Makita 9920 3" x 24" Belt Sander

There are lots of belt sander choices in 9920's price range. I seriously considered sanders with higher amp ratings from Porter-Cable and Bosch. Everything I read about Makita belt sanders, though, convinced me to look at this unit. I still am not sure why the 9920's 21" little brother, the Makita 9903 8.8 Amp 3-Inch-by-21-Inch Variable Speed Belt Sander with Cloth Dust Bag , costs more. It appears to be identical; excepting its shorter belt. I wondered (and still wonder why) the 9920 has so few reviews compared to the 9903. Now that I've seriously put the 9920 to the test, though, I don't care about the 9903. Here's why: This "Made in Japan" masterpiece, at about 10.5 pounds, has the heft needed to grab stock but is light enough to sand vertical surfaces with ease. Its 8.8 amp motor is easy on ones hands and ears. It has plenty of get up and go but is incredibly smooth and relatively quiet. I used it for hours on end, stripping paint off 130 year old boards, with great results. The belts track true and last much longer than my experience with other belt sanders would have led me to believe. The 9920 really showed it mettle, though, removing stock. Replacing windows on an old house can present lots of issues. Varying window opening sizes comes to mind. The Makita, though, makes short work of openings not quite big enough. For the most part, I simply left the boards in place in the opening. Sanding upside down and vertically was easy and effective. It's design allows one to operate the sander virtually flush against a right angle. Obviously, there are dust collection issues in those situations but I would not expect otherwise. Overall, dust collection was good. The manual recommends an accessory vacuum to improve collection. I have no plans to purchase the vacuum, though, because because the Makita's dust collection met my expectations. The 9920 is great sander. I have no second thoughts about this purchase. If you need a tough, strong belt sander, the 9920 is an excellent choice.

I am a professional full time woodworker. I have 35 years experience behind a belt sander. A good belt sander can make for fast smooth sanding in the right hands, or more fuel for the wood stove in the inexperienced ones. The important consideration in choosing a belt sander is: what am I going to be using the tool for 90% of the time. This tool by Makita 3 x 24 (9920) is best suited for this 90% use criteria. Most of the time I am doing sanding of solid stock before assembly, as well as sanding assembled work. NOTE: If your using this tool to sand floors or other large surfaces, this is not the sander. Purchase the appropriate sander. This sander comes in 3 x (18)(21)and(24). The 24 is the best choice as it has a larger sole plate that makes it easier to sand flat. Also belts last longer. Note - Makita also makes a similar 4" wide model in this style. Belts are about 40% more for this extra inch. Avoid this. If you really need a 4 x 24 then purchase the HD model by Makita. (11 amp) Good Points of this sander include. 1) This belt sander tracks very well. 2) The cord length at 15 feet is an important because you don't always need a extension cord. 3) Light enough to use with one hand when needed. Light is less fatiguing with prolonged use. 4) Dust bag collects dust well enough. 5) Power is adequate for most work. 6) Made in Japan which has higher quality standards than most. Over all. I think this is truely the best belt sander available on the market and will give you years of production. With over 1000 hours behind all brands of belt sanders, I have the experience to know what I'm talking about.

I had a DeWalt belt sander that was hard to control and that I finally ditched. Based on the reviews I ordered the Makita 9920 3x24 sander and have used it on a few projects. I find this one to be a vast improvement over the DeWalt. Although it has a relatively narrow footprint, it is well balanced and is very easy to control. The variable speed function is an essential plus. Changing belts is a snap and the tracking adjustment is reliable. It is heavy enough to track well on horizontal surfaces, but is balanced and light enough to use on vertical surfaces. I even used it upside down to even out some cabinet doors that were still attached to the frame, something I wouldn't dare attempt with my DeWalt. Its extra-long cord is another plus. Makita has an optional, but pricy, sanding shoe that is supposed to provide more control on large surfaces. But I find this sander easy to use by itself, as long as you start out with the speed at its lowest setting and avoid excessively coarse abrasives. My only minor complaint is that the clasp that keeps the dust bag shut tends to slip off if you are not careful. I fixed that with a couple of small binder clips, one at each end of the clasp. With that it does a pretty good job of trapping dust.

Have used it a lot and it works well but the wood dust tends to clog up the inside causing heat buildup.

I had been without a belt sander for several years and needed one on short notice. I also wanted one with a good reputation. This is my second Makita tool. The belt sander arrived on schedule and was ready to use right out of the box. The belt was very easy to install and I had the tracking adjusted after just a few seconds. I love the long electrical cord, which reduces the need to use an extension cord. The dust collection is pretty effective and easy to empty. I'm very happy with this purchase.

