BELt S aNDER burned up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

svenole · **Posted:** Sat Oct 22, 2011 2:14 pm

Just burned up my harbor crap beltsander on its first day of use ! :!:

i need a good 3 in. by 21 in. beltsander ,whats your favorite? :?:

the other day i went though 17 out of 20 clamps im done with them.those clamps broke when i needed them too! thank god for screws :!:

thudpucker · **Posted:** Sat Oct 22, 2011 2:32 pm

You gotta go to Yard Sales.
I got a 3X21 "Wen" at a yard sale for $3 back in the 60's and it was still working when somebody stole it from me in 96.

Have you noticed there are very few good American made tools on the "Used" sites since the "hateyumellicans" have invaded us with the Tin Foil toys for Tools spear head?

I had a chance to visit Hong Kong back in the 50's. I'd probably still be carrying the stench!

upspirate · **Posted:** Sat Oct 22, 2011 2:44 pm

I like my Porter cable belt sander,it's a workhorse.

I have no problem with the blue screw type bar clamps from H-F, but their hand squeeze clamps suck

DaveLott · **Posted:** Sun Oct 23, 2011 5:14 am

Porter Cable. I gave up on the crap stuff

billy c · **Posted:** Sun Oct 23, 2011 7:08 am

Dave and Warren know the answer

i only buy PC and Bosch. saves time, frustration and $$ in the long run in my shop
-Billy

woodenaye · **Posted:** Mon Oct 24, 2011 1:37 am

Bosch rocks. Never heard of Porter Cable here.
Drill driver and jigsaw worked hard for two years, still work like I bought them yesterday.

svenole · **Posted:** Mon Oct 24, 2011 4:11 am

T H A N K S :!:

Iggy · **Posted:** Mon Oct 24, 2011 9:52 am

My orbital sander just 'bit the dust' about 5 minutes before I finished my final sanding (pre-paint sanding). The poor thing had to deal with hundreds of hours of dust from both wood and epoxy... and my occasional 'drop' onto concrete floor didn't help it much either.

It was a plain-jane $40.00 'Crappy Tire' (Canadian Tire) brand. Same as my belt sander, sabre-saw, belt sander, drill, chop-saw, table-saw, grinder, power planer, sanding station and about 2/3's of my clamps.

The only other tool that died on me was my angle grinder, another $40.00 Crappy Tire unit, and I got that one replaced under warranty as the bearings shot out of it within 2 months.

I am not advocating the use of cheaper brands, you get what you pay for. However you can build a boat without having a garage full of Porter-cable or Bosche or Dewalt.

I am thinking about taking a photo of all my Crappy Tire tools and sending it off to the P.R. guys at their store after I am done building my boat. They are not pretty, they are not the highest quality, but you can build a boat using them

ttownshaw · **Posted:** Mon Oct 24, 2011 10:09 am

That's awesome Iggy! Yep, I had buy a whole bunch of CHEAP tools after most of my nicer power tools were nabbed in a robery. Just wasn't worth filing an insurance claim. I got a cheapo FireStarter (B&D product) cordless set (drill, circular, recirpocating, skill, and stud finder) and a table saw for around $200 total.

Kinda odd...they took nearly all of my mid-line quality power tools but didn't touch any of the high dollar hand tools. Damn lazy theifs!

They didn't take my PC belt or RO sanders thank goodness. Both are PC Gator and I'm please with them. The belt sander is their smallest model (14") which is great for handling but buying paper for it is a real pain as it is only sold in three packs (mixed grit). I quickly figured out how to make my own for a lot less money.

thudpucker · **Posted:** Mon Oct 24, 2011 2:12 pm

The sad thing about the "Cheap Chinese Crap" is the difference in replacing a broken unit.

The Chinese make a "unit" of parts. Those Parts are made ONLY for those Units.
Once used up, no more of that initial part are made.
So if your Chinese Belt sander burns out it's Bearings, by the time it failed, no more Bearings of that size are available.

It's the same with Switches and certain connectors. Nothing in the Chinese Crap is made to replace parts.
I bought one Right Angle Grinder of Chinese decent. I learned all this when it failed.

My Bosch, Skill, Porter Cable and other American brands are still working after years.
I've replaced bearings. All of them readily available locally. Brushes too.

