Customer Reviews for RIDGID Oscillating Edge/Belt Spindle Sander

Did they send me a factory refurb? Pros: Good dust collection. Cons: Many issues right out of the box, poor assembly QC, minor design flaws, factory damage repair. Take-away: Once I repaired all the issues, it runs well.

Needed Repair out of the Box. I got this in Dec. 2021, and it sat in the till now because I just did not have time or a space for it. But I got around to unpacking it and everything look good at start. But when troughing out the packaging plastic that wrapped the unit in the box I found a shoulder bolt or screw as they call it just lying in the plastic bag. I looked all over and could not find any place for it. But I did not stop there I checked the manual and then the replacement parts sheet. Thats, were I found only 4 places for a shoulder bolt. all under the motor cover and on the linkage. So, I removed the cover and the orange front to get enough cord free to move the cover to the side. Re installed the bolt AS per Ridgid I did not add lock tight, so I did not mod their original design. You see I contacted Ridgit about the Issue after I found out the problem. Now they say I might have voided my warranty. Any way repair is made and I informed Ridgid and sent pictures. But because of customer service response about this issue this item does not deserve anything more than 3 stars and that's only if it holds up. I won't know that till a couple of months from now.

Plenty of power to round corners into a triple-layer 3/4" plywood stack. The dust collection is amazing. Takes less than a minute to sway from spindle to belt mode. Everything has worked perfectly for me.

Absolutely love this oscillating belt and spindle sander by RIGID. This product is very straight forward and super easy to assemble (basically just attach the belt or spindle...depending on your job requirements). Very smooth operation. Able to fasten to bench or table, but bolts are not provided. There is also a dust port to attach to dust collection system.

Ridgid Oscillating Edge/Belt Spindle Sander is my first workbench sander and am impressed. Previously, used a portable spindle sander and bolted a smaller belt sander upside down on my workbench. It worked, but wasn't the best. When it's all together like this one, the setup is quicker and the end result is better and more comfortable, since sanding can be tedious. The difference is it feels like a solidly built tool, not my mashup makes the job go fast. This is a newer model from an earlier Ridgid model I've seen. It's essentially the same, without the orange colored enclosure, now an open tubular frame with plenty of handholds to carry it, since it's over forty pounds. They in the instructions show side places to hold it. The knobs are also redesigned to make them easier to tighten and bigger. Ridgid's design provides flexibility to position the work on a large flat aluminum table surface that can be angled as needed. The sander top is 19 -inches deep by 22-inches wide. As seen with serious bench sanders, the table goes from horizontal down to 45 degrees with stops at often used angles. A tilt table is a safety issue, keeps the work-piece fully supported. Ridgid's table also comes with a track slot for a miter gauge (not included) to better position sanding narrow end boards square, keep them flush to the belt. Checked the top for horizontal against the belt with a square, factory settings are spot on. The hinged top locks with a knob on the right side with the angle markings. Some other sanders have seen are smaller, less capable holding work. Another safety issue and helpful is a work-piece stop attachment when using the web belt. It keeps the work from slipping and shooting off the belt. The tool uses a 24-inch long by 4-inch wide sanding belt that runs at 1,350 feet/minute. The spindles are various widths up to two inches in diameter that run at 1,750 revolutions/minute. Spindle storage is in the tray on the bottom, and the web belt mechanism can be stored in the back when using the spindle. Would have liked a clear cover for the small washers, for me easily lost. This is a sturdy sanding platform. It's got a 6 amp motor, makes little noise, no more than my big router. Sanding as said, can be tedious and this worktop sander makes it from tolerable to enjoyable. My hunch it's the bigger motor and its overall design that makes it all a nice package.

I was really pleased to get a RIDGID Oscillating Edge/Belt Spindle Sander through the Seeds program, and this is going to be an easy review to write. I have had this machine's predecessor for years, and 'run the wheels off it' - it was really showing its age. The new machine is essentially the same as the old one, the differences all being in detail, and all improvements. The most obvious change is that the new machine uses a welded open steel frame in place of the old machine's plastic chassis. The open frame will stay much cleaner in use. The belt accessory is also slightly different and incompatible with the old machine, although it uses the same belts. The aluminum work surface is smoother on the new machine, and dust collection with a vacuum is improved. It is the belt accessory that sets this machine apart from ordinary spindle sanders. You can get a lot more done with a belt, a lot faster, and they last much longer than the drums, which makes it much cheaper to operate. Of course, you can also use drums like a regular spindle sander. This machine beats a regular spindle sander hands-down. Every shop should have one, especially now with all the improvements.

