Customer Reviews for RYOBI Corded 4 in x 36 in. Belt and 6 in. Disc Sander

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Very simple to work and put together. Great power, not to bulky and noise. Takes up a small amount of space.

Ordered this item brand new (supposedly) from home depot directly. Upon removing item from the box it is apparent that this was a returned or refurbished unit. Fingerprints all over the sander, belt has a huge scratched section on it, severe gouges and scratches on the fence table and the fence table is not level. There is no way to adjust the angle that needs adjusted. Can tilt forward but not side to side. Driving to Home Depot to exchange is not an option at this time so we will have to figure out how to make it work. The sander itself works fine, just disappointed we got a used unit.

For years I have turned the (hand) belt sander upside down in a vise for a variety of sanding jobs. This sander promises a bigger, and adjustable sanding surface. The 4" wide sanding surface fits the bill. The sanding belt can be set between horizontal and vertical (set by an screw) but the you can't adjust the screw above ~45 degrees if the black guard/rest is installed. The dust port is 2 1/2" OD, so there was some McGyvering to adapt it to the central vac. The sander throws a fair amount of dust.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I work from my garage at the moment, and I’ve wanted a combination sander for a long time. It works very well for wood and light metal work for animatronics.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] Great for my basic needs, I do everything from DIY projects to craft.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I bought this last week to bevel some parts and I have used it everyday since. This is by far my new favorite tool.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I've worked with numerous other belt sanders but this one tops them all. The supported top belt provides an ample work surface for sanding. The fact that this also includes a circular sanding wheel on the side makes this an exemplary tool that beats all competitors.

Pros: price Cons: Cast iron base/frame is not properly finished, the surfaces still show the casting roughness. Included media is NG for hard wood, I tried sanding Oak, light pressure doesn't work. Heavy pressure burns it. Get Zirconium media.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] After trying to sand things by hand or using an orbital sander I started looking into bench top belt sanders and found this. It’s size is perfect for fitting on the bench in the garage and having the belt and disc combo is even better. The angle adjustments are also a bonus to have for them finicky fitments. If you are looking for a bench top sander for your garage this is it.

Bought it at Home Depot two months ago. I noticed it started sort of working intermittently and would not start moving unless I push the belt and then I realized the teeth on the belt were stripped in some places. That’s a really chintzy belt they put on

Just got this unpackaged today. It took all of about 5 minutes to have it ready to be plugged in. There were 4 bolts and a twist knob and had it turned on. I did a couple of tests on some wood I had laying around. There is plenty of power on this rig and I put quite a bit of pressure down on the belt and it did not slow or stall. Will have plenty of hours of use to get out of this one. Very satisfied.

Its okay for light work and small to medium jobs, but I wouldn't have this running constant for more than an hour or so, If that. After maybe 20-30 mins use you can feel the heat radiating off of the gear box. The main issue i have is that the belt runs against the right side no matter what you do, even after moving it the belt slides to that same spot once turned on. So I reccomend having an extra belt or two in whatever grit you use most on hand just in case. Annoying for sure but can be overlooked if you only need a few minutes use out of it at a time. There's a guard you're supposed to install over the belt and when you do its either too tight and keeps the belt and disc from spinning or, the belt runs against it so you're sanding a metal plate aswell as your piece of stock.. Instructions are also terrible, not helpful in the least. I put it together by following the picture on the box and have an extra piece i don't even know what to do with so heres hoping its not important.

Working well, Using the 80 to 120 grit belts and discs covers my needs at this time. Currently the belts and discs are available locally, which is always a plus.

I bought this because I do a number of DIY projects. This was a perfect fit with my other Ryobi tools.

Got this today, my old one went up in smoke, not a Ryobi. After research, I think this was the best machine in this price range. I own a lot of Ryobi tools and happy to add this one to the shop. Does everything I need it to do, plus has a vac port. Wish it worked better, but this is the first one I’ve had that had one at all, so a nice improvement.

My old sander went up in smoke this morning, put it out to the curb and started my research for the new one. This one won out, did everything I needed to do, used a common belt and disk and all for a very good price. When I got it home, set it up and hooked up the shop vac system and went to town on it. Worked as well as my old one, plus it has a vac port, worked ok, my last one didn’t even have one. I think a very good system for a DIY shop.

I have this tool for some time now and the best thing in it is the dual sand, disc and band, sanding is getting easier when I don’t have the sander on my hand, my problem is the dust port doesn’t really work, dusk goes all over. Almost every one of my projects has to get to the sander, store this sander is not too bad as you ll see on the picture. I’m happy with this tool and I’ll keep using it.

I have owned this for about 6 months and have found it indispensable for small sanding and grinding projects around the garage. I recently made a ATV rack tray out of some 1/4 aluminum diamond plate I had leftover from another project. Once it was cut the edges needed to be smoothed.The Ryboi sander was perfect to hone down the sharp edges. The adjustable belt on top was perfect for getting just the right angle I needed since the tray had many irregular curves. The unit has enough power for me and my small DIY projects. I am impressed.

This sander is great at the price point but does have its shortcomings. The 2 main issues with this sander is the dust collection and the belt sander has some tracking issues. Even with those issues i still think this sander is a great value for a DIYer or hobbyist.

