RayAmb

Thanks everyone for weighing in on this. I was tempted by the Porter-Cable, but I just found the Hitachi SB 8V2 belt sander on sale for $20 less and purchased it. It was on sale for $150 CAN, which is $80 less than its normal retail price. For a 5 year warranty, it seemed too good to pass up. The Makita might be better, but my budget was capped to below $200. While the Porter-Cable's casing is all cast metal, and the Hitachi's is partially plastic, I'm going to hope that it will hold up. The famous Makita sanders are also partially plastic so it shouldn't be a problem. I'm returning the Ridgid - it has a 90 day unconditional warranty. It worked well and looks well-made, but as I mentioned, the dust collection system failed and the belt no longer tracks properly after only 2 months of light use. I'm not at all confident that it will last more than a year or two. Back it goes and from now on, I rely only on tools made by the proven brands. I'll add some photos later of my renovation! Thanks for asking. When it was built in the 1920s, the house had nice fir door trim and baseboards. Over the years, various owners had painted over the woodwork. I stripped it all down to bare wood and the house should have a 1920s charm. I found out the hard way that the best way to strip old woodwork is simply to use a planer to remove all the paint and varnish and rip it down to bare wood. I then used a belt sander to remove the planer cut-lines and smooth everything out. This was at least 10x faster than using chemical strippers and about 5x faster than using heat guns. For finer woodwork and mouldings, I still had to rely on a heat gun. Next job is to sand and refinish the hardwood floors.

Thanks Jimbo, KnarlyCarl, My interest in tools? I'm new to this. Last summer I started renovating my grandparents old 1920s house. Thinking it was a small job, it soon became apparent that nearly everything needed to be fixed. I've learnt a lot and found that its cheaper to buy the tools I need and do the work myself than hire it out. At least for the time being.

Thanks Jimbo, I've heard Porter-Cable is quite good. Good to know the Porter-Cable palm sander is a good one. I'll buy that one next time. I'm hoping to find others who have direct experience with these belt sanders. RayAmb

After using a Ridgid R27401 belt sander for 2 months, it seems apparent that its not going to stand up. The dust collection system no longer works and the belt is not tracking. I need a more professional grade tool. I'm trying to decide between this Porter-Cable model and the Hitachi SB 8V2. They are nearly the same price here in Canada. The Hitachi's 9 amp motor is more powerful than Porter-Cable's 8 amp motor. The Hitachi has a 5 year warranty compared to Porter-Cable's 3 year warranty. However, the Hitachi is significantly wider and this might limit its manoeuvrability. The Porter-Cable has more metal construction and with its top-mounted motor, might be better for sanding in narrow spaces. Does anyone here have experience with these two belt sanders? Any recommendations? Which model will be more durable in the long run?