RIDGID hit a home run with this oscillating belt and spindle sander design!! I love that the item comes almost completely assembled. You will be ready to sand within 10 minutes of unboxing the unit. This is a well thought out sander design as all the various sized attachments have built in storage with size labels below the working table (see photo). This makes finding your right attachments easy and prevents them from being misplaced. I also like that there is a built in cord wrap around for storage, and the table folds for easy storage (see photos). Changing between the belt sander and the various sized spindles is a cinch and only takes about 1 minute. Both the belt and spindles move up and down while rotating to extend the life of the sandpaper and to prevent overheating the sandpaper. Adjusting the tracking on the belt is easy as well, just a quick turn left or right of the tracking knob to ensure that the belt does not ride off the rollers. Overall a very well thought out and sturdy piece of equipment that I’m happy to add to my tool collection.

home depot canceled the order on me no explain. this review is to short so I have to add some bs to make it.

So far so good, did not have any loose parts like some of the reviews were stating, Every thing works like I expected, dust collection works better then I was anticipating, change over is very quick and easy. I would definitely buy again.

Ordered on-line because it wasn’t available at local store. Unit was very noisy and entire top table vibrated excessively out of the box when assembled. Based on other reviews I suspected loose motor mounts but there was no way to check without disassembly so I returned it to my local Home Depot before even attempting to use it for credit and purchased a different machine.

The sander works great, exactly what I needed. thank you.

Surprisingly quite and smooth. I haven't used it yet but I plugged it in and ran it with the sander attachment installed. Really no assembly other than attaching either the sander or spindles. I opted for the free home delivery which made it a good deal. I bought it because I'm building an electric guitar but I'm sure I'll find other uses. Can wait to put it to work!

Louder that expected. Too much plastic.

The rear half of the table was warped enough to form a lip right in front of the sander where where the two table halves meet. It was large enough to snag a workpiece on. I returned it and got another. The second one is warped too but not as bad. The insert plate is impossible to get flush with the warped table. The workpiece resting plate rubs against the sander if lightly bumped. It's 90 miles to return it so I'll probably keep this one with some hesitations.

Bought and returned 2 of these. Multiple issues. Bought a Grizzly T27417 - amazing alignment out of the box -idler pulleys were aluminum not plastic the base of the belt sander was cast not stamped and it was $100 cheaper! Rigid = both had warped worktable and Motor shaft misaligned with table .020". Both had significant vibration at the top of the belt and spindle oscillation

Sets the standard for bench top oscillating sanders. Easy to set up, good dust collection, 6 amp motor almost twice as many amps as the competition

Tool came readily assembled and operated great, right from the start. Wonderful tool have, very useful and very flexible with many attachments

After only one week of actual use, the oscillator stopped. So, I opened the motor case, and saw the two oscillating arms. One of them was not connected, and the other one had the pin fall out. nice work ridgid. Buy cheap garbage, get cheap garbage. fortunately I can fix it, but the average consumer will just take it to the landfill where all the other ridgid tools belong. It gets three stars because when it works its useful.

Dust collection seems improved over the original

Nice looking tool poor performance

I bought this sander for occasional use and used it in a light duty capacity twice. I went to use it last week and the motor just hummed. I contacted Ridgid and they claimed I did not register it, which I certainly did. By claiming it wasn't registered, the warranty did not apply, making the lifetime warranty worthless. I will no longer purchase Ridgid tools. For those who will continue to purchase Ridgid tools, if you want to have the lifetime warranty, don't register on line and mail everything Registered Mail so they can't claim it was never registered with Ridgid. And keep copies of everything.

Bought this unit because they raised the price of the other unit 80$. They have also buried the poor reviews for QC below the five star reviews. Straight out of the box with zero load, it is horrendously loud! Specifically on the oscillation of the spindle. Sounds as if it is rubbing aggressively. Avoid, avoid, avoid.

This is an excellent machine for small shops. Changing between spindle and belt modes is fast and easy.

Works well for my needs

Rating provided by a verified purchaser

Rating provided by a verified purchaser