I purchased this unit specifically for sanding and shaping blocks for Giant Jenga sets, popular items in the forever summer we have in Florida. Prior to purchasing, I used the hand held ONE+ belt sander for this application. What used to take me at least 2-3 hours, now takes me 45 minutes or less. On days where we are producing 5,6,7+ sets this little machine is a huge time savor, and one of the best investments I made to the shop. I have had this unit for a little over a year, and have run it for hours at a time with no breaks, and it is still going strong. Unbelievable quality, fantastic price, the only complaint I have is in the belt that it comes with. Mine was chewed up pretty quickly.

Ok 2 hrs to pick it up, 1 hr to make a sturdy mount, 30 minutes of sanding soft cedar. 1 chewed up drive belt. I was ready to sing its Praises. it was working really well. then after 30 minutes it just stopped.

I've had no problem with this item at all. It has performed every task I've given it with ease and great results. I did change the sanding belt and disk that came with it to Diablo brand.

If you're just looking for smaller projects this seems to be a well built sander. I mounted it on a board so I can move it where I want to & just use clamps to hold in down. I had a piece of oak that my blade on my table saw burned an area & it was the first item that I used on the sander, & it just sanded it perfectly. The exhaust vent fits perfectly on my wet/dry vac when I'm using it in my small work area. If I'm using it outside I don't bother with the wet/dry vac. I took some pictures as I was sanding that piece of oak that I mentioned & they didn't come out very well but it will give you an idea of the results I had with that piece of oak that was burned. I also show the board I mounted it on and how the wet/dry vac hose fits real nice. I'm glad that I bought it. It's saved me a lot of tough sanding I had with my hard oak project. I have only used it on this one project, but I was sure glad I had it.

Quiet and smooth running. It has a strong motor and is easily adjustable. I also like the dust collector port. If you need a sander this machine does the job very well.

[This review was collected as part of a promotion.] I got this for Christmas. I have small wood working shop and it seemed a must have. I have uses it only a few time so far but worked great went though hard wood with ease. love the ability to adjust the belt sander position. Looking forward to using it more.

I am pleased with this sander. Easy assembly. I find it works well on medium sized projects. Like my Ryobi planner it has some mass to it, it is not light or flimsy. The coarse sanding disk and belt that comes with it removes a lot of material very quickly. The motor will bog down if you apply too much pressure to the belt. But you do not need to apply a lot of pressure to get the job done.

I love my Ryobi bench sander. Let me tell you why. I am a retired professional photographer turned metal artist and laser artist. I have been working on a project that requires a wood base. I have two different types of hand sanders that I thought I could use. An orbit sander and an electric finishing sander. But neither of those were doing what I wanted for smoothing out my finish on the wood base. I decided it was time that I get a bench sander, but didn’t want to spend much money because I wasn’t sure when I would use it again. I decided to get one at a discount tool store (HF). It was $40.00 less than Home Depots Ryobi. I bought the sander and spent all afternoon trying to figure out how to change the belt and make the belt work at a 45 degree angle. I never did figure it out and when I decided to just plug it in and use it the way it was, the sanding belt would stop and slip. I got so aggravated with it I decided to spend $40.00 more and go to HD and buy the Ryobi and take the other one back. When I got back to my shop, I pulled the Ryobi out of the box and started working with it immediately. The first thing I did was to change the sanding belt from the 80 grit (that came with it) to a 120 grit. After my ordeal with the first bench sander, I could not believe how easy the Ryobi was to use and how easy it was to make my wood base smooth. I just love my new Ryobi bench sander. After using it for a couple of hours I was done sanding the wood bases that I had made up in advance. What a great sander. I took some photos of what it was doing for me.

I am a hobbyist woodworker and have been on the lookout for a quality bench sander for a few weeks. After shopping online and investigating local hardware stores, I landed on this bench sander with my given budget. This is my first bench sander, so understand that I am coming into this review with no background with these types of tools. Pros: ==== -Very simple assembly and operation. -Solid overall construction. -Easy belt changing and adjustment. -Decent amount of motor power. -The first unit I purchased had a warped sanding disc. However, I exchanged it for a new one at The Home Depot with no problems. The unit I have now works great. -Operation noise is comfortably low. -Includes 80 grit belt and disc. Cons: ==== -The included miter gauge is fully constructed from plastic. It's not flimsy, but I expected higher quality for a precision component like this. -The gauge inscribed onto the side of the machine for adjusting the work table angle is useless. You're better off using a protractor and/or a speed square to set your table. -Packaging was cramped and resulted in the aluminum work table with scratches right out of the box. Overall, this bench sander is a good value. I recommend it to anyone looking for a tool that will meet their project needs.

First off: I'm a weekend warrior when it comes to wood working. Love to do it, but still learning. This is my first Stationary Sander, and have used it for a few days now. I did put on a Diablo 120grit belt for my finish sanding. Price-one of the least expensive units I have seen Size- not too big, allows me to store it away when not in use. Ease of use-So much easier sanding a lot of parts before assembly now. (used to sit down with an electric hand sander and make a huge mess). Easy to change belts, and reconfigure belt to vertical position. 4x36in size belt is a good size work surface, easy to put pieces up there and gets them smooth fast. Cons: Let me use it a little longer and I will update, none so far. Overall I am very happy. It makes short work of something that used to be the longest part of some of my builds. If I had to do it over again, I would still buy this.

HomeDepot's specifications state the machine is variable speed. That is an important feature. Unfortunately the machine does not have it..