Best Belt Sander 101: The Top Belt Sanders You Can Get Your Hands On

The Makita 9903 is a decent belt sander sporting a powerful 8.8-amp motor that still maintains a relatively quiet 84 decibels when it's turned on. This benefits the user in that he could use the device for longer without worrying about damaging his eardrums. It's this power that allows you to effectively sand down material from rough timber. The handheld device also has a cloth dust back that captures metal powder and sawdust in order to minimize cleanup of your shop after working. Its variable speed is also helpful.

It enables you to go from 690 feet per minute to 1,440 feet per minute depending on the roughness of the application. It's a portable belt sander that's quite controllable and maneuverable judging by its specs and performance. Although it lacks the solid base of a stationary sander, it's surprisingly balanced and stable. In terms of pitfalls or drawbacks, there have been reports of certain machines having limited the run time of 15 minutes before failing or certain models lasting only a month instead of years as advertised. It's also known to bog down easily for heavy-duty sander of its class.

As for the Porter-Cable 362V, it offers 12-amp motor action that makes it comparatively more powerful than the Makita 9903, but that's to be expected of a wider, bigger sander that has more room for a stronger engine. Aside from assuring commercial-grade performance, the 362V is also designed in a way to ensure balance and control when you handle it. You can depend on this machine when doing flush sanding over vertical surfaces like walls or the sides of furniture, for example. It even features variable speed capabilities to boot.

The sander also has speed adjustment for the 1,000 to 1,500 RPM range to ensure multipurpose usage on various types of softwoods and hardwoods. Only a few criticisms can be leveled against this large Porter-Cable handheld sandermodel. It's okay but it does come with certain issues. For one thing, it's not as ergonomically designed as others. If you do loads of multidirectional sanding with this "beast" of a sander, make sure to stretch out your hand after lengthy sanding. Also make it a point to do warm-up exercising. The power cord can get pulled up into the belt and housing too, so watch out.

As for the second Makita sander in this collection, its main claim to fame is its large cloth dust bag and its mini vacuum look. It even has its title advertising the fact. The ability of a belt sander to clean up after itself is an important issue though in light of how belt sanders do get clogged by accumulating sawdust within its inner circuitry. This device can also be considered the 4-inch by 24-inch version of the Makita 9903 based on their similar configurations and features (due to them being made by the same company).

It can do everything that the 9903 can, but this time with a more powerful motor (11 amps) and a labyrinthine construction (so that the sawdust can't find its way inside the device). It's easy to control, convenient to handle due to its large grip, it's durable due to its sealed insides, and it's efficient thanks to its 4-inch wide belt that moves at 1,640 feet per minute. In terms of downsides, its front handle is awkward to use for scribing work and it's mostly a two-handed tool (you can't use it one-handed while bracing the surface with your other hand).

The Black & Decker DS321 could be a sander for you in case you wish for a red belt sander with a slim design so that it looks less like a shop vacuum and more like a planer device that you can use one-handed. It also comes with a handy medium-grit sanding belt for softer woods and an instruction manual to better access its features. Its dust bag is still built in like with the Makita 9403, but this time it's tucked away to the side rather than from the rear so that it saves space and makes for a less awkward grip.

Speaking of grips, its handle is retractable and can be used in three positions. It's also powered by a 7-amp motor capable of delivering plain and simple sanding action. Operation is self-explanatory for the most part. In terms of downsides, its smaller bag does require regular emptying and mostly collects coarser dust (which means finer dust still requires the shop vacuum treatment). Furthermore, there have been claims that the Dragster takes longer to sand objects compared to other sanders plus it makes a high-pitched squeak that can be annoying.

Last but not least is the Hitachi SB8V2. There are some people out there who consider this machine as a contractor's ideal sander because it features a decent 9-amp motor, a variable speed of 820 to 1,475 feet per minute, and it's been praised for its precision, performance, and accuracy in light of its specs. It offers ample power and its variable speed switch is located at a comfortable and ergonomic angle to allow speed shifts with even more ease than a manual car and its stick shift.

It also ensures safety with its trigger lock that keeps you from accidentally keeping the device on and its soft grip handles that enable workers to use the handheld sander for much longer than other awkward-grip machines. It's also relatively lightweight at 9.5 pounds. In terms of downsides, there have been customer complaints regarding its balance. The motor is located left of center, causing you to adjust your handling to enable balanced maneuvering when using the device. It also has issues longevity, with certain models dying within 20 minutes of use.