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True Grit

by Kaden Harris

As seen in MAKE 01 Toolbox

Type(s): Power Tool
Tags: sander

http://www.deltamachinery.com/index.asp?e=136&p=836
$90 (US, estimated) Buy from amazon.com

Tool photo.

I paid CDN$79 for my Delta 5" disk/1" belt sander two years ago, and I use it every day. Yeah, 5" isn't much — I'd be the first to admit to serious disc envy over the Professional 10" model-maker's sanders, and the 1" belt would be absolutely laughable, were it not for one exceptionally cool feature: unlike your regular-type, bench-mount belt sander, which has the belt running horizontally over a steel backplate, this wee beastie has the belt running on a vertical plane with a removable backplate.

It's absolutely brilliant. Imagine having a freestanding, abrasive waterfall with a 4" deep throat. (The throat is how deep into the material you can go before you run into another part of the tool.) As with all tools, developing finesse requires scaling a learning curve — with the backplate removed and a 50-grit belt you can find yourself removing large quantities of material seemingly at random. Caution is the watchword. Once you achieve sander Zen, though, you'll have at your command a freeform shaper-smoother-former of uncommon flexibility. You'll be reaching for the Dremel a lot less frequently when confronted with complex geometry, and it does normal, bench-sander type stuff, too. I've cobbled together jigs for tool sharpening and other, more-specialized tasks.

Caveat: The power switch is prone to intermittency in the presence of dust. Seriously. After the third failure, I dropped a properly sealed Switchcraft toggle into the case and in-lined a footswitch for hands-free activation.

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www.atechmachine.com
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www.atechmachine.com

ATech Machine, Inc. is a manufacturer and supplier of machinery and equipment for window and door makers. Our machines are used for cutting and processing aluminum, vinyl, wood and fiberglass frames. We also manufacture and supply quality glass working machinery, metal bending machinery and handling equipment for glass, windows and doors.

ATech Machine, Inc.'s machines are designed using CAD, and manufactured in CNC controlled environment under the supervision of highly qualified staff. Our years of experience combined with constant technical innovation has resulted in high quality machines that are awarded with the ISO-9001 Quality Management System by the American Quality Assessors. Also, our machines carry European Quality Certification, also known as CE.

ATech Machine, Inc. has many distributors in more than 30 countries throughout the world. Thanks to our rapid delivery times and attentive after-sales services, our customers are kept satisfied over the past 22 years.

ATech Machine, Inc. aims to further enlarge its customer portfolio by adopting uncompromising quality in its products and by providing outstanding service in the United States, Canada and Mexico. If you aim to achieve an efficient, economical and precise processing of aluminum, vinyl, wood and glass, ATech Machine, Inc. machines are just the equipment you have been looking for.

Please do not hesitate to contact us for more information about our machines and the prices.
www.atechmachine.com
Posted by cyoldas on March 12, 2007 at 07:07:23 Pacific Time