I learned long ago to buy ONE expensive unit, than to buy TWO cheap units or fool around with the 'returns' desk.

Iggy · **Posted:** Mon Oct 24, 2011 3:09 pm

I have no idea if the Canadian Tire brand is made in China, Canada, US or wherever. I suppose I could look into it. I guess its a balance of having a broad variety of tools vs. having a narrower choice of tools that are more maintainable for the same amount of money spent.

Long term, quality and maintainablity should win out. The challenge is with the crazy amount of short-term projects that don't necessarily need the tool to last. If woodworking was my profession, I probably wouldn't put any money into Canadian Tire brands, or the cheapo stuff. I'd go for the Porter Cables... Makita's... the brands that take the beating from use, not abuse, and where you can actually replace a switch if it burns out.

Crappy tire is just down the street... has a warranty and almost-no-questions asked policy on returns the first year or so... and my project is 2 years in the making so far. I chose variety over long-term quality, and I know it. In 4 years from now if I build another project the tools I have now will be out-dated for parts, and probably need to be replaced.

However this is my 1st project of this kind, and while many others might build 2 or 3 or more boats, I based my decisions on 1 boat and 1 project of this kind.

If things change, my 2nd boat... just like my 2nd set of tools, will be based on a different standard and I'd probably opt to get the better brands.

I am just glad there is still a choice out there... not all cheap.. not all expensive.

upspirate · **Posted:** Mon Oct 24, 2011 3:56 pm

I buy both types depending on how often I intend to use it.

I've bought H-F tools for one use and are still using them too, but didn't expect much out of them.

Example: H-F "sawzall" for one job of cutting rotten wood 2x4 at the end of the roof....bought 12 years ago,did the job,and haven't needed it since....$19.95 on sale as opposed to $189 for Milwaukee, Win!!!

$19 H-F roto-zip I bought for low clearance laminate trim job that's been working great since,and is handier than my big router for round-over jobs.Win!!!

Bought K-Mart belt sander for $39 in 1972 to build TNT (didn't think I'd need again) loved it (but,it had wide belts hard to come by) switch failed in 1977,replaced with $100 Craftsman in 1977 and used till last year when the wear plate failed and couldn't get a replacement.....belts were standard,but damn dust bag gets in way.
Replaced with Porter Cable,but will try to source/modify a wear plate for Craftsman

BulldogBoater · **Posted:** Mon Oct 24, 2011 5:07 pm

I've got the same belt sander from harbor freight from the first build in 2007. Sometimes there stuff is good, sometimes I have to return it the day I bought it. The products have no quality control. It certainly is hit or miss. If it ever breaks, I will get a better tool though.

I recently upgraded a few hand tools. I found good deals on Dewalt, Milwaukee, and Porter Cable at the local pawn shop. There are lots of contractors not working now and the Pawn Shop's shelves were FULL of tools. Just make sure they let you plug them in first.

KB

svenole · **Posted:** Tue Oct 25, 2011 7:15 am

Thanks,its working fine so far>i used it to bevel the stem and it worked great.im not into the cheap stuff ,everything else i own is Dewalt,planer,drill,ob sander,i just wanted to save a little money. it is not worh it,but if you cant afford them then what are you going to do sit down and look at your boat :!:

if this one burns up >ill take it back and get an anvil that wont break. :!:

maybe it will :?:

slug · **Posted:** Tue Oct 25, 2011 4:37 pm

On the subject of buying cheapos or quality, keep in mind that on some major tools, if you go for the quality, quite often you can get a good resale return when ( if :lol:

) you ever finish with it.
I bought a Beta mig welder for $1800 in 1990 when I started my steel sailboat. I used it for 6 years for the boat and many other projects. When I sold off everything to go sailing in 1996, I sold it for 1500 cash.
Last week I was in the busy metal fabricating shop that bought it and they are still using it everyday!
I just bought a "suitcase " welder to do my tig work, and have already had a welder ask me if I wanted to sell it when I'm finished with it.
All my large woodworking tools sold at auction for their present retail value in spite of the fact most were 15 to 20 years old. They were kept in excellent condition.
Doug

Glen-L.com

BELt S aNDER burned up!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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