Combination sanders: disc & belt vs. disc & spindle

[DJJ]

I'm looking at a couple of different sanders for general/hobby woodworking and fitting recoil pads to about half a dozen long gun stocks (including sanding the butts after trimming). For about the same money, and with the same motor, each one has a 12", 1725 RPM disc and either a 6x48" belt or a 6" oscillating spindle. There are minor differences in the dust port configuration, and the disc table on the disc/spindle machine is a little bigger than the one on the disc/belt.

I can't give any more answer to "what do you want to do with it" than I have already, so I'll turn it around: what can and can't I do with each type? Is the disc/belt combo redundant, or are there things you can do with a belt you can't do with a disc?

[Harold Tuttle]

disks work well on end grain
belts work better with the grain
spindles can be replaced with an arbor in a drill press

[Guest]

A belt is a useful tool, you can also use the end where it bears over the roller as an improvised curve shaper. The advantage of a spindle is you can keep the sanded surface at 90 degrees. I rarely use a spindle, use the belt often. Do not have a disk. Harold is right about using a drill press with a sanding drum. If you are sanding the sides of a recoil pad flush with the stock, a belt is going to be a lot more useful than a spindle.

[DJJ]

Of course - but couldn't you use the disc for that?

What do you do often with your belt?

[Guest]

A disk is a problematical beast. by default, all the sanding is cross grain, and it will tend to cut a lot harder on the leading (high) edge. What do I use the belt for? everything., it is hard to be specific. justgeneral shop chores. One other thing, a belt will tend to last a lot longer than a disk, as it stays a lot coole, and the grit changes are much easier, as a disk is generaly glued down.

[Guest]

PS lest you think I despise a disk sander, there are some jobs that they are great for- one is sanding a fairly thin (2" or less) piece of flat stock to a predetermined bevel on a curve. Rough it on the bandsaw. and sand it on the disk.

[DJJ]

Belt it is!