Good sander at a great priceI have found this to be an excellent product for the price. Is it the best belt sander in the world? No...but then again, it's also $60, no $200+. I bought this primarily to speed up a project of building a solid workbench top from 2x4's, and it did exactly what I needed it to do....smooth out the top of the bench quickly. The most common complaint seems to be with the tracking...yes, it could be better, but it's not as bad as people are making it out to be...before you start using it, spend 30 seconds adjusting the tracking and you're set...once adjusted I didn't touch the tracking for the whole time I was using it (about 2hrs). I also have found the speed and 7amp motor more than sufficient for anything I'm going to use it for. Really, my only complaints are minor for a sander in this price range. One is the abundant use of plastic. There are some areas, such as the belt tension adjustment lever, that are plastic when I feel they should be steel. I can see this breaking if used heavily and the user isn't extra careful. My other complaint is the dust collection system. It's a complete joke...my workbench was covered in sawdust mere seconds after I started sanding. To be honest, I didn't really expect it not to be, and it didn't make the sander any less effective, but to advertise "dust collection bag helps keep your work area sawdust free" is completely false. Overall I'm very happy with this purchase. If you need a belt sander for everyday use, spring for a higher-end sander...but, if like me you have the occasional home project that calls for one, this should get you by, and for $60, you can't really go wrong.
by grihn