The Harbor Freight belt sander has been a great little addition to my shop. I have used this 1 inch by 30 inch belt sander on numerous projects. It’s very useful for smaller projects. I have used it to make coffee scoops, pens, and on some antler projects.
Here are few specs on the sander:
- 1/3 horsepower motor
- Speed of up to 3260 feet per minute.
- The table tilts 0 to 45 degrees.
- Allows for dust collector
The belt is easy to change out. The backing plate can be removed if you want to sand curves. It appears that Harbor Freight only sells 80 and 120 grit belts, but you can purchase different grits from other suppliers. You can read the customer reviews, but there seem to be many positive reviews. The sander may lack power for bigger jobs. Some users mentioned they used the sander for sharpening tools or knives.The 1 in. by 30 in. belt sander is very compact and only weighs about 13 pounds. So it’s easy to move around the shop or store it when you’re not using it.
This sander is very reasonably priced at $58. I’m not going to say that Harbor Freight tools are the highest quality, but for the weekend hobbyist I think they are fine. If you’re a carpenter and need a sander for daily use, then you might want to invest more money in a higher quality belt sander.
Note that for about $30 more you can get the 1 by 30 belt and 5 inch disc sander combination.
I recently bought a lawn mower lift from Harbor Freight and I asked the checkout clerk about coupons or discounts. She went ahead and discounted the list price and then added back a fee for a 1 year warranty. So I didn’t pay any additional from the sticker price. If you get on their mailing list, you will get coupons, and you have to bring those with you for them to honor the coupon.
I hope you enjoyed this review. I haven’t written many reviews, but I’ll give you my honest opinion, and I’ll stick to tools that I’ve personally used. Feel free to use the comments field and share your experiences — good or bad — with this particular sander or any Harbor Freight tools.
God bless!
Scott
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