BUCKTOOL Direct Drive Bench Belt Sander, 4x36 in Belt and 8 in Disc Sander, 3/4HP Belt Sander for Woodworking, 5.0A Benchtop

I bought this sander to replace my 20 year old Craftsman. It is a much better machine, with much less internal friction. It coasts to a stop after several revolutions. The Craftsman stopped in one turn. I'm giving it a "5" in spite of a couple of small manufacturing issues I encountered during setup.One of the holes for mounting the machine to the rotating base was blocked from the casting process, but easily drilled out with a 5/16 bit.The rotating base, although heavy and substantial, wobbles while in use. I wasn't expecting this, but I don't think this will hurt the sanding performance. Also the base has a spring loaded stop pin that easily pulls up to allow it to rotate. The pin is a little too long to retract fully from the locking hole below. So they added a flat nut (jamb nut) to the shoulder, to keep it from screwing in so far (my theory). But that keeps it too high, so the spring loaded pin does not fully engage the locking hole. My fix was to replace the jamb nut with a 1/4" washer that I drilled out to close tolerance so the threads on the 5/16" (or maybe 8mm?) pin would jam tightly into it. It works better.The only other thing I will mention is I added a small bushing cut from 11/64" x .014 brass tubing to the worktable adjustment screws to fill the semicircular slot more fully. Not really necessary, but it makes a closer fit and less wiggle.Other nice features......-The adjustment levers for the adjustable platforms are levers, not knobs and easier to tighten, but also can be disengaged after tightening to spin them out of the way.- Dust extraction is better than my old one and the dust cover has slotted holes for the mounting screws, making it easier to remove for belt replacement.

I needed a bench sander and saw many positive reviews for a cheaper sander on Amazon from a competitor. If money is the key factor in your decision, you can get a useful sander for almost half the price of this Bucktool. But when I received that cheaper sander and turned it on for the first time, I immediately knew it was not of the quality that I wanted and returned it without ever sanding one board. The only decent option for roughly $200 was this Bucktool. After setting it up and turning it on, I knew this was going to work well for me and should last a long time. The added power and build quality is easily worth the extra money that I paid for it. I'd rather spend a little more and have a tool that is up to the task than save a few bucks and always be disappointed. This sander does still have some issues but for $200, I can live with them. The foot post that supports the belt seems like an after thought but does add rigidity when pressing down on the belt. Really annoying that you have to remove that to put on a new belt. The cast aluminum guide on the disc side does not automatically align to 90 degrees and actually changes from what you set if you tighten it down. Despite those issues, I like the powerful motor. Based on just specs, it doesn't look like a huge upgrade from the cheaper 4.3 amp options for half the price, but after just turning on both, I can say it make a huge difference. I assume the direct drive and elimination of the belt on the cheaper units does also have a big impact. I noticed that when you turn this on and off, the belt spins up without any out of balance issues or vibrations that I immediately saw on the cheaper unit. The Bucktool really does sound and feel like a serious tool. If you plan to use a bench sander on a regular basis, then you'll be happy you stepped up to this one.

I haven't used it yet other than to turn it on and test it but it went together easily and is a quality sander. I had aHarbor Frt one that lacked power and was "wasted money"; I will donate it to the Goodwill. This sander is impressive.I don't write many reviews anymore...I purchase too much and too frequently to write them, but I occasionally write them if extremely impressed or else disappointed with the purchase. In this case, I am thrilled. I wholeheartedly recommendthis sander.

First time I read reviews about this tool I moved on and kept searching. However Ikept coming back to it and I realized a lot of the bad reviews werent really all that bad and most were over little things. So I decided to buy it and from day 1 I was impressed. Ive owned a lot of tools in my days and I also tried to stay away from the cheap crap because I didnt have time to be fixing bad tools all the time. Once again I bought me a winner and Im very pleased with it. The sander has weight to it so its stable. It feels solid when using either the belt or disk. The tables are easy to adjust and are straight and true. The dust ports work good and if your looking for a small hose go to Rockler and they have a hose with removable ends which are different in size. They are great for hand sanders. The hose fits perfect onto the ports without the use of an end and if you want to make it more permanent you can use a hose clamp.Overall I give this sander a 9 out of 10. Its powerful, heavy, but not too heavy, which keeps it stable. Dusts ports work good and its just a great tool that everyone should have in their shop. I've been very happy with all my bucktool productsand plan on buying more of their stuff. You cant go wrong with this sander, the price is great and it just works good!

Good price and it does set up quickly. It is not the top end but it still keeps the sanding processes square with the tables and miter gauge. Dropped the table to 45 degrees and it worked great to knock the edge off a small project I was working on.

Very nice machine. Works well, has plenty of power and does a great job. Very happy with the purchased of this sander.

This is a SOLID device..! I bought this because of the direct drive. It came packaged real nice, and tightly packed.I am impressed by the amount of power it has..! The only complaint, or recommendation I have is, the belt sander table should be bracketed on the left side, with a heavier bracket. That way, you don't have to remove the bracket and table, when you want to change the sanding belt.. I would Highly recommend this machine..!!