WEN6510T 3.5 Amp Oscillating Spindle Sander,Black

A power tool with a cast iron table top at this price is practically unbeatable. That said, I wish the tabletop surface were a bit smoother. The cast iron has a directional grain of sorts. A flat, level, polished surface would most likely require expensive machining, which would significantly increase price, and this table is perfectly serviceable. Anyhow, this is a nit-picky comment. The machine works great. It's stable as a slice of granite. The dust removal works fine attached to my shop vac. The onboard storage is helpful. The manual is helpful overall; however, I think my tool's supply of metal washers differs slightly from those indicated in the instruction manual section on tool operation. It's by no means a problem. Actually, the supplied washers are an improvement over the washers described in that section of the manual. There's an extra large steel washer included that holds the rubber sanding drum very securely on the post/ shaft that's attached to the motor. I ended up using that washer on all the largest rubber cylinders because it worked so well. This little discrepancy from the manual is easy to figure out. Also, I found some zirconium sanding cylinders at the big orange box store that turned out to be a helpful accessory for sanding high carbon steel. The manual warns against sanding anything but wood, probably because of the risk associated with the possibility of a spark igniting any sawdust inside the machine or inside your dust collection system. For the price I paid for this unit, that's a risk I was willing to take: for better or worse. So far, no harm done. I've sanded steel and bog oak on this machine, and it performed well on both accounts. The sanding drum moves up and down while spinning in order to maximize the sanding surface and to give a smooth finish on the workpiece. If you're sanding thinner material, then the upper part of your sandpaper will remain unaffected by the sanding action of the machine. I will probably end up trimming the sandpaper tubes to remove the used portion, and get more life out of them. I kinda wish the little removable plastic parts that fit around the sanding drums were a thicker plastic or - better yet - made of metal. However, the oblong shape of the cast iron table provides adequate support for many different-sized workpieces. The short end of the table is good for sanding small workpieces. Anyhow, if you're still reading this review, then what are you waiting for? If you've thought about buying a drum sander, then you've probably thought about using drum-sanding bits in your drill press. I decided against it because the bearings in the drill press are not designed for horizontal stresses. Believe me, you'll be putting horizontal pressure on your workpieces whenever you need to hog off a lot of material. Save your drill press, and buy a drum sander. If you want one that's a great value, get this little number while the gettin's good. The price has already gone up by $20 since I bought mine. I'm so pleased with it, now I'm looking at the whole WEN lineup for other tools I need. BTW - I wish I had considered a WEN drill press rather than the press I ended up buying from the other big box store.

Bought this spindle sander for my hobby workshop. It worked very well for sanding inside curves. The different spindle sizes make this a valuable tool for my woodshop. Wish I had bought one years ago.

I bought this in December of 2024. I was looking for a way to sand curves.I don't use this a lot, so I can't speak to long term reliability, but it has been working very well so far.It was easy to set up.It took some practice to get smooth results, but that didn't take all that long.So for me, a hobbyist who builds cabinets and similar furniture, this was a good addition to my shop.

I recently went looking for a new set of Sanding Drums for my drill press, and in the process came across an ad by Wen for their Oscillating Spindle Sander.Ya know, I always wanted one of those machines. But I never felt that the cost difference between a stand-alone spindle sander and a few random sanding drums for my drill press could be justified. But then I looked at their price. $125.00?! (August of 2024.)Even a semi-retired woodworker like myself, who's not exactly rolling in it, could afford that price. The only drawback was in knowing that along the line somewhere in the manufacturing process, between raw material and finished product, many were probably not getting paid what they should. Otherwise, I really can't see how a machine of this complexity could be produced at that price.Sadly, my conscience didn't seem to stop me from placing my order.The machine is surprisingly substantial (I like the cast iron table), and so far works just fine. I've been making curved parts for a custom door lately, and it's been nice to not have to sand out, by hand, striations left behind by my old non-oscillating drill press. And there's something about having that machine at-the-ready, sitting at the end of my work table, that has been an unexpected plus. I no longer have to remove drill bits, install a sanding drum and adjust the table height of my drill press before I can get going. I just place my workpiece on the sander table and flip a switch.And I find I now use it for small sanding adjustments that I wouldn't have bothered setting up my drill press for previously.And my ShopVac now hooks up to the machine's dust collector system, which beats the dust mask I used before.There are probably a few other positives (mostly mentioned in their advertising), but here are some negatives.1) How long can I expect this tool to last? Of course, maybe I don't understand Asian manufacturing. But it seems close to a miracle that they could build and sell this product at that price. Are the bearings and the motor - buried within somewhere - of good quality?2. Missing parts. The machine was to come with 5 sanding drums, but was missing two. Fortunately the workhorse 3" drum was included, which did make the machine usable. When I sent Wen a text stating the problem, ten days went by before hearing from them. But their eventual correspondence was pleasant, and the missing drums were shipped immediately. They are of 1st quality.I'll have light use for this machine, so I'm optimistic that for me it will be reasonably long lived. But my guess is that it might disappoint a busy woodworking shop. But for about one quarter the price of a heavy duty machine, it might still work out for them.