You can take one of your grommets to a decent hardware store (forget the big box places.the 16 year old kid working there has no idea what a grommet is..) and get enough to fill the rest of the holes for
little more than pocket change.

All nit picks are very minor and in no way detract from my overall satisfaction. I've been given to understand that Delta is moving production for this item offshore too-so if you want a Made in the USA one you'd better hurry up and buy it!

BTW: The fan powering this beast is very, very strong. All of air entering the top exits the bottom...don't be surprised if
you find out your floor is NOT as clean as you think it is as it
blows up dust from under the machine.

I used one of these sanders to remove heavy textured paint from the plaster walls of my 1890's Victorian in Maryland. This involved sanding every inch of a 3000 square foot house with heavy grit (60 grit) paper over a three month period. I estimate that I ran this unit for over 30 hours a week for the entire three months without a break. I still have it and it works fine.

The unit has a couple of problems that I noted over time:

1. The dust collector is cloth over a steel spring that tears where the cloth meets the hard plastic base of the dust collection bag.

2. The pad that accepts the hook-and-loop paper sometimes tears when removing the paper. This is easily replaced, but isn't cheap to do.

3. While the dust collector works pretty well (until it tears, that is), it is small and you have to stop work often to empty it. This is not a problem with the small jobs I use it on now, but it was annoying when I was sanding the walls.

4. Paper is costly and you will have to be careful of which brand you buy. There are some sanders with just 4 dust collection holes, while this one has I think 8, so you need to buy the paper that is right for the sander. They do sell it in 25 sheet packs, which cuts down on the cost. We used about 10 such packs, each costing about $10 to $15 at the big box store near us.

One final bit of advise: Always wear a resperator or face mask when sanding paint. Safety glasses are a must too.

For the price of this stand it is one of the most helpful inexpensive ways to get a stand alone sanding unit. Now I'll amdit to being a big DeWalt fan, even so I must still comment on the ability to make easy and precise adjustments. This unit is easier to set up and put away than any bench top units available, so if bench space is a concern this is for you(and me). Love it

In the course of repainting a room we determined that our wood floor needed to be refinished. My 1910 home has oak flooring around the room perimeter, but fir in the middle, because the rooms were typically designed for Persian-type rugs. Belt sanders will easily gouge and remove the fir versus the oak, so I was worried about getting a smooth and flat floor. Several of my do-it-yourselfer friends have done their floors, one floor looks like a sand dune with wind-swept ripples (belt sander gouging without a frame), the other has circular scratches but is flat (large circular floor sander). I have the DeWalt Belt Sander and found this frame to be the answer. I can sand with the grain of the floor and can eliminate the gouging. I started with a coarse grit to remove the wax and varnish and this frame permitted easy worry-free "floating." Now I'm going over the floor again with finer grits and the floor looks great!

The catalog description is inadequate and doesn't do the accessory justice. This piece is well engineered and a "snap" to install. Featured is a phenolic resin plate on the stiff aluminum base for smooth sailing. The forward mounting arm was easy to install on the belt sander and was designed to leave it on without getting in the way of other routine belt sanding. The frame snaps on and off. The height adjustment is exceptional and accurate. Well done, DeWalt engineers!

I have three of these sanders. I bought the first one about 8 years ago. I bought another 2 of them about six years ago. All three of them are still with me and are going strong. I wouldn't even want to venture a guess at how many hours they have on them. If you want a quarter sheet sander these are the ticket. I have never spent a dime on them other than replacing the pad on the first one I bought last year.

For a little background on myself, I am a fulltime maker log log furniture so my tools get used a bunch!

The DeWalt 120 grit paper is the best for interior (finish) carpentry. It holds up well under high usage and leaves a beautiful smooth soft finish - perfect as is, or ready for the next step paint or stain.

This is an old holdover from the Black & Decker days. This unit is one of the most durable units I've had the privilege of using. I've used this grider for over 18 years in the Ranch/Farm fabrication as well as Aerospace hardware fabrication. If I were ever put incharge every tool would have this durability. I would highly recommend this unit. For those of you not used to abrupt starts from a large "hand" tool take some caution with this large grinder it likes to try and get away. It would be nice however if Dewalt would update the grinder with a soft start and a tool brake. If you can not find this unit Milwaukee makes a close second.

Straight out of the box, I used this unit for 4 hours straight, two days in a row. Fits well in the hand, does a good enough job collecting dust in its bag. When the bag is full, you simply take it off, turn on the Shop-Vac and stick the nozzle into the bag. The bag is designed to fit perfectly onto a Shop-Vac hose ensuring all dust particles are promptly sucked out. Reattach the bag to the sander and you're ready to go.

To clarify a misconception I had: You cannot attach a Shop-Vac hose directly to the unit (in lieu of the dust bag). At first I was disappointed that the unit didn't have this feature, but after many hours of use, I now see why - Moving the sander around dexterously would be seriously inhibited with a not-so-flexible Shop-Vac hose trailing behind.

This sander has plenty of power and combined with some coarse sanding pads, I had no trouble taking my painted/varnished kitchen cabinets down to the bare wood.

My sander showed no signs of being a refurbished unit at all. Comes with a hard-shell case that has some storage for sanding discs. The hook and loop sanding discs are incredibly convenient and can be removed and replaced in seconds.

Use shop glasses and a dust mask when using any orbital sander.

Definitely an excellent product. It is quickly becoming one of my favorite tools in my collection!