Belt Sander

[navaho]

I am thinking about buying a bench sander and wonder which will serve me best? The two are a 1" belt sander with a 8 inch disk or the 4" belt with a 6" disk

 

[tnlonghunter]

I'd go with the 4" belt one, just because 1" doesn't sound like a lot of room for error if you were sanding the edge of something like a shelf. Also, the 1" belt might be harder to get an even surface with. It may cut deeper and you'd have to worry more about moving the work over the belt evenly.

 

[Metalshaper]

Navaho,

My 4" belt/6"disc version is great for wood working stuff. The wide 4" belt will do a lot of surfacing work on metal if you need it to.
I prefer a 1" belt sander..for doing profile work on metal parts. I've made and shaped a lot of lil' gunparts using it. You can just work in a lot closer with th 1' as apposed to the wider ones.

At least that is what has worked for me!! :hmm:

Respect Always
Metalshaper

 

[tg]

I have both but for gun building use I find the 1" more usefull for cleaning up small parts and round barrels.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

I have a cheap little Delta brand with 1" belt and 5" disk that I've used for more than a dozen years of gun and knife making and still going strong. As TG said, I think you'll find the 1" belt very usefull when working inside curves. A 4" belt is only good for flat work and you can use the disk for much of that.