I have purchased numerous tools from Amazon. In most cases the ability to see others reviews strongly influences my tool purchases. I purchased the Makita 9920 3x24 belt sander after reading the reviews of dozens of belt sanders. I was not initially looking for a 3x24 inch sander but purchased it anyway because of the positive remarks. I recently used it to sand rough cut 2x4 and 2x6 pine. I needed a sander to do a good enough finish job on the wood so that it could be stained. I used the sander for a few days sanding a few dozen boards with little rest in between. Since I did my sanding outdoors dust collection was not that important to me but the bag system seemed to do an adequate job. Also, the ability to align the belt with one simple knob was nice. After sanding numerous boards the sander did seem to generate alot of heat but it was never what I would call excessive. This sander worked flawlessly and I would definitely make this purchase again. The reviews of this sander on Amazon led me to another positive purchase.

I had been reading reviews on larger belt sanders for about a year when I finally decided to purchase this one. I have been making due with an old and worn out cheapo brand with a tear in the dust bag for several years and decided I really needed a new and more powerful sander for rapid removal of stock and leveling sub-floor. This unit was well packaged and arrived on time and undamaged. I pulled it out and made certain it worked before putting it on the shelf for a couple of weeks waiting for its first workout. When I was finally ready to use it I purchased 50 grit belts and started removing glued down chunks of underlayment on sub-floor for a renovation project. This machine powered through everything I threw at it and handled the 50 grit belts with ease. The dust collection is amazing compared to what I was using before and with regular emptying most of the dust went where it was supposed to. I was a bit skeptical about the dust bag and how it is closed when it first arrived but it proved to be a non-issue. The bag is held closed by a piece of plastic that slides over the opening and at first I thought it would come off during operation. The chord is plenty long and with a sub-10 amp motor you can hook it up to most construction extension cords. The variable speed control is very nice as I can really dial in the best speed for what I am sanding on to ensure I am not removing too much material. The belt tracking is easy to adjust and for most operations I keep it centered but when I need it to work right up against a wall it can be quickly adjusted to the far right and still stay on the machine. I have been using this sander since late August 2013 and probably have 10-15 hours on it so far. The longest I have had it on was for about half-an-hour straight (there is a trigger lock to keep it running) and at no time did the motor seem like it was about to quit or lack power. Overall I am very happy with this purchase and hope to get many years of service from it.

...with nice features - simple, not sexy - no frills. This is a powerful, quiet machine. Delightfully quiet. It has an effective, easily emptied dust bag. There's an easy-to-reach variable speed control. OK, there's that awkward trigger lock - So what? And let's not overlook the 8 - foot cord! I've always used 3X21 sanders, but the extra few inches of the 3X24 belts add stability with no noticeable increase in unit weight. I'm delighted.

Just ammended this review at the 2 year mark. Before I bought this Makita, I bought a Home Depot Rigid 3"x18" variable speed 6.5Amp (5.8lbs) but returned it. Variable speed was nice but when I applied a bit of pressure it would power down. Also because of the shorter 18" belt it was prone to gouging if you weren't careful. This Makita has a 3"x24" belt, 8.8Amp, & (9.9lbs). Heavy Duty, Powerful & Smooth. Zero problems with belt alignment. I can really lean into this tool and it won't slow or bog down at all. I can use it one handed on solid flat surfaces, but not for long. Again, this is powerful tool that will grab & jump if you don't have firm control. Alignment seems great. I occasionally can gouge material on one side but again, this machine is powerful so if you hover to long in one area, it will remove a lot of material in a split second. With practice I let the weight of the machine do most of the work. It takes a subtle balance in grip and positioning to keep things level & smooth but I think this would apply to any belt sander. Where this really shines is on bigger projects where you want to correct a long edge or remove a lot of material in a very short time. In short I absolutely love this tool and don't really have anything negative to say about it. I could see where a 4" belt would be nice but honestly, for this middle aged handyman, this has plenty power to tame for me.

Después de leer todos los comentarios de que estaba muy pesada para lijar la parte de arriba de los Marcos de puertas, con todo el respeto pero acá en GTO se lija antes de armar o instalar todo, y la verdad, le pensaba ya que no estaba al alcance de mis posibilidades $$$$ pero valió el esfuerzo que tube que hacer para comprarla, y no me arrepentí ya que me encantó esta lijadora por su estabilidad de lijar parejo y no dejar ni un solo desnivel en el lijado, simplemente le pongo un 10👌 y de verdad que la recomiendo ya que no está bromosa cómo otras que eh comprado, y pues sabemos que MAKITA es 100% calidad...

Utilisée pour poncer des portes et des meubles avec des surfaces larges. Ponceuse puissante (attention à ne pas se faire entraîner avec), rapide et très efficace. Un bon investissement !

Ottimo prodotto, ho sempre utilizzato Makita da anni sono attrezzi molto affidabili , robusti e se si trattano bene durano una vita.

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