I need some opinions on belt sanders

[umahunter]

I think for the money you would spend on the fein you could probably make one of the 2x42 belt grinder kits like the knife makers use they have plenty of different accessories available I plan on building one eventually

 

[The Liberal Arts Garage]

For the money I don't think you would go wrong with a sander from Harbor Freight, especially if you wait for it to go on sale. I cannot speak about the 1" model, as I do not have one, but I did purchase one of their 4"x36" belt sander / 6" disc sander combo units a few years back. Paid a whopping $54 for it on sale. It isn't a great machine, but for the money it's not bad. The only real drawback I've seen with it is that it is a little low on power, but that is easy to work around.

There are better units out there, but with a significant increase in price. I figure I can burn up two or three of the cheap ones for the price of one real good one.

I bought one, cheap, but of course was assembled wrong, needed help from a rat tail
file, and a gentle rap in the vise. Moral: if your labor is free, a good buy. BLJHB.