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http://www.ridgid.com/Tools/EB4424-Sander/
This is a bench-top sander that is convertible between a spindle and belt. The belt is 4" by 24" and the spindles are 4" by 1/2", 3/4", 1", 1-1/2", and 2". The conversion between spindle and belt is remarkably simple and fast, unlike many other multi-purpose tools. The alignment system for the belt gives accurate alignment even after removal and replacement, which I had suspected might not work well.
The motor has plenty of power and I was not able to stall it with a small block pressed hard against the belt. It's got a bit of vibration; not enough to obviously affect the work, but just slightly annoying. I say this as I compare it to my name-brand cast iron tools, and should point out that it's nowhere near as bad as most other cheap tools.
The bed is aluminum, but solid enough, and has a miter slot which is smooth and straight. The bed tilts to allow angle sanding on either the belt or spindle, and has a click lock mechanism for the common angles. The lock/tilt system works very easily and reliably/repeatably clicks into the right angles. There are plenty of adjustments for squaring and leveling everything. An engineer's square and the included hex wrench allowed me to get a very high degree of accuracy. With my dial indicator I easily got to < .005" from one end of the belt platen to the other, though the platen itself has .01" of total runout across its surface. The platen was square to about the same level using an engineer square and feeler guage. This is plenty of accuracy for a small sander I think.
There is on-board storage for all the spindles and parts. There are handles to easily carry and move the sander if needed. It's quite portable if you prefer to carry it outside for example. There is a built-in "fan" to remove dust from the spindle, though real dust collection is obviously preferable. Connected to my DC, most dust was picked up but not all. It uses vents behind the belt to capture some of the dust, but this means that some escapes from the front/side. I have added a Loc-Line nozzle to see if I can capture the rest, but haven't tested it yet. Overall though I think the collection is pretty good.
I'm very happy with this purchase for the price. I think it will keep me from having to spend a lot more for a good sander.
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dbhost commented
For the money I can't imagine a better oscillating sander, but I am sure they exist somewhere...
I got mine on sale, with a HD gift card, I think out of pocket was less than $100.00 including tax for mine... This is a great tool for the hobby woodworker...
DM
edit: what is this "member review" to the left? I can't manipulate it, and I didn't give this machine a low rating.